Quick answer: Ten of the best-known US finance companies are JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, Wells Fargo, American Express, Fidelity Investments, Vanguard, Morgan Stanley, Charles Schwab and U.S. Bancorp. They cover banking, investment banking, asset management, brokerage and payment cards. JPMorgan Chase is the largest US bank by assets, and BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager. Bank of America and Citigroup, the second- and third-largest US banks, are also major players even though they were not in our original list.
This article was first published as a 2023 list. We have kept the same ten companies, removed the year from the title and updated each entry with current, checked facts. An earlier version said BlackRock managed “over $9 trillion”, said Goldman Sachs offers personal loans and listed traveller’s cheques as an American Express product. All three have changed, as explained below.
How we chose and what “top” means here
These ten companies are among the largest and most influential financial firms based in the US, but they are not directly comparable. A bank is usually measured by its assets, an asset manager by the money it manages and a broker by its client assets. The list is in the original article’s order, not ranked. Where we give a size figure, it comes from a regulator or the company’s own reported results, with the date.
What finance is and why it matters
Finance is the management of money: saving, borrowing, lending, investing and budgeting. For individuals, it covers decisions such as building an emergency fund, paying off debt and saving for retirement or a child’s education. Businesses use finance to decide how to raise money, which projects to invest in and how to manage risk. Governments use it to plan budgets, fund public infrastructure and regulate financial markets so that banks and investment firms operate safely.
The companies below sit at the centre of that system in the US. They hold deposits, make loans, help companies raise capital, run the funds in many people’s retirement accounts and process card payments.
Largest US banks by assets
The Federal Reserve publishes a quarterly list of large commercial banks. Its list for 30 June 2026 shows the following, measured by the consolidated assets of each bank (not the whole holding company):
| Rank | Bank (holding company) | Consolidated assets, 30 June 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | JPMorgan Chase Bank (JPMorgan Chase & Co.) | About $4.09 trillion |
| 2 | Bank of America (Bank of America Corp.) | About $2.65 trillion |
| 3 | Citibank (Citigroup) | About $1.98 trillion |
| 4 | Wells Fargo Bank (Wells Fargo & Co.) | About $1.91 trillion |
| 5 | Goldman Sachs Bank USA (Goldman Sachs Group) | About $759 billion |
| 6 | U.S. Bank (U.S. Bancorp) | About $706 billion |
The ten companies
1. JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the US, with its main bank holding about $4.09 trillion in assets at 30 June 2026, according to the Federal Reserve. It runs Chase, a consumer and small-business bank, along with investment banking, commercial banking and asset and wealth management. In January 2026, Apple and Chase announced that Chase will become the new issuer of the Apple Card, replacing Goldman Sachs, in a transition expected to take about two years.
2. Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs is a global investment banking, securities and investment management firm, known for advising on mergers and acquisitions, underwriting share and bond issues and trading. It also has a large asset and wealth management business. The original article said Goldman offers personal loans to individuals. That is no longer the case: Goldman stopped making new Marcus personal loans as it pulled back from consumer lending, and it has agreed to hand the Apple Card programme to Chase. Its Marcus brand continues to offer online savings accounts.
3. BlackRock
BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager. It reported about $15.3 trillion in assets under management at 30 June 2026, in its second-quarter 2026 results. The original article’s “over $9 trillion” was roughly right for 2023 but is now well out of date. BlackRock manages mutual funds, separately managed accounts and the iShares range of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which passed $6 trillion in assets during that quarter.
4. Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo is the fourth-largest US bank by assets, about $1.91 trillion at 30 June 2026. It offers checking and savings accounts, mortgages, credit cards, and commercial and investment banking. After a fake-accounts scandal that came to light in 2016, the Federal Reserve capped the bank’s total assets in 2018. The Fed lifted that cap on 3 June 2025, saying the bank had met the required conditions.
5. American Express
American Express is both a card issuer and a card network, best known for its charge and credit cards for consumers and businesses. It also offers savings accounts and personal loans to eligible customers. The original article listed traveller’s cheques as an Amex product. American Express has stopped issuing Travelers Cheques; according to its website, existing cheques have no expiry date and can still be redeemed.
