Great question! You’ve heard of the Emmys, the Tonys, the Grammys… each award of distinction sets consumer buying preferences for entertainment. The Banky gives the same level of distinction and differentiation for community banks.

Hundreds of banks will apply, and dozens will receive a Banky Award, signifying their excellence in banking. Twenty select banks will be recognized as category finalists in their respective asset classes, in each of these five categories:

• Thank God It’s Monday!™ Culture Bank Award for Outstanding Workplace Culture
• Above-and-Beyond Customer Service Banky™ Award
• Money Smarts Banky™ Award for Financial Literacy Education
• BanksGiving™ Banky™ Award for Philanthropy
• Thought Leadership Banky™ Award

Three elite banks will be selected as finalists for the Extraordinary Bank of the Year Award.

Each will present their accomplishments on stage at the Awards. Then the judges and audience of top-performing bankers will vote to choose this year’s Extraordinary Bank of the Year.

I get your skepticism, but there are NO hidden fees. There’s no fee to nominate your bank, and if you are selected to receive a Banky Award, you won’t pay to attend the awards ceremony or The Best Banks in America™ Super Conference, where the ceremony is held.

You will receive two VIP tickets at an exclusive discount to The Best Banks in America™ Super Conference for the CEO and an accompanying exec or director. If you want to bring a larger team, you’ll be able to do so at an exclusive “winner’s rate.” This will give you access to both Super Conference and the Banky Awards.

Banky Award winners receive an award, a red-carpet photo op, and a complete PR / Marketing kit. They also receive two complimentary tickets for The Best Banks in America Super Conference and Extraordinary Banking Awards Ceremony.

Category winners receive all of the above, plus special recognition as a category winner. The Extraordinary Bank of the Year Winner receives a NEW CAR—yes, really—wrapped with the winning bank’s logo, announcing their win. Plus, a $25,000 donation, made in the name of the bank, to fund the construction of a school in Africa.

If you win, the car is yours to keep… forever.

The Awards are a part of The Best Banks in America Super Conference hosted by The Institute for Extraordinary Banking™ in Atlanta.

Unlike most banks—which think differentiation means lofty platitudes like “we have great customer service” or “our people make the difference,” you know that you need extreme, meaningful differentiation from your competitors.

Imagine the buzz in your market when you are able to announce that your bank has been recognized among the Best Banks in America. You’ll soon find that The Banky is a gateway to premium pricing.

A panel of three independent judges, as well as thought leaders, reviews all the applications and selects Banky winners, category finalists and winners, and the three finalists for the Extraordinary Bank of the Year Award.

The identities of the judges are concealed until the awards ceremony to prevent banks from lobbying them.

Simple. Just have your marketing department or executive assistant download an electronic version at BankyAwards.com.

The Best Banks in America Super Conference is September 23-24, 2025. The Awards are the evening of September 24th.

Some of the country’s top community bank CEOs have attended the last three conferences and said they found two years’ worth of implementation ideas at each event.

When you attend, you’ll hear the real strategies used by award-winning banks—many performing in the top 5% of all community banks. These are strategies that will increase your profits—not theories, but proven, results-driven, real-world, practical strategies that will grow your bank.