Colonial Bank, FSB

Colonial Bank, FSB carries the feel of a conservative savings institution, the kind people usually associate with deposits, mortgages, and local banking habits. By our assessment, that makes it a sensible but limited option: clear on the basics, less ambitious than a full commercial bank. Its strength is the narrow focus, because a bank like this can stay rooted in plain savings-and-loan work. The downside is that narrow focus also keeps the offer modest, especially beside larger banks with broader product lines. In practice it likely feels orderly, traditional, and a bit old-school in its rhythm. Colonial Bank, FSB belongs to the thrift-and-local-lending side of banking, and it leaves the flashy stuff to others.