Who Are Bank of America’s Main Competitors?

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 2024, Forbes ranked JPMorgan Chase as the largest corporation in the world.

JPMorgan Chase provides a vast array of commercial and investment banking services in more than 100 countries. It operates dozens of business lines through four primary divisions:

1. Consumer and community banking (CCB)
2. Commercial banking (CB)
3. Corporate and investment banking (CIB)
4. Asset management (AM)

JPMorgan Chase’s 2023 annual earnings per share (EPS) was $16.78—a 38.45% increase from 2022. JP Morgan Chase’s market capitalization was $629.47 billion as of October 29, 2024. Its return on assets ratio (ROA) was 1.76%, and its return on equity ratio (ROE) was 21.44% as of June 2024. Its net profit margin is 31.02% as of October 29, 2024. Its price-to-book ratio (P/B ratio) is 1.94 as of October 29, 2024.

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 June 30, 2024, Wells Fargo ranks as the third-largest bank in America by assets.

In 2024, Wells Fargo was recognized as the world’s sixth most valuable bank brand name in banking (second in the U.S.) in a Brand Finance study of 500 banks. In 2024, Forbes ranked Wells Fargo as the sixteenth-largest corporation in the world.

Wells Fargo offers a wide range of banking and financial services through its more than 5,600 locations and its operations in 22 countries.

Wells Fargo’s 2023 annual earnings per share (EPS) was $4.67—an increase of 45.03% from 2022. Its market capitalization was $223.99 billion as of October 30, 2024. Its return-on-assets ratio (ROA) was 1.01%, and its return-on-equity ratio (ROE) was 10.99% as of June 2024. Its net profit margin was 25.11% as of September 30, 2024. Its price-to-book ratio (P/B ratio) was 1.36 as of October 30, 2024.

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 2024, Forbes ranked Citigroup as the twenty-eighth-largest corporation in the world. Citigroup does business in nearly 180 countries, the most widespread international operations of any of the “Big Four” banks.

Citigroup’s 2023 annual earnings per share (EPS) was $6.88, a decline of 8.14% from 2022. Its market capitalization was $122.39 billion as of October 30, 2024. Its return-on-assets ratio (ROA) was 0.53%, and its return-on-equity ratio (ROE) was 6.20% as of June 2024. Its net profit margin was 15.98% as of September 30, 2024. Its price-to-book ratio (P/B ratio) was 0.64 as of October 30, 2024.