As of March 2024, JPMorgan Chase Bank was the largest bank in the United States by the number of branches, with 5,110 branches nationwide. It was followed by Wells Fargo Bank, which operated 4,349 branches, and Bank of America, with 3,975 branches. For context, Wells Fargo had approximately three times the number of branches as Lloyds Bank, the leading British bank by branch count. Is the U.S. banking sector stable? The stability of the U.S. banking sector has improved steadily since the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. The share of non-performing loans held by U.S. banks has consistently decreased over time. As of the first quarter of 2024, all four of the largest U.S. banks—Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup—maintained a Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio well above the Basel-III minimum requirement of 4.5 percent. The CET1 capital ratio, which measures a bank’s core capital against its risk-weighted assets, is a key indicator of a bank's financial strength and resilience. Digital banking in the U.S. With the rise of digital services, many traditional banking functions can now be performed online, reducing the need for a physical presence. Since 2009, the number of bank branches in the United States has steadily declined as consumers increasingly rely on digital banking solutions. This trend accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, with more Americans turning to online banking for convenience and cost-effectiveness.

The “big four banks” in the United States are JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citibank. These banks are not only the largest in the United States, but also rank among the top banks worldwide by market capitalization, with JPMorgan Chase being the most valuable bank in the world. Total assets of banks As the largest bank in the United States, JPMorgan Chase had total assets worth over 3.5 trillion U.S. dollars as of September 2024. Despite being the bank with the highest market capitalization in the world, the bank ranked only fifth in terms of total assets worldwide, while the top four positions were all held by Chinese banks. Stability in the banking sector in the United States In the second quarter of 2024, all of the "big four" banks in the United States maintained a common equity tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio significantly above the required minimum of 4.5 percent. JPMorgan Chase reported a CET1 ratio of 15.33 percent. Meanwhile, the highest CET1 ratio among U.S. banks during this period was 16.77 percent, achieved by TD Bank, the tenth-largest bank in the country in 2024.

JPMorgan Chase was the leading bank in the United States as of December 2023, with its market share of total assets amounting to 8.56 percent. This means that the value of assets of JPMorgan Chase was equivalent to 8.56 percent of the total value of assets of all FDIC-insured institutions in the United States. Bank of America and Wells Fargo followed, with 6.4 and 4.37 percent of the total banking assets, respectively. The value of JPMorgan Chase's total assets exceeded 3.3 trillion U.S. dollars in 2023. JPMorgan Chase: an industry leader in U.S. banking JPMorgan Chase is undoubtedly one of the leading financial services companies in the United States. It does not only rank first in terms of market share of total assets, but it also has the largest market capitalization and value of total and domestic deposits. The New York-based banking giant is also among the largest banks globally. In terms of assets, JPMorgan Chased ranked fifth in 2022, with only four Chinese banks having had higher amounts of assets. Bank failures in the U.S. The failures of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank in March 2023 marked the first bank failures in the U.S. since 2021. The total assets lost in the failure of these two banks amounted to 319.4 billion U.S. dollars. In comparison, the total assets of the 371 U.S. bank failures between 2010 and 2022 amounted to 168 billion U.S. dollars. Both SVB and Signature Bank had a disproportionately low share of deposits of less than 250,000 U.S. dollars in the fourth quarter of 2022 (2.7 percent and 6.2 percent, respectively), which meant that the majority of deposits held at these banks were not secured by the FDIC.

In 2023, JPMorgan Chase was the commercial bank with the highest revenue in the United States, with a total revenue of over 158 billion U.S. dollars. Bank of America and Wells Fargo followed, with 95.6 and 82.6 billion U.S. dollars, respectively. These three banks were also the largest banks in terms of total assets in the United States that year. Commercial banking A commercial bank is a bank that offers financial services to private customers and companies, such as accepting deposits, checking services or loans. Commercial banks earn money through interest rates on the loans that they offer. Such rates are significantly higher than the interest rates paid to the bank customers for depositing their assets in a bank. This difference in rates is called net interest income, which is one of the leading indicators of bank performance. Commercial vs investment banks Some banks specialize only in commercial or investment banking, while some banks combine both divisions in their operations. Investment banks specialize in managing assets of their clients, underwriting securities or supervising merger and acquisition transactions.

JPMorgan Chase dominated the U.S. banking landscape in 2023, reporting a net income of 47.5 billion U.S. dollars, almost 20 billion more than Bank of America, which ranked second. Wells Fargo ranked third, with a net income of roughly 22 billion U.S. dollars. These three banks were also the largest banks based on total assets. The substantial lead held by JPMorgan Chase underscores its position as the financial powerhouse among American banks, reflecting its robust performance across various banking sectors. Market capitalization and global standing JPMorgan Chase's financial prowess extends beyond net income. With a market capitalization of 491.76 billion U.S. dollars as of December 31, 2023, it stood as the most valuable bank in the United States. Its massive market capitalization also made it the largest bank globally, with Bank of America following from a distance. This impressive valuation, coupled with its substantial net income, cements JPMorgan Chase's status as a financial titan. Asset base of JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase's leadership is also evident in its asset base. The bank held 8.56 percent of total banking assets in the United States as of December 2023, surpassing Bank of America and Wells Fargo. This substantial market share translated to over 3.9 trillion U.S. dollars in total assets.

