Tuesday, October 18, 2011

BofA loses billing as country's biggest bank

Bank of America is no longer America's biggest bank.

As the company continues to sell off pieces of its business, the bank's total assets have fallen. With today's quarterly earnings report, the figure fell below that of JP Morgan Chase.

BofA now has $2.22 trillion in total assets. JPM, which increased its total assets in the third quarter, is at $2.29 trillion.

Wikipedia was quick to jump on the news. Here's a screenshot from early this morning (click to enlarge):

And here's one from later in the morning:


What do you think about the change? Has Charlotte lost a point of pride? Do the numbers not really matter?

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Has Charlotte lost a point of pride?"

Are you serious?

Our pride was damaged in 2008 and has struggled to recover.

No one's bragging about the biggest bank any longer.

Besides, Bank of America is barely headquartered here, anyway.

Anonymous said...

This is actually a GOOD thing for BofA as it was their goal all along. Perhaps more anger can be geared towards JP Morgan now.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I will take smaller and more profitable anyday. Stock up 8% today.

Andrew Dunn said...

Thanks so much for your comments. Anonymous 1: Fair point. Anonymous 2: You're right. The bank has been actively unloading assets. Anonymous 3: You're likely not alone.

Anonymous said...

Good. Sometimes being #1 is not the best thing. In this industry, being a strong 2,3,4 allows much leverage. Ken Lewis was on that good stuff when he wanted to be number 1 in everything. Somebody should have gone back to school and revisited how to properly conduct due diligence. Ken Thompson should be in that boat too.

Anonymous said...

good post, 6:27

Anonymous said...

I believe that market capitalization is more relevant than total assets as a measure of relevance. It is a market based estimate of the present value of an enterprise that is not easily manipulated by accountants.

Wells Fargo has the largest market cap of any domestic bank at $137B. Next is JPM at $128B, Citigroup at $87B, and, lastly, BAC at $67B.

Anonymous said...

Being a former Wachovia employee, I'm proud to have moved from Charlotte to join a bank that focuses on clients...PNC. I will soon be back since they now have a footprint in North Carolina with the PNC buying out RBC Bank. Looking how they operate, it's nothing like Wachovia and BofA. As a Financial Advisor, I welcome all the new clients leaving the big banks and bringing all their assets to a bank that brings clients first and not who can build the most towers over extend themselves. Just wait NC/SC...you will be seeing more of PNC.

John said...

Anonymous 8:14...

Spoken like someone who was likely laid off!

Some of us are still in there fighting for the legacy!

Anonymous said...

Well, 8:14, as a financial advisor, you're in sales.

Please tell us why being at PNC makes you a better salesperson, with a more robust client list, with more money for yourself.

As John said, it sounds like youjust got laid off at Wachovia. Not in the top tier.

Meanwhile:

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/10/18/goldman-loss-offers-a-bad-omen-for-wall-street/?hp