Is CUBI a Buy? What to Consider in 2026

Last updated July 2026

Short answer

The bull case for Customers Bancorp (CUBI) rests on Rapid deposit and loan growth: CUBI has grown deposits by roughly 14 percent and loans by roughly 15 percent year over year, well above the industry average. Total revenue (2025) is ~$720M. If you believe that thesis holds, the real questions become position sizing and overlap, not timing. The main risk to that view: The most specific overhang is the August 2024 Federal Reserve written agreement citing significant deficiencies in BSA/AML and OFAC compliance tied to the bank's digital-asset strategy; the agreement remained in place as of the latest available filings and could constrain growth or add expense until fully remediated. Whether CUBI is a buy comes down to whether you believe the thesis. This is informational, not a recommendation, and Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Customers Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: CUBI) is the holding company for Customers Bank, a super-regional lender with over $20 billion in assets that ranks among the 100 largest US bank holding companies. Beyond traditional commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, and multi-family lending, it runs national verticals such as lender finance, fund finance, financial-institutions banking, and technology and venture banking. It is also a pioneer in banking-as-a-service and operates an instant, blockchain-based 24/7 payments platform (CBIT) that lets commercial clients move tokenized dollars, a strategy that has driven low-cost deposit growth but also drew regulatory scrutiny. The investment picture is one of a high-growth, deep-value bank. Deposits rose about 14 percent and loans about 15 percent year over year in early 2026, and the company posts strong returns (ROAA around 1.1 percent) with an efficiency ratio near 50 percent, well below many peers. The stock trades at a mid-single-digit to low-double-digit price-to-earnings multiple and around or below tangible book value, a discount that reflects a 2024 Federal Reserve written agreement over anti-money-laundering and digital-asset risk management. The bull case is continued growth plus multiple re-rating as the compliance work is completed; the bear case is that regulatory, credit, and deposit-mix risks weigh on the valuation.

What's the case for buying CUBI?

1. Rapid deposit and loan growth

CUBI has grown deposits by roughly 14 percent and loans by roughly 15 percent year over year, well above the industry average. Management has recruited banking teams across specialized verticals such as fund finance and venture banking, which brings in commercial relationships and lower-cost deposits. Sustained above-peer growth is the core driver of earnings and book-value expansion.

2. Net interest margin and operating leverage

Net interest income reached about $191 million in the first quarter of 2026, up nearly $24 million year over year, with a net interest margin around 3.2 percent. The efficiency ratio improved to about 50 percent, reflecting positive operating leverage as revenue grows faster than expenses. A lean cost structure lets more of each revenue dollar reach the bottom line.

3. Digital payments and banking-as-a-service niche

The CBIT instant-payments platform and banking-as-a-service partnerships give CUBI a source of sticky, often non-interest-bearing deposits that many traditional banks lack. This positioning taps fintech and digital-asset clients seeking a chartered bank partner. Executed cleanly, it is a differentiated funding and fee engine, though it is also the source of the bank's regulatory attention.

4. Capital return and cheap valuation

CUBI has been buying back shares and grew tangible book value per share to roughly $60 by late 2025. With the stock trading near a high-single-digit price-to-earnings multiple and around tangible book value, buybacks are accretive to per-share metrics. Any narrowing of the valuation discount toward peers would be a meaningful re-rating catalyst.

What are the risks to CUBI?

The most specific overhang is the August 2024 Federal Reserve written agreement citing significant deficiencies in BSA/AML and OFAC compliance tied to the bank's digital-asset strategy; the agreement remained in place as of the latest available filings and could constrain growth or add expense until fully remediated. Concentrations in commercial real estate, lender finance, and crypto-adjacent deposits add credit and funding-stability risk, and deposits from digital-asset clients can be volatile. As a rate-sensitive bank, net interest margin and securities values move with interest rates and the yield curve. Reputational and headline risk around crypto banking can pressure the stock independent of fundamentals. Broader recession or credit-cycle deterioration would raise charge-offs across the loan book.

