This comparison uses public regulatory filings and TFS methodology. It evaluates financial condition—not checking rates, account fees, service quality, or which institution is universally “best.”
Bank
Salt Lake City, UT
Health score
82.4
Total assets
$28.5B
Answer first
Sallie Mae Bank leads on financial health and capitalization and profitability; WaFd Bank leads on lending quality and growth. Those category leads describe current regulatory metrics only and do not establish a universal product or service winner.
Capital and asset-quality definitions are directly comparable for this pair.
Category leaders
Financial health
Sallie Mae Bank
Higher TFS health score
Capitalization
Sallie Mae Bank
Higher comparable capital ratio
Profitability
Sallie Mae Bank
Higher return on assets
Lending quality
WaFd Bank
Lower problem-loan measure
Growth
WaFd Bank
Higher year-over-year asset growth
Same-source detail
Winner markers appear only where the metric definitions are comparable and both values are available.
| Metric | Sallie Mae Bank | WaFd Bank |
|---|---|---|
| TFS health score | 82.4/100Leads | 78.3/100 |
| Total assets | $28.5B | $27.6B |
| Total deposits / shares | $20.3B | $21.1B |
| Tier 1 capital ratio | 10.17%Leads | 9.21% |
| Return on assets | 2.77%Leads | 0.99% |
| Return on equity | 27.51%Leads |
Sallie Mae Bank
1 branches
WaFd Bank
212 branches
Both institutions report branches in 1 state: UT.
Sallie Mae Bank
Unavailable
WaFd Bank
Unavailable
Counts use an explicitly reviewed CFPB-company-to-regulatory-ID mapping and the same complete 12-month window. Parent-company attribution can include complaints involving affiliates. Lower complaint volume is context—not proof of better service or less consumer harm.
Sallie Mae Bank
0 in TFS registry
WaFd Bank
0 in TFS registry
Institution-level actions come from TFS's exact regulatory-ID registry and are shown as factual context only. They do not affect category winners or the TFS Financial Health Grade. A zero means no action is currently published in this curated registry—not proof that none exists.
Quarterly history
| Quarter | Sallie Mae Bank score | Sallie Mae Bank ROA | WaFd Bank score | WaFd Bank ROA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-Q3 | — | 2.61% | — | 0.73% |
| 2024-Q4 | — | 2.36% | — | 0.73% |
| 2025-Q1 | — | 4.54% | — | 0.84% |
| 2025-Q2 | — | 2.92% | — | 0.89% |
| 2025-Q3 | — | 2.66% | — | 0.89% |
| 2025-Q4 | — | 2.90% | — | 0.91% |
| 2026-Q1 | 84.9/100 | 4.31% |
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Coverage boundaries
Related comparisons
Financial data comes from FDIC BankFind Suite or NCUA Call Reports as labeled. TFS Health Grades are an editorial assessment, not an official government rating or financial advice. Arbitrary comparison pairs are available dynamically but remain noindex unless curated for data completeness and user value.
| 8.98% |
| Non-performing loans | 0.65% | 0.63%Leads |
| Net charge-offs | 1.85% | 0.02%Leads |
| Efficiency ratio | 32.99%Leads | 52.58% |
| Loan-to-deposit ratio | 97.20% | 95.11% |
| Asset growth (YoY) | -3.41% | 3.21%Leads |
| Deposit / share growth (YoY) | -2.34% | -2.15%Leads |
| Branches | 1 | 212 |
| Published CFPB complaints per $1B deposits (12 months)verified mappings only | — | — |
| 78.3/100 |
| 0.99% |
| 2026-Q2 | 82.4/100 | 2.77% | 78.3/100 | 0.99% |