Southern First Bancshares Valuation Multiples

JPMorgan Chase is one of the largest and most complex financial institutions in the United States, with more than $4.4 trillion in assets. It is organized into four major segments: consumer and community banking, corporate and investment banking, commercial banking, and asset and wealth management. JPMorgan operates and is subject to regulation in multiple countries.

Bank of America is one of the largest financial institutions in the United States, with more than $3.4 trillion in assets. It is organized into four major segments: consumer banking, global wealth and investment management, global banking, and global markets. Bank of America's consumer-facing lines of business include its network of branches and deposit-gathering operations, retail lending products, credit and debit cards, and small-business services. The company's Merrill Lynch operations provide brokerage and wealth-management services, as does its private bank. Wholesale lines of business include investment banking, corporate and commercial real estate lending, and capital markets operations. Bank of America has operations in several countries but is primarily US-focused.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Beijing. The bank listed its shares in mainland China and Hong Kong in 2006. It is China's largest by asset scale and by share of lending and deposits. Central Huijin Investment (China's sovereign wealth fund manager) and China's Ministry of Finance are ICBC's two largest shareholders, each with a stake of around 35%. ICBC operates over 16,000 outlets. Of these, 413 outlets are in 49 countries and regions overseas. Corporate banking, retail banking, and wholesale banking accounted for 48%, 40%, and 12% of total revenue, respectively, and 58%, 23%, and 18% of profit before tax in 2024. Overseas banking and other business contributed 13% of total revenue and 11% of profit before tax in 2024.

Established in 1865 in Hong Kong, London-based HSBC is one of the largest banks in the world, with assets of USD 3 trillion and over 40 million customers worldwide. It operates in more than 50 countries with over 200,000 full-time staff. Hong Kong and the United Kingdom are its two largest markets. The bank offers retail, commercial and institutional banking, global banking and markets, wealth management, and private banking.

As one of the Big Four banks, ABC is headquartered in Beijing. The bank evolved from a state-owned specialized bank to a state-controlled commercial bank. It was listed on the Hong Kong and Shanghai Stock Exchanges in 2010. ABC operates a more than 20,000-branch network in China, providing corporate and retail banking products and services, and carries out treasury operations for its accounts or for its customers. Shareholders Central Huijin, China's state-owned investment company, and the Ministry of Finance own 40.14% and 35.29%, respectively. Corporate banking, retail banking, and wholesale banking accounted for 39%, 55%, and 3% of total revenue in 2024, respectively. Rural banking and urban banking contributed 49% and 51%, respectively, of total revenue during the same period.

China Construction Bank, headquartered in Beijing, is China's second-largest bank. It went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2005 and listed shares in mainland China in 2007. Central Huijin Investment, China's sovereign wealth fund manager, is the largest shareholder with a 57% share. Fullerton Financial Holdings (a subsidiary of Temasek) is the second-largest shareholder with a 4.99% stake. CCB strives to provide customers with comprehensive financial services. The corporate banking, retail banking, and wholesale banking business segments accounted for 26%, 45%, and 27% of profit before tax, respectively, in 2024.

Royal Bank of Canada is one of the two largest banks in Canada, with around CAD 2.3 trillion in assets at the end of fiscal 2025. It is a diversified financial services company, offering personal and commercial banking, wealth management, insurance, corporate banking, and capital markets services. The bank is concentrated in Canada and has dominant market shares. RBC also has wealth and capital market businesses in the US, UK, and other countries. RBC is a top 15 investment bank globally.

Wells Fargo is one of the largest banks in the United States, with approximately $2.1 trillion in balance-sheet assets. The company has four primary segments: consumer banking, commercial banking, corporate and investment banking, and wealth and investment management. It is almost entirely focused on the US market.

Beijing-headquartered Bank of China was founded in 1912. The bank has evolved as a central bank, international exchange bank, and state-owned bank specializing in foreign trade business. BOC was listed on the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges in 2006. It provides a comprehensive range of financial services to customers across Greater China and overseas. Central Huijin, a Chinese state-owned investment company and BOC's largest shareholder, controls 64%. BOC has the most extensive global reach among Chinese banks, with operations in 64 countries and regions.

