Commentary - 03/22/2008

Who Controls The Ten Largest Money Center Banks?

"Who controls today's money center banks" has been updated for the quarter ending 12/31/07. The ranking below came from here.

The most significant change has been Capital Group's sharp rise in ownership in the last six months, and interesting reductions in Barclays/Associates.

CapitalGroupBarclaysAssociates
Company Name12/31/0706/30/0712/31/0706/30/07
Bank of America10.84%2.30%9.93%11.57%
JP Morgan Chase6.20%2.36%13.28%13.39%
Citigroup15.98%4.63%8.82%9.18%
Wells Fargo10.11%3.67%8.59%5.98%
Wachovia12.50%3.18%9.43%12.84%
Bank of New York Mellon11.87%3.59%11.92%8.08%
SunTrust7.49%3.71%13.38%15.37%

For instance, six months ago Capital Group's position in the TOP 10 of Bank of America was 2.30%, but now it controls 10.84%. However, in the same period, Barclays/Associates dropped from 11.57% to 9.93%. Just kinda interesting, cause I don't know if Barclays is dumping, or simply forced to sell because of being over-extended trying to quietly conquer the world of finance.

The ranking of the banks has changed somewhat, but not much has really changed since 1889 when the Great Red Dragon book was published. A greater amount of power has been concentrated into fewer hands. Since they still have the same power, you have to wonder who really lost the $104.4 billion dollar difference, 'cause I don't see anybody giving up their outrageous salaries and bonuses. Maybe we'll find out when it's time for pension funds to deliver on their promises to the boomers.

Selecting the bank's name will show in detail its Major Holders.
[Don't know why there's no data (N/A) at Yahoo/Finance at this time. I'll keep trying.]

Largest Money Center Banks
By Market Capitalization
As of 03/22/2008
Bank of America$186.0 B
JP Morgan Chase$156.1 B
Citigroup$117.1 B
Wells Fargo & Co$197.3 B
Wachovia Bank$60.9 B
Royal Bank of Canada (N/A)$59.2 B
Bank of New York Mellon$52.9 B
Toronto Dominion Bank (N/A)$44.5 B
Bank of Nova Scotia (N/A)$42.8 B
SunTrust Banks$21.7 B
Total of Group$938.5 B
Data As Of 12/31/07
Largest Money Center Banks
By Market Capitalization
As of 10/30/2007
Bank of America$212.9 B
Citigroup$212.4 B
JP Morgan Chase$156.8 B
Wells Fargo & Co$113.5 B
Wachovia Bank$88.0 B
Royal Bank of Canada$72.8 B
Bank of New York Mellon$54.6 B
Bank of Nova Scotia$54.2 B
Toronto Dominion Bank$52.5 B
SunTrust Banks$25.2 B
Total of Group$1042.9 B
Data As Of 06/30/07

NOTE: PNC Financial Services Group Inc. has moved ahead of SunTrust Banks, with market cap of $23B.
I've left the table as is for comparision purposes.

The point is, control of American companies is rapidly being consolidated into a fewer hands, and they are also doing so at "frantic" pace. Damn any of the promises that had been to their employees, such as retirement benefits, health care and pensions. And why are they doing this? To "own the earth in fee simple."

You can do the same lookup on any public corporation and see for yourself who owns what. You will also see that some of the major holders are nothing more than a "front" for a another more powerful group. Simply find out who the major holders of the major holders are and you will see for yourself. Their idea is simply to make it easier to deceive the public.

While doing this, remember that it takes only 10% of the stock to "control" a large widely-held corporation. Especially when management and insiders show little or zero ownership. They, as hirelings, simply take their marching orders and their large paychecks, and everybody else be damned. If they show any conscience about what happens to their employees or customer base, they will simply be removed, then replaced, by another, more "aggressive leader."

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© 2008 by Edward Ulysses Cate
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