Total assets fell for the sixth time in nine quarters across the US banking industry as a majority of the largest banks reported asset declines.

Altogether, the 50 largest US banks reported a $128.01 billion decrease in aggregate assets during the second quarter, with 28 institutions posting declines. By comparison, the 50 largest US banks in the first quarter reported asset growth of $637.33 billion from the fourth quarter of 2023.

As of June 30, the 50 largest US banks had a combined $23.641 trillion in assets, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

To conduct this analysis, S&P Global Market Intelligence examined the largest US banks and thrifts by assets with a deposits-to-assets ratio of at least 25% or at least $30 billion in deposits as of quarter-end.

To compile a pro forma ranking, S&P Global Market Intelligence calculates pro forma assets after accounting for pending M&A transactions as well as transactions that closed after quarter-end. To be included in pro forma adjustments, the deal value must be over $1 billion or involve assets or deposits in excess of $5 billion. Loan portfolio deals are not included because of a general lack of data on both deal consideration and the impact on total assets.

To view an Excel spreadsheet containing the top 50 US banks and thrifts in the second quarter of 2024, click here.

Combined assets of Big 4 banks decrease

Aggregate assets at the four largest US banks decreased $9.44 billion, or 0.1%, in the second quarter, compared to an increase of $356.35 billion, or 3.1%, in the previous quarter.

JPMorgan Chase & Co., the largest US bank by total assets, was the only one among the Big Four to report a sequential increase in assets. JPMorgan's assets stood at $4.143 trillion as of June 30, up $52.28 billion, or 1.3%, from March 31.

Bank of America Corp.'s assets fell 0.5%, Citigroup Inc.'s assets fell 1.1% and Wells Fargo & Co.'s assets fell 1.0%.

Top gainers and losers

Of the 39 banks with assets between $50 billion and $500 billion, 21 reported that their assets grew during the second quarter.

UBS Americas Holding LLC posted the highest growth as its assets swelled 8.7%. Old National Bancorp followed with 7.2% growth. Following an offensive approach on deposits to fund loan growth, Old National's loans increased 5.9% on an annualized basis, excluding the loans it acquired from its completed purchase of CapStar Financial Holdings Inc.

New York Community Bancorp Inc.'s total assets grew 5.5% in the second quarter, the third-largest increase among the group. The bank recorded its third-consecutive quarterly loss as continued credit loss provisions for wobbly office and multifamily loans took a toll.

HSBC North America Holdings Inc. logged the highest sequential decrease of 6.8% in total assets.

Charles Schwab Corp., which recorded the second-largest decline of 4.1% in total assets, plans to shrink the balance sheet of its bank unit, Charles Schwab Bank SSB, over the next few years to stabilize its capital and liquidity levels.

According to CEO and Co-Chairman Walter Bettinger, the company is set to unload some deposits to third-party banks and shorten the duration of the bank's overall investment portfolio, but will continue to provide deposit and lending services in a less capital-intensive way.

– Download a template to compare a bank's financials to industry aggregate totals. – Read some of the day's top news and insights from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Growth outlook

According to S&P Global Market Intelligence's second-quarter 2024 US Bank Outlook Survey, 39.5% of the respondents indicated that their institution was either "somewhat" or "very likely" to pursue acquiring another company over the next 12 months compared to 40.8% in the first quarter.

Bank stock returns took a turn for the worse in the week ended Aug. 7 as a result of the lackluster jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that ignited recession fears among investors. This could further dampen M&A sentiment as buyers see their currencies depreciate and would-be sellers hold off for better prices.

On the brighter side, bankers remained confident on loan growth, with 75.2% of those surveyed expecting higher balances at their institution over the next 12 months, slightly down from 77.6% in the first-quarter survey but up from 51.4% in the year-ago survey.