Citigroup is a global financial-services company doing business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citigroup's operations are organized into five primary segments: services, markets, banking, US personal banking, and wealth management. The bank's primary services include cross-border banking needs for multinational corporates, investment banking and trading, and credit card services in the United States.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group is the largest bank in Japan in terms of market capitalization and assets, with an 8.4% share of all domestic loans as of March 2025. It is the largest non-Chinese bank group globally and has a balance sheet slightly larger than those of JPMorgan Chase and HSBC Holdings. MUFG’s operations in Japan account for around half of profit, banking in Thailand and Indonesia for around 15%, and equity-method earnings from Morgan Stanley most of the rest.

Toronto-Dominion is one of Canada's two largest banks with over CAD 2 trillion in assets. TD Bank operates four business segments: Canadian personal and commercial banking, US retail banking, wealth management and insurance, and wholesale banking. The bank derives more than 50% of its revenue from Canada and has dominant market share in nearly all banking products and services. TD has around 44% of its revenue from its US operations. Its US footprint spans from Maine to Florida, with a strong presence in the Northeast.

Santander's focus is on retail and commercial banking. Latin America is geographically the most significant operation, with Brazil making the largest contribution. Its continental European business is mainly in Spain and Portugal. Santander's UK presence is the result of its acquisition of Abbey building society. In the US, Santander operates a vehicle finance business and a regional bank focused on the Northeastern states.

Commonwealth Bank is Australia's largest bank with operations spanning Australia, New Zealand, and Asia. Its core business is the provision of retail, business, and institutional banking services. The bank has emphasized its focus on banking in recent years with a numbers of asset divestments in wealth management and insurance.

UBS is a global financial institution built around its core strength in wealth management, serving high and ultra-high-net-worth individuals. In Switzerland, it also operates as a traditional retail and commercial bank. Its investment bank and asset management divisions complement the wealth business, providing tailored solutions to UBS clients while serving third-party customers by leveraging UBS' global reach and expertise.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group is roughly tied with Mizuho Financial Group for the status of Japan’s second-largest bank after Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. As of March 2025, its market share of domestic loans was 7.3%, compared with 8.4% for MUFG. It has a larger consumer finance business than the other two megabanks, owning 100% of the Promise business and SMBC Card. It also controls one of Japan’s largest leasing companies and SMBC Aviation Capital, one of the top five aircraft lessors globally. In securities, its SMBC Nikko unit is Japan’s third-largest retail broker, although SMFG has lagged somewhat in institutional securities business and asset management.

DBS Group is a Singapore-based banking group offering a full range of services to consumers, small to midsize enterprises, and corporations and institutions. Its main presence is in Singapore and Greater China. The acquisition of Lakshmi Vilas Bank has strengthened DBS' operations in India, and the acquisition of Citibank’s Taiwan operation should bring additional growth in Greater China. DBS' wealth management division is one of the largest in Asia, with assets under management of SGD 488 billion as of December 2025.

Despite its Spanish origins, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria generates only around one-fourth of its profits in Spain. We expect that on a normalized basis, BBVA's market-leading Mexican bank should contribute half of its earnings, while its Turkish operation should account for another 15%. The balance of BBVA's earnings comes from smaller operations in South America. BBVA is overwhelmingly a retail and commercial bank, with corporate and investment banking forming a minor part of the overall business. BBVA also offers insurance and investment products through its banking networks.

China Merchants Bank was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Shenzhen. The bank is China's seventh-largest listed bank by assets, with the largest distribution network among China's joint-stock banks. CMB's network has been expanding rapidly. Its outlets are located mainly in China's more developed areas, including the Pearl River and Yangtze River deltas. The firm has 18% and 82% of its shares listed on the Hong Kong and Shanghai exchanges, respectively. It has no foreign strategic investors. China Merchants Group is its largest shareholder, with a 30% stake. Retail banking, corporate banking, and wholesale banking accounted for 49%, 51%, and 0% of total profit before tax, respectively, and 40%, 58%, and 2% of total revenue in 2024.

