Bank of America today became the world's largest bank by market value after dethroning longtime leader Citigroup.
Based on reported shares outstanding, Bank of America's market capitalisation in morning trading reached $239.36 billion, surpassing Citigroup, market value of which totalled $239.34 billion.
Citigroup remains the biggest US bank by assets, a traditional measure of size, with $1.63 trillion compared with Bank of America's $1.45 trillion.
The change reflects investor confidence in North Carolina-based Bank of America's aggressive expansion into a national bank, and New York-based Citigroup's comparative struggles, especially in US consumer banking.
Britain's HSBC last week said it passed Citigroup to become the world's biggest bank by assets, with $1.74 trillion.