There’s no hard-and-fast definition of what constitutes a big bank in the United States, though it’s easy to identify the ones at the top of the pack. Four bank holding companies stand apart from the rest because of their size and scale: JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup, each of which has a national and international presence and trillions of dollars in assets.
There are 4,614 Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC)-insured banks, according to the FDIC. Of those, 4,049 are commercial banks and 565 are savings institutions. That figure doesn’t include the thousands of credit unions scattered around the U.S. Most U.S. banks tend to be smaller, community-oriented entities, though there is also a rising number of online-only banks.
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The nation’s biggest banks include both traditional retail banks and investment banks. While Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citi stand out as big banks, U.S. Bank, PNC Bank, Goldman Sachs, Truist Bank, Capital One and TD Bank round out the 10 largest banks in the U.S.
1. Chase Bank
Chase Bank is JPMorgan Chase’s U.S. consumer and commercial banking division. JPMorgan Chase has $3.3 trillion in assets and operations worldwide.
The bank had 4,871 domestic branches as of September 2023, according to Federal Reserve data, and boasts more than 15,000 ATMs. JPMorgan Chase also has a large international presence, with operations in more than 100 global markets and 250,000-plus employees worldwide.
According to its website, JPMorgan Chase is “built on the foundation” of more than 1,200 predecessor institutions. The company traces its roots to 1799 in New York City when The Manhattan Company — JPMorgan Chase’s earliest predecessor institution — was chartered by the New York State legislature to supply “pure and wholesome” drinking water to the city’s growing population. Among its founders were Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr.
2. Bank of America
Bank of America is another financial giant with roots dating back centuries. The oldest parts of the company extend back 240 years, though the modern version was created in 1998 following the $62 billion merger between Charlotte, N.C.-based NationsBank and San Francisco-based BankAmerica Corp. Today, Bank of America is headquartered in Charlotte and ranks as one of the world’s leading financial institutions with more than $2.4 trillion in assets.
The company serves about 69 million consumer and small business clients. Its branch lineup includes about 3,800 retail financial centers and about 15,000 ATMs, while its digital banking operation has 57 million verified users. Bank of America serves clients through operations across the United States, its territories and more than 35 countries.
3. Wells Fargo
San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co. is one of the country’s most enduring financial services firms, with roots dating to the middle of the 19th century. Today, Wells Fargo has about $1.7 trillion in assets and serves roughly one in three U.S. households and more than 10% of small businesses. It operates across four operating segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth & Investment Management. The bank has more than 4,400 U.S. branches.
Wells Fargo can trace its beginnings to an exact date: March 18, 1852, when founders Henry Wells and William G. Fargo built a start-up to help customers build businesses and manage money. Wells Fargo took advantage of modern transit options such as steamboats and stagecoaches to deliver money and valuables across Wells Fargo offices extending from California to New York.
4. Citibank
Citibank, also known as Citi, is the banking subsidiary of New York-based financial services conglomerate Citigroup. The bank had $1.6 trillion in assets as of Sept. 30, 2023, and 659 branch locations. It has a presence in nearly 160 countries and boasts more than 230,000 employees worldwide.
Citibank opened for business in 1812 in New York under its original name City Bank of New York. In 1865, City Bank converted its state charter to a national one and changed its name to National City Bank of New York. It made its first big overseas move in 1914 in Latin America.
5. U.S. Bank
U.S. Bank is the retail banking division of Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp. The bank operation has more than 2,000 branches in 26 states and nearly 77,000 employees in 13 countries. Total assets were $657 billion as of Sept. 30, 2023. Other subsidiaries of U.S. Bancorp include U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corp., U.S. Bancorp Investments and Elavon.
The roots of U.S. Bank date to the Lincoln administration, which approved its national bank charter on July 13, 1863. The original entity was First National Bank of Cincinnati. The bank grew through mergers and acquisitions over the next 140 years, with a series of mergers and acquisitions in the late 1990s/early 2000s creating the modern version of the company.
6. PNC Bank
PNC Bank is a subsidiary of Pittsburgh-based PNC Financial Services Group, a diversified financial services institution with assets of $553 billion. PNC refers to itself as a “coast-to-coast franchise” with nearly 2,300 branches and 60,000 ATMs. PNC provides retail banking services that include residential mortgage, corporate and institutional banking, and asset management.
