2026 Extraordinary Banking Awards Official Rules and Terms and Conditions
Official Rules
The 2026 Extraordinary Banking Awards include three award categories:
- Banky™ Award / Extraordinary Bank of the Year™
- Rising Star in Banking™ Award
- Banking Partner of Excellence™ Award
Each award category has its own eligibility requirements, nomination or application process, and judging criteria, as described below.
Application and Nomination Deadline
The application and nomination deadline for the 2026 Extraordinary Banking Awards is May 28, 2026.
Applications or nominations submitted after the deadline may not be considered.
The Institute for Extraordinary Banking™ reserves the right to adjust, extend, or close the application and nomination period at its sole discretion.
1. Banky™ Award / Extraordinary Bank of the Year™ Official Rules
Award Overview
The Banky™ Awards recognize community banks that meet the stringent standards of The Institute for Extraordinary Banking™ based on the quality of the information provided in the application.
Banky™ Award winners may also become eligible for Category-Level Banky™ Awards and consideration for the 2026 Extraordinary Bank of the Year™ Award.
Award Levels
First Level — Banky™ Award
The bank meets the criteria of the stringent standards of The Institute for Extraordinary Banking™ based on the quality of the information provided in the application.
Next Level — Category-Level Banky™ Awards
Category winners are recognized by asset class, with one overall category winner recognized in each of the following five categories:
- Thank God It’s Monday!™ Culture Banky™ Award for Outstanding Workplace Culture
- Above-and-Beyond Customer Service Banky™ Award
- Money Smarts Banky™ Award for Financial Education
- BanksGiving™ Banky™ Award for Philanthropy
- Thought Leadership Banky™ Award
The asset classes are:
- Under $300 million
- $300–500 million
- $500 million–$1 billion
- Over $1 billion
Highest Level — Extraordinary Bank of the Year™
The Extraordinary Bank of the Year™ Award recognizes excellence across the five Category-Level Banky™ Award areas. Three finalists will vie for the title live at the awards ceremony.
The judges’ decisions are final and may not be appealed.
Banky™ Award Eligibility
To be eligible to receive a Banky™ Award, the nominee bank must be a community bank in the United States or its territories.
All Banky™ Award winners will become eligible to be considered for one of five Category-Level Banky™ Awards and the 2026 Extraordinary Bank of the Year™ Award — the top award for community banks.
To be considered for a Category-Level Banky™ Award and as a finalist for the 2026 Extraordinary Bank of the Year™ Award, each Banky™ Award winner must complete a culture survey, with 75% of the bank staff completing the survey.
The culture survey will be weighted at 50% of the Thank God It’s Monday!™ Culture Banky™ Award for Outstanding Workplace Culture, with the other 50% of the score coming from the judges’ scores.
Each bank that applies for a Banky™ Award will be mystery-shopped by phone. The mystery-shopping score will be weighted at 50% of the Above-and-Beyond Customer Service Banky™ Award, with the other 50% of the score coming from the judges’ scores.
The three finalists for the 2026 Extraordinary Bank of the Year™ Award will be determined based on a combination of the judges’ scores, culture survey score, and mystery shop score, with one-third of the overall score coming from each.
The overall Extraordinary Bank of the Year™ Award is then determined by a combination of judges’ scores and a vote by the attendees at the Banky Awards.
Previous Banky™ Award winners and Category-Level Banky™ Award winners may apply for the 2026 awards. Previous Extraordinary Bank of the Year™ winners — the highest annual award — are inducted into the Institute for Extraordinary Banking™ Hall of Fame and are not eligible to receive the Extraordinary Bank of the Year™ Award again for a period of ten (10) years following the year in which they received the Bank of the Year award. However, they remain eligible to apply for Banky™ Awards and Category-Level Banky™ Awards.
Banky™ Award Judging Panel and Criteria
The independent panel of judges is composed of community banking experts from throughout the industry who analyze each nomination across five dimensions:
- Internal Culture: Employee engagement
- Customer Service: Commitment to exceptional and consistent customer service
- Financial Education: Commitment to financial education programs
- Philanthropy: Commitment to having a huge impact within the bank’s community
- Extraordinary Bank Practices: Commitment to raising the standards of banking practices focused on client success
The judges’ decisions are final and may not be appealed.
2. Rising Star in Banking™ Award Official Rules
Award Overview
The Rising Star in Banking™ Award is crafted to spotlight the banking industry’s most promising young professionals.
This award is reserved for individuals under the age of 40 who have shown remarkable contributions not only to their institutions and the banking sector at large, but also to their communities.
The Rising Star in Banking™ Award celebrates the innovators and leaders of tomorrow.
Award Structure
The Rising Star in Banking™ Award will recognize:
- Three outstanding finalists
- One overall winner
Rising Star in Banking™ Award Eligibility
To be eligible for the 2026 Rising Star in Banking™ Award, the nominee must be a banking professional who will be under age 40 on September 23, 2026, the date of the 2026 Banky Awards ceremony.
