Which banks are lending on multifamily and commercial real estate in North Dakota?
Reviewed by Dominick Prevete, Founder, Blue Sky Capital Advisors
LinkedInBlue Sky Capital Advisors LLC, NJ entity ID 0450507578 (verify on the NJ business search)
60 FDIC-insured banks headquartered in North Dakota with under $100 billion in assets held $3.6 billion of multifamily loans and $13.3 billion of commercial real estate loans at June 30, 2026, in Dominick Prevete's analysis of FDIC Call Report data for Blue Sky Capital Advisors, a commercial mortgage advisor. The two largest multifamily books are at Bell Bank and Alerus Financial, N.A.. 0.0% of the state's bank CRE sits at banks at or above the 300% monitoring level, tied at rank 39 of 43 states.
Data as of June 30, 2026 (Q2 2026 FDIC Call Reports) · Retrieved October 12, 2026MethodologyDownload the North Dakota data (CSV)
North Dakota bank CRE at a glance
| Measure | North Dakota | U.S. | Rank of 43 |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDIC-insured banks | 60 | 4,281 | 25 |
| Multifamily loans | $3.6B | $405.2B | 27 |
| Total CRE loans | $13.3B | $1,600.5B | 36 |
| Multifamily growth, year over year | +8.5% | +3.5% | 17 |
| CRE growth, year over year | +4.1% | +3.4% | 21 |
| Share of CRE at banks at or above 300% | 0.0% | 25.0% | 39 (tied) |
| Share of CRE at banks at or above 200% | 70.5% | 71.0% | 21 |
| Banks growing multifamily | 10 of 14 (71.4%) | 670 of 1,066 (62.9%) | 9 |
CRE is construction, multifamily and non-owner-occupied commercial real estate loans. Growth is like for like: North Dakota banks that filed at both dates with no merger in the year. "Banks growing multifamily": of the 14 such North Dakota banks with a multifamily book of $25 million or more a year earlier, the 10 whose book is larger now; the rank orders that share.
What stands out in North Dakota
0.0% of North Dakota's bank CRE sits at banks at or above the 300% monitoring level, tied for the lowest of the 43 ranked states (U.S.: 25.0%).
Less of this state's bank CRE sits at banks near their concentration limits, so concentration is less likely to be why a bank here says no.
Like for like, North Dakota's banks' multifamily books grew 8.5% in the year to June 30, 2026, ranking 17th highest of the 43 ranked states (U.S.: +3.5%).
Banks here added multifamily loans faster than banks nationally, so a local bank is more likely to have room for a new apartment loan.
Which North Dakota banks are growing multifamily?
| # | Bank | City | Multifamily loans | Multifamily, year over year | CRE concentration (% of capital) | CRE, 36 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BELL BANK | FARGO | $1.3B | +11.6% | 270.4% | +2.4% |
| 2 | ALERUS FINANCIAL NA | GRAND FORKS | $361.9M | +8.6% | 259.7% | +65.6%† |
| 3 | FIRST INTERNATIONAL B&T | WATFORD CITY | $359.9M | −1.8% | 273.4% | +8.6% |
| 4 | CHOICE FINANCIAL GROUP | FARGO | $271.0M | +1.4% | 164.5% | +39.1% |
| 5 | WESTERN STATE BANK | DEVILS LAKE | $151.1M | −11.1% | 144.2% | +9.3% |
| 6 | BANK FORWARD | FARGO | $145.8M | +25.4% | 241.7% | +12.4% |
| 7 | STARION BANK | BISMARCK | $144.3M | +29.7% | 210.0% | +13.1% |
| 8 | FIRST WESTERN BANK&TRUST | MINOT | $139.6M | +18.0% | 223.8% | +11.7%† |
| 9 | CORNERSTONE BANK | FARGO | $123.8M | +5.4% | 178.5% | +10.8% |
| 10 | GATE CITY BANK | FARGO | $114.5M | −1.7% | 96.6% | +95.1% |
| 11 | BRAVERA BANK | DICKINSON | $106.0M | +13.9%‡ | 136.1% | +105.8%† |
| 12 | AMERICAN FEDERAL BANK | FARGO | $101.9M | −0.8% | 212.8% | +19.4% |
| 13 | BORDER BANK | FARGO | $73.8M | +10.4% | 225.4% | +25.0% |
| 14 | KODABANK | DRAYTON | $49.9M | +15.6% | 147.8% | +80.4% |
| 15 | UNITED VALLEY BANK | CAVALIER | $45.0M | +48.9% | 153.2% | +61.7% |
| 16 | FIRST STATE BANK | BUXTON | $19.8M | +11.6% | 233.4% | +23.5% |
| 17 | FIRST UNITED BANK | PARK RIVER | $19.3M | −21.7%‡ | 113.2% | +50.7%† |
| 18 | DAKOTA COMMUNITY B&T NA | HEBRON | $18.2M | +145.6% | 104.6% | +44.7% |
| 19 | UNISON BANK | JAMESTOWN | $16.0M | +4.8% | 261.3% | +21.2% |
| 20 | SECURITY FIRST BANK OF ND | NEW SALEM | $14.1M | +11.6% | 135.2% | +4.5% |
| 21 | AMERICAN ST B&T CO WILLISTON | WILLISTON | $13.5M | −25.7% | 53.3% | −28.6% |
| 22 | FIRST STATE BANK&TRUST | WILLISTON | $5.6M | +148.4% | 64.4% | +83.2% |
| 23 | UNION STATE BANK OF HAZEN | HAZEN | $5.5M | +197.4% | 77.1% | +274.0% |
| 24 | KIRKWOOD BANK&TRUST CO | BISMARCK | $4.9M | −25.9% | 152.1% | −2.6% |
| 25 | UNION BANK | BEULAH | $4.1M | +399.9% | 16.8% | +397.6% |
‡ / † 4 of these 25 North Dakota banks absorbed another institution inside the year-over-year / 36-month window (FDIC structure history), so their change reflects a merger, not solely new lending. Names as filed in the FDIC financial data; city is the headquarters. Shading: 300% and over, and 200%–299%.
