IndyMac. Wachovia. Washington Mutual. First National Bank of Nevada. First Heritage of Newport Beach. Ameribank, Inc. First Priority Bank. All these banks have now faded into history. Are more banks vunerable to seizure by the Feds or acquistion by the remaining biggest players?? You can keep up to date with this website: Bank Implode-O-Meter.

The three biggest banks in the country are now bigger than ever, with a combined 31% of all U.S. deposits. Bank of America leads the pack with 10.99% of all U.S. deposits. J.P. Morgan trails only slightly at 10.51%. And Citigroup ranks as the only one of the big three below the 10% cap, with 9.8% of all U.S. deposits. Wells Fargo is a very distant fourth with just 4% of all U.S. deposits. ¹

Nor will the growth of the biggest banks stop here, either in deposits or in assets. J.P. Morgan’s acquisition of Bear Stearns didn’t stop the bank from being tapped by the government to buy Washington Mutual’s assets. Bank of America’s acquisition of Countrywide didn’t stop it from buying Merrill Lynch. Federal regulators are heavily dependent on the largest banks to bail out smaller rivals, and are unlikely to burden other institutions with forced sales. What that means is that the big are very, very likely to get bigger. Bailout package, anyone?

¹Source: Wall Street Journal

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