Top 5 Banks

Top 5 U.S. banks

Excerpt:

Assets Total equity Tier 1

in billions ratio*

Bank of America $2.3 trillion $233 11%
Charlotte, N.C.

J.P. Morgan Chase $2.0 trillion $171 12%
New York

Citigroup $1.9 trillion $155 12%
New York

Wells Fargo & Co. $1.2 trillion $121 10%
San Francisco

U.S. Bancorp $283 billion $29 10%
Minneapolis

*Compares bank capital to risk of its assets. Well-capitalized banks have a Tier 1 Capital Ratio of 6 percent or more.

Comment: More on US Bank

Big deal ahead for U.S. Bancorp?

Excerpt:

Since Davis took the helm of U.S. Bancorp in 2007, the Minneapolis-based bank has acquired four small banks and thrifts with combined assets of $35 billion -- far less than some of his big-bank counterparts. Davis avoided a major deal while Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo & Co. and Pittsburgh-based PNC Financial Services all made headline-grabbing acquisitions that, in some cases, enabled them to double in size.

Yet even Davis, a CEO known for his caution, seems to be warming to the idea of a larger transaction. At a conference last week, Davis promised investors he would not miss an opportunity to do a deal if a good one came along. "If it's small or big, if it's bank or payments or trust, we will not miss a single opportunity," he declared.

Though Davis later tempered his remarks, saying he would "be just fine" if U.S. Bancorp did not do a major deal, his comments set off speculation that a large transaction might happen by year's end. Wall Street analysts rattled off a long list of banks with depressed market values that would make for likely takeover targets. They include SunTrust Banks Inc. of Atlanta, Regions Financial Corp. of Birmingham, Ala., KeyCorp of Cleveland, Fifth Third Bancorp of Cincinnati and Zions Bancorp of Salt Lake City.

Comment: We've had 2 banking relationships with US Bank. 1st was a Visa Buxx card that we used to give money to our daughter when she was in college; 2nd was our mortgage. Positive experiences with both.