CCFRCullen/Frost Bankers, Inc.

Cullen/Frost operates only in Texas and has refused for decades to go beyond it.

Refusing geographic expansion is a deliberate stance: the bank knows its borrowers personally, works with family businesses across generations and therefore comes through crises with smaller losses than the sector average. Its deposit base is unusually cheap — many current accounts that pay no interest.

That makes the bank a bigger winner from high rates than most: income on balances rises while funding costs barely do. The flip side is that the advantage melts when rates fall. Growth comes from opening branches in Texas cities rather than buying banks. Risks: the state economy, commercial real estate and falling rates. The dividend has been raised for many consecutive years.