Triad banks are blossoming.

• Position: Triad

Charlotte may be the banking capital of the state, but the Triad has two of the top-performing financial institutions, according to the N.C. commissioner of banks' 2011 annual report. As expected, Winston-Salem-based BB&T Corp. was the most profitable state-chartered bank last year, earning more than $1 billion, More surprising was that two of the five fastest-growing institutions were Premier Commercial Bank and VantageSouth Bank, community banks based in the Triad that experienced asset growth of more than 30%.

Burlington-based VantageSouth owes its increase to being acquired by Raleigh-based Piedmont Community Bank Holdings Inc. in 2010. The deal injected $8 million into VantageSouth, more than doubling its capital. "We were in a position to lend money in Alamance County," CEO Steven Jones says. "In today's environment, a lot of community banks are having a problem with their capital position." Premier Commercial in Greensboro wasn't one of those banks. It was founded in 2008, which means it was never bogged down by the real-estate loans that hurt so many of its peers. "Being fortunate with timing and luck is a great thing," CEO Frank Gavigan says. "Nobody ought to turn their nose up at that."

Both were part of a rebounding banking market in North Carolina, says the annual...