As of January 14, 2025, the market capitalization of JPMorgan Chase amounted to 688.68 billion U.S. dollars, making it the largest bank in the United States. By this measure, the second-largest bank was Bank of America, followed by Wells Fargo. JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America were also the two largest banks in the world by market capitalization. What is market capitalization? Market capitalization, or stock market value, is the total value of shares issued by a publicly traded company. It reflects the equity value of a company. Market cap is calculated by multiplying the market price of one share by the number of shares outstanding. For example, the market cap of Bank of America can be calculated by multiplying its share price by the number of shares it has issued. Other measures of company size Total assets also allow to determine the size of a bank. Instead of focusing on the stock price, this metric measures the size of the bank’s operations by counting the size of its balance sheet. Bank revenue and income are also common indicators used to compare banks and their performance.

As of September 2024, JPMorgan Chase Bank led U.S. financial institutions with the highest Tier 1 capital, a key measure of a bank's financial strength. Tier 1 capital, comprising core capital including equity and disclosed reserves, is a crucial indicator of a bank's ability to absorb potential losses. JPMorgan Chase's Tier 1 capital surpassed 278 billion U.S. dollars in the third quarter of 2024, cementing its position as the most well-capitalized bank in the United States. Additionally, the banking giant boasted the highest Tier 1 capital ratio among its American peers, further underscoring its robust financial health. What is the Tier 1 capital ratio? The Tier 1 capital ratio is a critical metric for assessing a bank's resilience to financial stress. It's calculated by dividing a bank's core capital by its total risk-weighted assets, with regulatory requirements mandating a minimum ratio of six percent. As of 2023, the largest U.S. banks significantly exceeded this threshold. JPMorgan Chase led with a ratio of 16.6 percent, closely followed by Citibank at 15.02 percent, while Bank of America maintained a strong position at 13.5 percent. These ratios demonstrate the robust capital positions of major American financial institutions, indicating their strong capacity to withstand potential economic downturns or financial shocks. The leading banks in the U.S. The U.S. banking sector is dominated by four major institutions, commonly known as "the big four": JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup. JPMorgan Chase stands out as the leader among these financial giants. It holds the top position across several key metrics, including market capitalization, total assets, investment banking revenue, and net income. This comprehensive leadership underscores JPMorgan Chase's dominant role in the American financial landscape and its significant influence on the global banking industry.

In the third quarter of 2024, TD Bank's U.S. operations, a subsidiary of the Canadian Toronto-Dominion Bank, maintained the highest common equity tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio among major U.S. banks, as ranked by total assets. With a CET1 ratio of 16.74 percent, TD Bank far exceeded the regulatory minimum of 4.5 percent. JPMorgan Chase, the largest U.S. bank, ranked second, with a CET1 ratio of 15.31 percent during the same period. What is CET1 capital ratio? The Basel III framework, established by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, sets international standards for bank capital requirements to ensure global banking sector stability. These measures, developed in response to the 2007-2009 financial crisis, mandate that banks maintain sufficient capital to cover unexpected losses and remain solvent during crises. Under Basel III, the total capital requirement is set at a minimum of eight percent of risk-weighted assets, with Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1), the highest quality capital, required to comprise at least 4.5 percent of risk-weighted assets. In 2024, JPMorgan Chase had the highest level of Tier 1 capital among all banks in the United States in 2024. Worldwide Tier 1 capital levels of banks While JPMorgan Chase maintained the highest Tier 1 capital level among U.S. banks, it ranked fifth globally in this metric. Four Chinese banks surpassed it: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, and Bank of China. Among these, ICBC stood out as the world leader in Tier 1 capital in 2023.

The number of employees of JPMorgan Chase worldwide increased overall between 2008 and 2023, despite some fluctuations. The number of JPMorgan Chase employees amounted to almost 310 thousand in 2023. JPMorgan Chase – additional information JPMorgan Chase, along with Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Citigroup, is one of the leading banks in the United States. Headquartered in New York, JPMorgan Chase ranked fifth among the largest banks worldwide in terms of total assets in 2023. JPMorgan Chase was also the largest banks in the world with regards to market capitalization. As of December 2023, the company's market cap amounted to approximately 492 billion U.S. dollars. The number of JP Morgan Chase employees has increased since 2016, when the bank employed 234,335 people. In 2023, the bank had just over 309 thousand employees. Along with Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase is one of the largest U.S. employers in the banking sector.