It was a strong month for most banks in July, as the industry stabilized with predominantly solid earnings reports after a tumultuous first quarter. Three of the biggest gainers were Comerica (NYSE: CMA), Valley National Bancorp (NASDAQ: VLY), and Eagle Bancorp (NASDAQ: EGBN). Comerica was up 27% in July, while Valley National jumped 32% and Eagle rose 31%, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

All three of these bank stocks beat the S 500, which was up 3.2% in July. They also topped the Dow Jones Industrial Average (up 3.4%), and the Nasdaq Composite (up 4.1%) last month.

Two of these banks -- Comerica and Valley National -- are larger, regional banks, so let's take a look at them first. Comerica, based in Dallas, has about $91 billion in total assets, making it the 33rd largest U.S. bank. Valley National, based in New York, has roughly $62 billion in assets and is 39th largest in the country. Comerica beat earnings and revenue estimates, while Valley National fell short of them, but both saw  improvements that pleased investors.

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Source Fool.com