Banks with $100 billion or more in assets are left out of this table and the state ranks, as on the national page: the largest banks' balance sheets are national. None is headquartered in North Dakota.
This list is FDIC Call Report data, not a list of Blue Sky's lender relationships, and it isn't a ranking or endorsement. How Blue Sky gets paid →
Download every North Dakota bank (CSV)Every state, and the national picture →
What this means if you're a borrower in North Dakota
Concentration is less likely to stand in the way at a North Dakota bank, so the conversation turns on the property, the sponsor and whether the bank wants a loan of your size.
Banks that are adding multifamily loans tend to compete for them, so it is worth asking more than one North Dakota bank before taking the first terms you see.
Dominick Prevete of Blue Sky Capital Advisors arranges multifamily and commercial financing for North Dakota properties with banks and other lenders, and is paid at closing (how Blue Sky gets paid). Call (908) 220-6404 or request a consultation.
Sources
- FFIEC Central Data Repository: public Call Reports as of June 30, 2026 — Every bank figure on this page: each bank's loans, capital, concentration and growth, from its Call Report as of June 30, 2026 (retrieved October 12, 2026).
- FDIC BankFind Suite: bank lookup — The banks named in the table: look up any North Dakota bank by name or FDIC certificate number to confirm its headquarters and status.
- North Dakota banks, bank by bank (CSV) — The 60 banks headquartered in North Dakota, as filed: the rows behind the tables and every state figure here.
- Methodology, sources and limitations — How CRE concentration, like-for-like growth and the ranks among the 43 states are computed.
North Dakota bank CRE: common questions
Which banks in North Dakota hold the most multifamily loans?+
Among banks headquartered in North Dakota with under $100 billion in assets, Bell Bank ($1.3 billion), Alerus Financial, N.A. ($361.9 million) and First International B&T ($359.9 million) held the largest multifamily books at June 30, 2026, according to FDIC Call Report data. The table on this page lists the 25 largest, with each bank's change over the year.
Are North Dakota banks still growing multifamily?+
Like for like, North Dakota's banks grew 8.5% their multifamily books in the year to June 30, 2026, against +3.5% for U.S. banks under $100 billion. 10 of the 14 North Dakota banks with a multifamily book of $25 million or more a year earlier grew it. Like for like means banks that filed at both dates with no merger in the year.
How concentrated is North Dakota bank CRE?+
0.0% of the CRE held by North Dakota's banks under $100 billion sits at banks at or above 300% of capital, the 2006 interagency monitoring level: tied at rank 39 of 43 states, against 25.0% nationally. 70.5% sits at banks at or above 200%. These are monitoring levels, not limits, and a bank above one is not in violation of anything.
Why don't national banks appear in this list?+
Banks with $100 billion or more in assets are left out of this page's tables and ranks, as on the national page: the largest banks' balance sheets are national, so their headquarters state says little about where they lend. None is headquartered in North Dakota. Every bank here is listed by headquarters state, not by where its loans are.
How often is this updated?+
Every quarter, after banks file their Call Reports. This North Dakota page reflects the 60 North Dakota banks' June 30, 2026 (Q2 2026) filings, retrieved October 12, 2026; Q3 2026 data is expected in December 2026.
What this table is not. Concentration ratios are computed from each North Dakota bank's own public regulatory filings and describe portfolio composition relative to capital — nothing here is a statement about any institution's safety, soundness, or condition, and exceeding a supervisory monitoring criterion is neither a violation nor a supervisory finding. Blue Sky Capital Advisors is a commercial mortgage advisory firm, not a bank rating agency.