Wells Fargo becomes world's biggest bank, Wall Street Journal says

Wells Fargo is the world's top bank by market capitalization, surpassing Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., The Wall Street Journal has reported.

On Tuesday, the newspaper reported that San Francisco-based Wells Fargo accomplished the feat June 26. ICBC gained the top spot on the eve of the financial crisis, overthrowing Citigroup, the newspaper reported.

Here's an excerpt from the story:

"The subsequent near collapse of many large Western banks, including Citigroup, only added to the sense among many observers that banks in the U.S. and other slower-rising, rich nations had become riskier than those in poorer but fast-expanding China. 

But reduced expectations for China's economic growth and a cash crunch that hammered the nation's financial sector this spring -- along with signs that the U.S. economy is recovering and the end of ultralow interest rates may be in the offing -- have shifted those perceptions again."

According to the Journal, a long-awaited rally in U.S. bank shares has boosted the value of companies like Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Wells Fargo shares hit a 52-week high of $44.48 Monday. Bank of America shares hit a 52-week high of $15.03 Tuesday.