There are some healthy banks out there, we just don't hear about them these days. The best bank in the country? According to Forbes, its Bank of Hawaii in Honolulu. Forbes, with SNL Financial of Charlottesville, Va., made its decision based on eight metrics: Return on average equity, net interest margin, nonperforming loans as a percentage of loans, nonperforming assets as percentage of assets, reserves as a percentage of nonperforming loans, two capital ratios (Tier 1 and risk-based) and leverage ratio.

The bank credits its "boring" strategy. It is very conservative in its underwriting; nonperforming loans were only 1.2 percent of total loans in the latest quarter, eighth best among the 100 largest banks. It's reserves are quite high. The bank also sets aside 90 percent of earnings to pay dividends and fund share buybacks; it has stuck with its 45 cent quarterly dividend through the financial crisis. It never accepted TARP funds, by the way. It's nice for well-managed banks to receive this kind of recognition. 

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