Palmetto State Bank has earned a five-star rating from BauerFinancial Inc., a national bank-rating and research firm.

To earn the top rating, the bank excelled in several areas, including capital, asset quality and profitability, according to a news release.

It has earned the rating for the past 78 quarters and is now designated as a "sustained superiority bank" by the firm. Only 9 percent of the nation's banks have the distinction, the release said.