The main competitors of Bank of America Corporation (BAC) are the other three “big four” U.S. banks. Besides BAC, the other four large banks are JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC), and Citigroup (C).
The largest of the “big four” U.S. banks is JPMorgan Chase (JPM), with reported assets of $3.51 trillion and total deposits of $2.01 trillion. Bank of America (BAC) is second, with $2.55 trillion in assets and $1.90 trillion in deposits. Wells Fargo is third, with $1.72 trillion in assets and $1.40 trillion in deposits, and Citigroup is fourth, with $1.68 trillion in assets and about $739 billion in deposits as of June 30, 2024.
Bank of America: An Overview
Bank of America Corporation is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The original Bank of America was founded in San Francisco by an Italian immigrant following the great earthquake of 1906. Originally called the Bank of Italy in San Francisco, it changed its name to Bank of America in 1930. The modern Bank of America Corporation was born when Nations Bank acquired BankAmerica (as it was known at the time) in the largest bank acquisition in history at the time. Bank of America built upon its wealth management and investment banking businesses by acquiring Merrill Lynch in 2008. Including its Merrill Lynch and U.S. Trust wealth management units, Bank of America is a top ten provider of wealth management services worldwide.
In 2024, Forbes ranked Bank of America as the fifth-largest corporation in the world. Bank of America was also recognized as the fifth most valuable bank brand in a Brand Finance study of 500 global banks.
Bank of America operates nationwide in the U.S. and its territories and in more than 35 countries, serving 69 million consumer and business clients worldwide.
Bank of America’s 2023 annual diluted earnings per share (EPS) was $3.08—a 4% decline from 2022. Bank of America’s market capitalization was $330.91 billion as of October 29, 2024. Bank of America’s return on assets (ROA) was 0.84%, and its return on equity (ROE) was 9.39% as of June 2024. Its net profit margin was 23.97% as of October 2024. Its price-to-book ratio (P/B ratio) was 1.20 as of October 29, 2024.
JPMorgan Chase & Company
JPMorgan Chase & Company, headquartered in New York City, was established through a merger between J.P. Morgan Bank and Chase Manhattan Bank in 2000. JPMorgan Chase is the result of a series of mergers and acquisitions, including acquisitions of Bear Stearns, Bank One, and Washington Mutual. It is the largest American bank by total assets.
In 2021, Forbes ranked JPMorgan Chase as the third-largest corporation in the world.
JPMorgan Chase provides a vast array of commercial and investment banking services in more than 100 countries, operating dozens of business lines through four primary divisions:
- Consumer and community banking (CCB)
- Commercial banking (CB)
- Corporate and investment banking (CIB)
- Asset management (AM)
JPMorgan Chase’s 2020 annual earnings per share (EPS) was $8.88—a 17.16% decline from 2019. JP Morgan Chase’s market capitalization was $466.50 billion as of July 26, 2021. Its return on assets ratio (ROA) was 1.32%, and its return on equity ratio (ROE) was 16.49% as of June 30, 2021. Its net profit margin is 36.37% as of June 30, 2021. Its price-to-book ratio (P/B ratio) is 1.63 as of Aug. 4, 2021.
Wells Fargo & Company
Wells Fargo & Company, headquartered in San Francisco, was founded in 1852 by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo. The most important Wells Fargo acquisitions include First Interstate Bancorp, Norwest Financial, and Wachovia Bank. As of March 31, 2021, Wells Fargo ranks as the third-largest bank in America by assets.
In 2021, Wells Fargo was recognized as the world’s seventh most valuable bank brand name (first in the U.S.) in a Brand Finance study of more than 500 banks. In 2021, Forbes ranked Wells Fargo as the nineteenth-largest corporation in the world.
Wells Fargo offers a wide range of banking and financial services through its more than 7,400 locations and its operations in 31 countries and territories.
Wells Fargo’s 2020 annual earnings per share (EPS) was $0.41—a decline of 89.88% from 2019. Its market capitalization was $189.48 billion as of July 26, 2021. Its return-on-assets ratio (ROA) was 0.82%, and its return-on-equity ratio (ROE) was 8.51% as of June 30, 2021. Its net profit margin was 20.06% as of June 30, 2021. Its price-to-book ratio (P/B ratio) was 0.98 as of July 4, 2021.
Citigroup Inc.
Citigroup Inc., headquartered in New York, was formed in 1998 through the merger of Citicorp Bank and Travelers Group, creating what was the world’s largest financial services corporation at the time.
In 2021, Forbes ranked Citigroup as the sixteenth-largest corporation in the world. Its operations span more than 100 countries with the largest international presence of any of the “Big Four” banks.
Citigroup’s 2020 annual earnings per share (EPS) was $4.72, a decline of 41.29% from 2019. Its market capitalization was $140.78 billion as of July 26, 2021. Its return-on-assets ratio (ROA) was 0.89%, and its return-on-equity ratio (ROE) was 10.21% as of June 30, 2021. Its net profit margin was 25.35% as of June 30, 2021. Its price-to-book ratio (P/B ratio) was 0.70 as of Aug. 4, 2021.
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