Northern Bancorp Inc., parent company of Northern Bank & Trust Co. in Woburn, has been recognized as one of the country’s best-performing community banks in 2010, according to SNL Financial.

Northern Bancorp was ranked third among 764 eligible bank holding companies in the nation with assets between $500 million and $5 billion and fewer than 60 offices. Weststar Bank Holding Co Inc. of Texas and Independence Bancshares Inc. of Kentucky came in first and second.
The only other Massachusetts bank on this list was Cambridge Bancorp, which ranked 21st.

"We are honored to receive this recognition, and consider it a testament to the hard work and dedication of our board of directors, senior management and staff," said James J. Mawn, president and CEO of Northern Bank & Trust Co.

Criteria for the SNL Financial ratings included performance in areas such as asset quality, earnings growth, and loan and deposit mix. Ranking metrics included return on average tangible assets before tax, net charge-offs as a percent of average loans, adjusted nonperforming loans as a percent of total loans, operating expenses as a percent of operating revenue, net interest margin and loan growth.