How is CUBI valued? (as of July 2026)

Price

$77.01

Market cap

$2.60B

P/E (TTM)

9.70

Forward P/E

8.10

Price / book

1.21

Beta

1.49

52-week range

$59.34 to $82.56

Snapshot for CUBI as of July 2026, sourced from Yahoo Finance and may be delayed. Valuation figures move with price and earnings; verify the current numbers with your broker before deciding.

Market cap: ~$2.6B
Total revenue (2025): ~$720M
Net income to common (2025): ~$209M
Diluted EPS (2025): ~$6.26
Tangible book value / share: ~$60
P/E (TTM): ~9.7x

CUBI trades at a high-single-digit price-to-earnings multiple and around its tangible book value, a discount to many similarly sized commercial banks. That gap largely reflects the outstanding Federal Reserve compliance agreement and the perceived risk of its digital-asset deposit base, rather than weak profitability. Returns on assets near 1.1 percent and an efficiency ratio close to 50 percent are competitive with better-regarded peers.

How do you decide if CUBI is a buy?

Rather than asking whether CUBI is a buy in the abstract, it tends to help to answer four questions:

Thesis: do you believe the case above, and is it still true today?
Time horizon: a single stock can be volatile, so a longer horizon absorbs more of the swings.
Position sizing: a thesis can be right and the sizing still wrong; decide how much of your portfolio one name should be.
Overlap: check whether you already hold CUBI indirectly through an index or sector ETF before adding more.

For the full picture, see the CUBI stock guide (what the company does, the ETFs that hold it, similar stocks, and the themes it fits). In Walnut you can ask its AI about CUBI against your real portfolio and see your actual exposure before deciding.

The bottom line on CUBI

The bottom line: Customers Bancorp's story right now is Rapid deposit and loan growth, with total revenue (2025) at ~$720M. If you believe that narrative continues, the call is about sizing CUBI sensibly and checking overlap with what you own; if you doubt it (the risk: the most specific overhang is the August 2024 Federal Reserve written agreement citing significant deficiencies in BSA/AML and OFAC compliance tied to the bank's digital-asset strategy; the agreement remained in place as of the latest available filings and could constrain growth or add expense until fully remediated.), it is not for you. Decide from the thesis, not the ticker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

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FAQ

Is CUBI a good stock to buy right now?

The case for Customers Bancorp right now is Rapid deposit and loan growth, with total revenue (2025) at ~$720M. If you believe that thesis holds, CUBI is a way to own it and the real questions are sizing and overlap, not timing; the main risk to that view is the most specific overhang is the August 2024 Federal Reserve written agreement citing significant deficiencies in BSA/AML and OFAC compliance tied to the bank's digital-asset strategy; the agreement remained in place as of the latest available filings and could constrain growth or add expense until fully remediated. So it comes down to whether you believe the thesis. Walnut is not an investment adviser and this is not a recommendation.

What does Customers Bancorp do?

Customers Bancorp, Inc.

What are the main risks of CUBI?

What does Customers Bancorp (CUBI) do?

It is the holding company for Customers Bank, a commercial bank with more than $20 billion in assets. The bank lends to businesses (C&I, commercial real estate, multi-family, and specialty verticals like fund finance and venture banking) and gathers deposits, including through digital and banking-as-a-service channels.

Is CUBI a large bank?

It is a mid-sized super-regional bank, ranking among the 100 largest US bank holding companies with over $20 billion in assets. That is far smaller than money-center banks like JPMorgan but larger than most community banks, placing it in the specialty commercial-bank tier.

Why does CUBI trade at a low valuation?

The stock trades at a high-single-digit price-to-earnings multiple and near tangible book value, a discount to many peers. The main reason is the 2024 Federal Reserve written agreement over anti-money-laundering and digital-asset risk management, plus market caution about its crypto-adjacent deposit base.

What is the Federal Reserve enforcement action against CUBI?

In August 2024 the Federal Reserve entered a written agreement citing significant deficiencies in the bank's BSA/AML and OFAC compliance connected to its digital-asset strategy and instant-payments platform. The bank was required to improve customer due diligence and risk management; the agreement was still in place as of the latest available filings.

Walnut is informational and is not an investment adviser. This page is educational and not a recommendation to buy or sell CUBI; figures are approximate and dated, and your own situation, time horizon, and risk tolerance should drive any decision. Verify current data before investing.