6. Fidelity Investments
Fidelity is a privately held investment company in Boston. It offers brokerage accounts, mutual funds and ETFs, wealth management, and administration of workplace retirement plans such as 401(k)s for many US employers. Because it is private, it publishes less financial detail than listed rivals.
7. Vanguard
Vanguard was founded by John Bogle and began operating in 1975. In 1976, it launched one of the first index mutual funds for individual investors, now the Vanguard 500 Index Fund. Vanguard’s US funds own the company, and the funds are owned by their investors. This structure is a large part of why Vanguard is known for low costs. It offers mutual funds, ETFs, brokerage and advice services.
8. Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is a global investment bank and one of the largest wealth managers in the US. It grew its retail business by buying the online broker E*TRADE, completed in October 2020, and the asset manager Eaton Vance, which it agreed to buy the same month. The original article said Morgan Stanley offers personal loans, credit cards and mortgages to individuals. Its lending products are aimed mainly at its wealth management clients rather than the general public.
9. Charles Schwab
Charles Schwab provides brokerage, banking and wealth management services to individual investors and independent investment advisers. Schwab completed its purchase of TD Ameritrade in October 2020 and finished moving the last group of TD Ameritrade clients onto its own platform in May 2024. It is known for low-cost investing and investor education.
10. U.S. Bancorp
U.S. Bancorp is the parent of U.S. Bank, the sixth-largest US bank by assets (about $706 billion at 30 June 2026, per the Federal Reserve). It offers consumer and business banking, mortgages, credit cards, payment processing and wealth management. It expanded its West Coast presence by buying MUFG Union Bank in December 2022.
Two notable omissions: Bank of America and Citigroup
Our original list did not include Bank of America or Citigroup, yet their banks are the second- and third-largest in the US by assets. Bank of America has one of the country’s largest consumer banking networks and owns Merrill, its wealth management arm. Citigroup is one of the most international US banks, with large corporate banking and card businesses. If you are comparing the biggest US financial companies, both belong in the conversation.
How to check a financial company before you use it
- Deposit insurance: Check that a bank is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Deposits are insured up to $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, for each account ownership category.
- Brokerage protection: Brokerage firms should be members of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which protects customers up to $500,000, including a $250,000 limit for cash, if a member firm fails. SIPC does not protect against investment losses.
- Background checks: Look up brokers on FINRA BrokerCheck and investment advisers on the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website.
- Complaints: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) publishes a searchable database of consumer complaints about banks, card issuers and other financial companies.
- Costs: Compare account fees, fund expense ratios and interest rates. A large company is not automatically the cheapest.
For related reading, see our guides to popular US credit cards and how to choose one, legal ways to save on US federal income tax and major US life insurance companies.
This article is general information, not investment or financial advice. Company details change, so check each company’s official disclosures before you open an account or invest.
Frequently asked questions
Which is the largest bank in the USA?
JPMorgan Chase. Its main bank held about $4.09 trillion in consolidated assets at 30 June 2026, according to the Federal Reserve’s large commercial banks list, well ahead of Bank of America in second place.
Which is the largest asset manager in the world?
BlackRock, with about $15.3 trillion in assets under management at 30 June 2026, as reported in its second-quarter 2026 results.
Does Goldman Sachs still offer personal loans?
No new ones. Goldman stopped making new Marcus personal loans as it scaled back its consumer business. Marcus still offers savings accounts, and the Apple Card is moving to Chase as its issuer.
Can I still use American Express Travelers Cheques?
American Express no longer issues them, but it says existing cheques do not expire. You can ask your bank whether it will accept them for deposit, or exchange them through American Express.
Is my money safe if a bank fails?
Deposits at an FDIC-insured bank are covered up to $250,000 per depositor, per bank, for each ownership category. Investments held at a brokerage are not FDIC-insured, but SIPC protection applies if a member firm fails and customer assets are missing.
Checked in October 2026 against the Federal Reserve’s large commercial banks list (30 June 2026), BlackRock’s second-quarter 2026 results, the January 2026 Apple and Chase announcement, the Federal Reserve’s June 2025 decision on Wells Fargo, American Express’s Travelers Cheques page, and FDIC and SIPC coverage rules.
