Federal Reserve Bulletin

Profits and Balance Sheet Developments at U.S. Commercial Banks in 2005

Figure 3. Number of banks, and share of assets at the largest banks, 1990-2005. Data plotted as curves. Two panels. In the top panel, the number of banks declines steadily from between 12,000 and 13,000 to a little less than 8,000 between 1990 and 2005. In the bottom panel, the share of bank assets held by the 100 largest banks rises steadily from about 50 percent in 1990 to just under 80 percent in 2005. The share of bank assets held by the 10 largest rises from about 20 percent in 1990 to about 50 percent in 2005.

Note: The data are as of year-end. For the definition of bank size, refer to the general note on the first page of the main text.  Return to article