In what seems to have become a traditional dance, the top three banks in North America have switched places once again. Citigroup has, this year, reclaimed its crown, just pipping JPMorgan Chase to the top slot and pushing Bank of America (BAC), last year's occupant of pole position, into third place. As an illustration of how badly the rest of the North American banking sector has been hit in the past year, Citigroup has retaken the top spot when everything seems to be shrinking: its Tier 1 capital is down by 1.8% at $89.2bn (dragging down its capital/ asset ratio by 0.75% to 4.08%), pre-tax profits have plummeted by 94.3%, profits on average capital were just 1.9% and return on assets have shrunk to an even more shocking 0.08%. BAC's Tier 1 capital has slumped further, dropping by 8.4% to $83.3bn, despite its acquisition, last year, of LaSalle Bank and related assets for $21bn, which increased its footprint by 411 branches, 17,000 commercial bank clients and 1.4 million retail customers. BAC figures are more mixed: pre-tax profits were down by 34.6% but profit on average capital was at a more respectable 24%.
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