UniCredit is one of the two largest Italian retail and commercial banks, but roughly a half of its operations is outside Italy. UniCredit has a strong presence in Germany, Austria, and Central and Eastern Europe. It generates most of its revenue from retail banking, but also maintains a sizable corporate and investment bank.

HDFC Bank Ltd is an Indian bank. It operates in the following segments: Treasury, Retail banking, Wholesale banking, and Other banking business. The maximum revenue for the company is generated from its Retail banking segment, which serves retail customers through its branch network and other channels. This segment raises customer deposits and provides loans and other services to customers using different product groups. Its other operations include providing wholesale banking services to corporates, government entities, and other enterprises, generating income from its treasury operations, and performing para-banking activities such as offering credit cards, debit cards, etc. Geographically, the company generates a majority of its revenue from its operations in India.

The merger of Banque Nationale de Paris and Paribas created BNP Paribas in 2000, making it the largest publicly traded bank in France. Although BNP Paribas has operations in about 80 countries, it considers France, Italy, and Belgium to be its home markets.

Capital One is a diversified financial services holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia. Originally a spinoff of Signet Financial’s credit card division in 1994, the company is now primarily involved in credit card lending, auto loans, and commercial lending. Following the acquisition of Discover in 2025, the firm also has a modest personal loan business, though credit card lending provides the majority of the bank's revenue.

Bank of Montreal is a diversified financial-services provider based in North America with over CAD 1.47 trillion in assets by the end of fiscal 2025. BMO operates four business segments: Canadian personal and commercial banking, US personal and commercial banking, wealth management, and capital markets. The bank's operations are primarily in Canada, with a material portion also in the US.

Intesa Sanpaolo is an Italian banking group resulting from the merger of Banca Intesa and Sanpaolo IMI in 2007. The Italian segment still accounts for by far the most of its earnings. Still, Intesa also has a growing international presence, focusing on some smaller countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Intesa has an enviable market position in the Italian savings market that it services through its private banking, asset management and life insurance operations, which accounts for around 25% of its revenue. While Intesa does have a sizable corporate banking business, it has limited exposure to securities trading and underwriting.

Mizuho Financial Group is roughly tied with megabank peer Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group for the status as Japan’s second-largest bank after Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. As of March 2024, Mizuho’s market share of domestic loans was 6.8%, compared with 7.2% for SMFG and 8.0% for MUFG. In Japan, Mizuho has more of a corporate focus than SMFG, which has a larger retail business. Its overseas weighting is slightly smaller than that of MUFG. Unlike its two Japanese megabank peers, which own foreign banks outright or hold noncontrolling stakes in local banks overseas, Mizuho expanded in recent years beyond its traditional Japanese borrowers, mainly through its core banking and securities units, focusing on the financing needs of global multinational corporations.

Al Rajhi Bank is an Islamic bank with a network of over 500 branches. Its segments include the Retail segment which includes accepting individual customer deposits, providing credit facilities, customer debit current accounts, fees from banking services, and remittance business; the Corporate segment which incorporates deposits of VIP, corporate customer deposits, credit facilities, and debit current accounts, Treasury segment through which it offers treasury services, Murabaha with SAMA and international Mutajara portfolio; and Investment services and brokerage and other that incorporates investments of individuals and corporate in mutual funds, local and international share trading services and investment portfolios.

The Bank of Nova Scotia is a global financial services provider with over CAD 1.46 trillion in assets as of the end of fiscal 2025. The bank has four major business segments: Canadian banking, international banking, global wealth management, and global banking and markets. It offers a range of advice, products, and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. The bank's international operations span numerous countries and are more concentrated in the Latin America region.