The company’s roots date to 1852, when Pittsburgh National Bank — the largest subsidiary of Pittsburgh National Corporation — got its start as the Pittsburgh Trust and Savings Company.
7. Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group is a global financial institution that is best known for its investment banking services. It is headquartered in New York City but maintains offices around the world with nearly 40,000 employees. Goldman Sachs Bank oversees $538 billion in assets.
Goldman Sachs was established in 1869 when German immigrant Marcus Goldman moved to New York City with his family and opened a one-room basement office on Pine Street in Lower Manhattan. Bringing on his son-in-law Samuel Sachs in 1882 and son Henry Goldman in 1885, Goldman, Sachs & Co. was formed. It joined the New York Stock Exchange in 1896 and, over the next quarter-century, opened offices in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia and St. Louis to become a national firm.
8. Truist Bank
Truist Bank is another Charlotte-headquartered financial services firm. Its parent company, Truist Financial Corp., serves 17 states plus the District of Columbia and operates across 14 community banking regions. It has more than 2,000 branches and 3,000-plus ATMs. Truist’s total assets were $535 billion as of September 2023.
The company’s predecessor bank, SunTrust, got its start as Commercial Travelers’ Savings Bank in Atlanta on Sept. 21, 1891. It used a series of buyouts and mergers to spread into other regions over the next 120-plus years. Truist was formed in 2019 following the merger of SunTrust and BB&T.
9. Capital One
Capital One Financial Corporation is a bank holding company with $468 billion in total assets as of Sept. 30, 2023. The company is headquartered in McLean, Virginia, and has additional offices in eight other cities, including major markets such as New York, Chicago, San Francisco, London and Toronto. Capital One offers financial products and services to more than 100 million customers, small businesses and commercial clients through a variety of channels, with branches and cafés located primarily in New York, Louisiana, Texas, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.
Capital One is a relatively new player among the nation’s banking giants, having been founded in 1988 by Richard Fairbank as a monoline credit card company.
10. TD Bank
TD Bank Group is a subsidiary of The Toronto-Dominion Bank, with headquarters in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. The bank has about 10 million customers, nearly 30,000 employees and $ 366 billion in total assets, with locations in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic, Carolinas and Florida. TD Bank has more than 1,100 branch locations and 2,600 ATMs, with most concentrated in New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts.
The company’s earliest predecessor, The Bank of Toronto, was founded in 1855 by a group of millers and merchants who initially provided financial services to Canada’s emerging grain industry. The Toronto Dominion Bank was formed in 1955 with 499 branches and 5,500 employees.
Which bank has the most branches?
Chase Bank has the most branches of all U.S. banks, with 4,871 as of September 2023. Here are the next five based on Federal Reserve data:
- Wells Fargo: 4,430
- Bank of America: 3,785
- PNC: 2,431
- U.S. Bank: 2,317
- Truist: 2,001
What is the most popular bank?
It’s hard to define a bank’s popularity because so many factors go into it, ranging from product variety and customer service to digital banking options. A poll conducted by YouGov that looked into the percentage of people who have positive opinions about large consumer banks found that these ranked highest:
- Chase (50%)
- Citibank (48%)
- Capital One (48%)
- Bank of America (48%)
- Wells Fargo (45%)
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
It depends on what you want from a bank. Big banks typically have more product choices and branch locations than smaller banks but fall short in other areas. For example, if you want a more intimate, personalized banking experience, you might be better off with a smaller bank. Also, if you are looking for the highest interest rates on savings products, online-only banks may hold an edge over large traditional banks.
There is an unofficial viewpoint that some banks are “too big to fail,” which means the federal government might bail them out if they are on the brink of collapse. Almost all banks have security protocols in place to protect your personal information and FDIC insurance to protect your money up to at least $250,000 per depositor, per FDIC-insured bank, per ownership category.
Many big banks offer comparatively low interest rates on savings accounts and charge fees for certain services that are free at other banks. Another potential drawback is that customer service at big banks is spotty compared with smaller, community-oriented banks.
One of the main differences is that with big banks, you might be able to find branch locations and in-network ATMs across the country. This is not the case with small banks.
