KENBRIDGE, VA. June 27, 2023. Benchmark Bankshares, Inc. is pleased to announce that Benchmark Community Bank has been named to the list of Top 200 Community Banks in the United States for the 17th consecutive year. Benchmark Bankshares, Inc. is the holding company for Benchmark Community Bank, headquartered in Kenbridge, VA.

“To be recognized for consistent financial performance when compared to over 4,500 peer banks across the nation is quite a tribute to the vision on which Benchmark was founded over a half-century ago.,” said Benchmark President/CEO Jay Stafford. “Our employees work so hard every day to fulfill our mission of serving our customers and communities. Everyone at Benchmark remains honored and humbled to, once again, be named to the list of Top 200 Community Banks in the U.S.”

Benchmark Community Bank has been named to list annually since 2007. For 2022, Benchmark  was ranked #45 in the United States, #2 among 13 Virginia banks, and #3 among nine North Carolina banks named to the list. The Top 200 Community Banks list is published annually in the May issue of American Banker magazine, the recognized leader in financial industry publications. Eligibility for the Top 200 list is based on a three-year average of a bank’s return on average equity for 2021-2022. Of the over 4,200 publicly traded community banks in the United States with asset size below $2 billion, fewer than 500 institutions met the criteria for consideration this year.