ICICI Bank Ltd provides banking services. The company's operating segments include Retail Banking; Wholesale Banking; Treasury, Life insurance, Other Banking Business, and Others. The company generates maximum revenue from the Retail Banking segment which includes exposures of the Bank, which satisfy the four qualifying criteria of a regulatory retail portfolio as stipulated by RBI guidelines on the Basel III framework as well as includes income from credit cards, debit cards, third party product distribution, and the associated costs. Geographical segments include Domestic operations and Foreign operations. The company generates the majority of its revenue from the domestic operations.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is Canada's fifth-largest bank with over CAD 1.1 trillion in assets at the end of fiscal 2025. It operates four business segments: Canadian retail and business banking, Canadian commercial banking and wealth management, US commercial banking and wealth management, and capital markets. It serves approximately 14 million personal banking and business customers, primarily in Canada and the US.

State Bank of India is a bank in India. The bank's business segments include Treasury; Corporate/Wholesale Banking; Retail Banking and Other Banking businesses. The bank generates maximum revenue from the Retail Banking segment. The Retail Banking Segment comprises retail branches, which include Personal Banking activities including lending activities to corporate customers having banking relations with these branches. This segment also includes the agency business and ATMs. Geographically, it derives a majority of its revenue from India, It also operates in Foreign Countries.

Bank of New York Mellon is a global investment company involved in managing and servicing financial assets throughout the investment lifecycle. The bank provides financial services for institutions, corporations, and individual investors, delivering investment management and services in 35 countries and more than 100 markets. BNY is the largest global custody bank in the world, with $59.3 trillion in under custody or administration (as of December 2025), and can act as a single point of contact for clients looking to create, trade, hold, manage, service, distribute, or restructure investments. BNY's asset-management division manages about $2.2 trillion in assets.

PNC Financial is one of the three super-regional banks in the US, with around $574 billion in total assets at the end of Dec. 30, 2025. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, PNC Financial has a coast-to-coast branch network, with a strong presence in the US Midwest and Northeast. It closed its acquisition of FirstBank in January 2026, which added around $26 billion in assets to its balance sheet, and PNC is currently expanding in the Southern and Western regions of the US. The bank provides a diversified set of financial services in retail banking, commercial banking, card and treasury management, asset management, and investment banking. PNC derived around 38% of revenue from fee income and 62% from net interest income in 2025.

CaixaBank SA is a Spanish bank that combines banking, insurance, and equity investment businesses. Its operations include retail banking, corporate banking, cash management, surplus management, and the allocation of income from financing the equity investment business. It consists of business segments of the Banking and insurance business, BPI, and Corporate center. The majority of its revenue comes from the Banking and insurance business. The company has a geographic presence in Spain, Portugal, America, the Rest of the European Union, and the Rest of the world. In which Spain generates the majority of its revenue.

With assets of around $695 billion, U.S. Bancorp is one of the largest regional banks in the US with its footprint in 26 states. The bank’s branch network is mostly in Midwestern and Western markets. U.S. Bancorp has a comprehensive product set, with offerings in retail and commercial banking, credit cards, mortgages, payment services, trust, wealth, and capital market services.

Itaú Unibanco is the largest privately held bank in Brazil, the result of the 2008 merger between Banco Itaú and Unibanco. In addition to Brazil, the bank has significant operations in Chile, Colombia, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay. Itaú's commercial and consumer loans account for 35% and 43% of the bank's total loans, respectively, while foreign loans account for 22% of its portfolio. The bank also operates the fifth-largest insurer in Brazil and is the second-largest asset manager in the country, giving it broad reach over the Brazilian financial system.

Barclays is a universal bank headquartered in the United Kingdom. It operates via five principal segments; Barclays UK (retail), UK corporate bank, private bank and wealth management, investment bank, and US consumer bank. In its UK segment, the bank provides current accounts, mortgages, savings and investment management services, credit cards, and business banking services to retail clients and small and medium-size enterprises. The US consumer bank includes a co-branded credit card and unsecured lending business. The investment bank offers global markets, financing, and advisory services.

