Wells Fargo becomes nation’s largest bank based on stock-market value
San Francisco Business Times - by Mark Calvey
As of Friday, Wells Fargo is the nation’s most valuable bank, with a market cap of $75.9 billion.
In New York Stock Exchange trading, Wells moved slightly ahead of J.P. Morgan Chase, which is now worth $75 billion, according to a Bloomberg News report noting Wells Fargo’s standing.
The San Francisco bank achieved the largest-bank status by being a steadfast contrarian in recent years, refusing to purchase mortgage assets at the peak of the market, issue millions of credit cards to those not already banking at Wells, trust that subprime paper blended together wouldn’t blow up or aspire to become a major player in investment banking, among other things.
After Wells acquires East Coast rival Wachovia, it will have the nation’s largest branch network. Chase, (NYSE: JPM) which recently purchased failed Washington Mutual, remains the nation’s largest bank by assets. That’s a traditional measure of assessing the size of a bank, but it’s falling out of favor in some circles since bank management is in full control of issuing all kinds and quality of loans — which are assets to a bank. Market cap reflects investor opinion on a bank’s operations and outlook.
The future of Citigroup (NYSE: C) remained in doubt Friday as the bank struggled to regain investor confidence as the New York bank’s shares dropped another 20 percent to finish at $3.77 in NYSE trading. Citigroup is suing Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) for $60 billion for snapping up Wachovia (NYSE: WB) before Citi could reach a definitive agreement to acquire the troubled Charlotte bank.
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