Self-nominations are permitted.
Rising Star in Banking™ Award Nomination Components
Each nomination should include the following:
- Personal and professional information, including the nominee’s full name, contact details, current position, and employer
- A concise professional biography underscoring key career milestones and achievements
- A nominating essay of no more than 850 words
The nominating essay should demonstrate why the nominee deserves to receive the Rising Star in Banking™ Award and should address the following areas:
- Leadership and Innovation: The nominee’s leadership and innovative contributions
- Impact on Institution: The nominee’s positive effect on their institution’s growth and success
- Community Involvement: The nominee’s community service efforts and leadership roles
- Industry Contribution: The nominee’s industry involvement, including associations, speaking engagements, and publications
- Future Vision: The nominee’s vision for the future of banking and how they plan to contribute to it
The nominating party may also submit optional supporting materials, including:
- Letters of recommendation
- Professional achievements, such as relevant awards, certifications, or degrees
- Community service documentation
Rising Star in Banking™ Award Judging Criteria
Rising Star in Banking™ Award nominations will be evaluated by independent judges based on the following:
- Strength of the professional biography and demonstrated career progression
- Leadership and innovation
- Impact on the nominee’s institution
- Community involvement
- Contribution to the banking industry
- Vision for the future of banking
- Quality and relevance of optional supporting materials, if submitted
The judges’ decisions are final and may not be appealed.
3. Banking Partner of Excellence™ Award Official Rules
Award Overview
The Banking Partner of Excellence™ Award recognizes exceptional vendors and partner organizations whose dedication and service elevate their banking partners to the Top Five Percenters™.
This award is a tribute to the invaluable allies in the banking industry, celebrating their extraordinary contributions and the success they help banks achieve.
Banking Partner of Excellence™ Award Eligibility
To be eligible for the Banking Partner of Excellence™ Award, the nominee must be an organization or partner serving the banking industry and demonstrating exemplary support, service, and contribution to banking-sector success.
The Emmerich Group, as the founding sponsor, is not eligible for nomination in this category.
Banking Partner of Excellence™ Award Nomination Process
To nominate an outstanding organization for the Banking Partner of Excellence™ Award, nominators must complete the official nomination process by the published nomination deadline.
Nominations should spotlight organizations that stand out for their exemplary support and contributions to the banking sector.
Banking Partner of Excellence™ Award Judging Criteria
Banking Partner of Excellence™ Award nominations may be evaluated based on the following:
- Demonstrated service to community banks
- Contribution to bank performance, profitability, culture, or strategic success
- Strength of client relationships and trust
- Evidence of meaningful impact on banking partners
- Overall contribution to the banking industry
The judges’ decisions are final and may not be appealed.
Terms and Conditions
THE PROMISES YOU ARE MAKING
You are promising that what you send as a Banky Award nomination entry:
- Is yours to share, use, and publish.
- If it shows pictures of clients, staff, employees, or any third-party, that you have the right to give The Institute for Extraordinary Banking the right to publish this material and have all necessary permissions and consents.
- Accurately describes items being implemented at your bank presently.
- Is accurate, if you are supplying data.
- Does not break confidentiality requirements, including but not limited to those of your bank and holding company.
If someone sues or presents a claim to The Institute for Extraordinary Banking because you gave us something and didn’t have permission to give it to us to publish, that you will indemnify us and pay all costs and fees associated with our defense of that suit.
License
LICENSE TO DISPLAY: CONTESTANT, BY SUBMITTING A NOMINATION FORM, HEREBY GRANTS THE INSTITUTE FOR EXTRAORDINARY BANKING™ THE RIGHT TO DISPLAY THE CONTESTANT’S NAME, IMAGE, AND OTHER INFORMATION ON OUR MARKETING AND PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS (INCLUDING SPONSOR BOOTHS AT TRADE SHOWS AND THE SPONSOR’S WEBSITE) BOTH DURING AND FOLLOWING THE TERM OF THE PROMOTION. THE WINNER OF THE 2026 EXTRAORDINARY BANK OF THE YEAR™ COMPETITION WILL BE AUTHORIZED TO DISPLAY THE EXTRAORDINARY BANK OF THE YEAR™ WINNER’S BADGE ON WEBSITE, MARKETING MATERIALS, ETC., AND WILL KEEP THE CAR WRAP ON THE CAR THAT IS WON PER THE SPECS DELIVERED BY THE INSTITUTE FOR EXTRAORDINARY BANKING™ TO PROUDLY PROCLAIM THEY WON THE AWARD. ALL THOSE WINNING BANKY™ AWARDS CAN DISPLAY WINDOW CLINGS IN THEIR LOBBIES TO PROMOTE THEIR DIFFERENTIATION AS WELL AS DISPLAY THE BANKY™ LOGO ON THEIR WEBSITE, AND SEND PRESS RELEASES AS PRESENTED TO THE BANK.
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Limit of Liability
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Release
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