The merger of the Dutch postal bank and NN Insurance in 1991 created ING. Through a series of further acquisitions, ING has built up a global footprint. The 2008 financial crisis forced ING to seek government support - a precondition of which was that ING should separate its banking and insurance activities, which saw ING revert to being solely a bank. ING has market-leading banking operations in the Netherlands and Belgium, and a range of digital banks across Europe and Australia. Its global wholesale banking operation is primarily focused on lending.

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. is the longest-established Singapore bank, founded by the merger of three local banks in 1932. OCBC's operations include consumer banking, wealth management and private banking (in part through its Bank of Singapore subsidiary), small to medium-size enterprise and business banking, corporate and institutional banking, and insurance through majority-owned Great Eastern Holdings.

Postal Savings Bank of China Co Ltd is headquartered in Beijing. The bank provides personal and corporate banking services that include savings business, micro loan, bank cards, settlement businesses, and others.

Lloyds is a retail and commercial bank headquartered in the United Kingdom. The bank operates via three business segments: retail, commercial banking, and insurance and wealth. In retail, Lloyds offers primarily mortgages (66% of loan portfolio), credit cards, and current accounts to its customers. Its commercial banking operation provides lending, transaction banking, working capital management, and debt capital market services to large companies and financial institutions in the UK. Insurance and wealth round out the product lineup with life and property insurance as well as pension solutions and high-net-worth asset management services.

Westpac is Australia's oldest bank and financial services group, with a significant franchise in Australia and New Zealand in the consumer, small business, corporate, and institutional sectors, in addition to its major presence in wealth management. Westpac is among a handful of banks around the globe currently retaining very high credit ratings. The bank benefits from a large national branch network and significant market share, particularly in home loans and retail deposits.

Bank of Communications, or Bocom, is the only nationwide state-owned bank with its headquarters in Shanghai. As one of China's four oldest banks, Bocom became China's first state-owned shareholding commercial bank in 1987. Today, Bocom is amid a strategic transformation, building itself into a global wealth-management bank with wide-ranging financial operations, including insurance, brokerage, trust, and asset management.It operates a comprehensive financial services platform that includes corporate finance, personal finance, and money market operations. Bocom is known for its strategic importance in the process of RMB internationalization, particularly with its role as one of the first banks involved in the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System, or CIPS.

National Australia Bank is the most business-focused of the four major banks, holding the largest share of business loans and the number-three spot in home loans. National Australia Bank is currently the second-largest bank by market capitalization, with the franchise covering consumer, small business, corporate, and institutional sectors. Under the UBank brand the bank also owns one of Australia’s largest digital-only banks. Offshore operations in New Zealand round out the group.

ANZ Group is the owner of one of Australia's four major banks and provides retail, business, and institutional banking services to customers in Australia, New Zealand, and Asia-Pacific. The super-regional Asian strategy was de-emphasized, with management focusing on the higher-returning businesses in Australia and New Zealand. ANZ Bank still retains a tilt to its Asia-centric strategy, but is now more balanced, better capitalized and a simpler bank.

NatWest Group derives around 90% of its total income from the United Kingdom. The bank operates a retail, commercial, and private bank in the UK, offering clients lending and payment services as well as asset management services.

Japan Post Bank Co Ltd is the successor of the postal-savings system dating to the Meiji era. It was partially privatized in 2015, when the government sold to the public an 11% stake in parent company Japan Post Holdings, which in turn sold 11% stakes in Japan Post Bank and Japan Post Insurance to the public. Japan Post Bank is now 64% owned by Japan Post Holdings, which is majority owned by the government. The law requires Japan Post Holdings to divest itself of Japan Post Bank eventually. Japan Post Bank has 235 direct branches and also accepts deposits and sells investment products at more than 24,000 post offices across the country through a sales-agency agreement with Japan Post (an unlisted subsidiary of Japan Post Holdings).

Macquarie Group began trading in 1969 as Hill Samuel Australia, obtained its bank licence in 1985, and listed in 1996. It's Australia's only sizable listed investment bank, now internationally diversified, operating in asset management, banking and wealth, risk and capital solutions, and advisory.