CompetitorsNarrow moat

Bank of America (BAC) — moat facet

Bank of America's best rival has the same funding and a better bank, and its peers are chasing the same return targets it is.

Bank of America's own annual report names no competitor. It lists banks, thrifts, credit unions, investment banks, brokers, card issuers, hedge funds, private equity firms and internet companies, and adds that it increasingly competes with nonfinancial companies, including firms using digital assets1. The rivals that matter are four different kinds of relationship.

Market value, September 2026 ($bn)JPMorgan935.8Bank of America391.8Wells Fargo261.7Citigroup226.5stockanalysis.com market cap pages, September 2026
Second in size, far behind the first.

JPMorgan is the benchmark: its deposits were $2,559,320 million at the end of 2025 against Bank of America's $2,018,729 million23, and a return on tangible common equity of 20% against 14.22%45. Wells Fargo and Citigroup are peers each running its own recovery, with targets of 17% to 18% and 10% to 11%6. JPMorgan and Wells Fargo are also partners: they sit beside Bank of America as co-defendants in the consumer bureau's suit over the Zelle network7. And in the trading and advisory businesses Bank of America is a challenger, with 7.6% of the industry trading pool8.

The places where a new kind of rival could take the cheapest deposits, the stablecoin platforms, are covered on the page about the free deposits, not here.

What these relationships share is that Bank of America rarely loses a checking customer to any of them; the streak of net checking growth has run for 30 consecutive quarters9. It competes for the rest of the wallet, and it earns less on it than its best rival.

The market values the rivals on the same scale it values Bank of America. In September 2026 JPMorgan traded at 14.5 times earnings, Citigroup at 14.0 and Wells Fargo at 11.810. Bank of America, at 12.7 on the same source11, sits in the middle: priced above a bank still restructuring, below the one that earns 20%.

The comparison with JPMorgan is the test. Return on tangible common equity was 17.03% against JPMorgan's 23% excluding significant items in the second quarter of 20261213; a gap that stopped narrowing would say the rivals are winning the fee businesses Bank of America needs.

Moat trajectory: Holding steady

ROTCE gap to JPMorgan unchanged in size; checking streak intact.

The number that tests this moat
Reported
ROTCE gap to JPMorgan, latest quarter
17.03% vs 23% ex items (Q2 2026)

How far behind the benchmark rival Bank of America still is; a widening gap would mean rivals are winning the fee businesses.

Source: Bank of America Q2 2026 supplemental information ↗
Dig deeper
DIG DEEPER 01
JPMorgan: The Same Deposits, a Better Bank
JPMorgan has about a quarter more deposits than Bank of America and earns nearly twice as much from them.
DIG DEEPER 02
Wells Fargo and Citigroup: Peers With Their Own Repair Plans
Bank of America's return target sits between Citigroup's and Wells Fargo's, and above anything it earned in the past four years.
DIG DEEPER 03
The Zelle Co-Defendants: Rivals Who Share the Rails
Bank of America shares its instant-payment network, and a federal lawsuit about it, with the two rivals it most wants to beat.
DIG DEEPER 04
The Trading Floors: Seven Point Six Percent of the Pool
Bank of America leads American consumer deposits and trails on the trading floor, where it has 7.6% of the pool and wants 9%.
References
  1. ReportedIt lists banks, thrifts, credit unions, investment banks, brokers, card issuers, hedge funds, private equity firms and internet companies, and adds that it increasingly competes with nonfinancial companies, including firms using digital assets.
    Bank of America Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - Item 1A risk factors and competition. — FY2025 · publ. 25 February 2026 · source ↗
  2. ReportedJPMorgan is the benchmark: its deposits were $2,559,320 million at the end of 2025 against Bank of America's $2,018,729 million, and a return on tangible common equity of 20% against 14.22%.
    JPMorgan Chase Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - deposits, deposit cost, ROTCE, overhead ratio, CET1, net charge-offs, revenue and net income. — FY2025 · publ. February 2026 · source ↗
  3. ReportedJPMorgan is the benchmark: its deposits were $2,559,320 million at the end of 2025 against Bank of America's $2,018,729 million, and a return on tangible common equity of 20% against 14.22%.
    Bank of America Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - average balance sheet, deposits, net interest income and rate sensitivity. — FY2025 · publ. 25 February 2026 · source ↗
  4. ReportedJPMorgan is the benchmark: its deposits were $2,559,320 million at the end of 2025 against Bank of America's $2,018,729 million, and a return on tangible common equity of 20% against 14.22%.
    JPMorgan Chase Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - deposits, deposit cost, ROTCE, overhead ratio, CET1, net charge-offs, revenue and net income. — FY2025 · publ. February 2026 · source ↗
  5. ReportedJPMorgan is the benchmark: its deposits were $2,559,320 million at the end of 2025 against Bank of America's $2,018,729 million, and a return on tangible common equity of 20% against 14.22%.
    Bank of America Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 - average balance sheet, deposits, net interest income and rate sensitivity. — FY2025 · publ. 25 February 2026 · source ↗
  6. Third-party estimateWells Fargo and Citigroup are peers each running its own recovery, with targets of 17% to 18% and 10% to 11%.
    Yahoo Finance (Investing.com), Bank of America investor day targets and peer comparisons. — November 2025 · publ. 5 November 2025 · source ↗
  7. ReportedJPMorgan and Wells Fargo are also partners: they sit beside Bank of America as co-defendants in the consumer bureau's suit over the Zelle network.
    Bank of America Form 10-K for fiscal 2024 - the CFPB suit over the Zelle network and segment figures for 2022. — FY2024 · publ. February 2025 · source ↗
  8. Third-party estimateAnd in the trading and advisory businesses Bank of America is a challenger, with 7.6% of the industry trading pool.
    Kitco (Reuters), Bank of America raises return target at its investor day - ROTCE 16-18%, trading share 7.6% against a 9% target, six new markets. — November 2025 · publ. 5 November 2025 · source ↗
  9. ReportedWhat these relationships share is that Bank of America rarely loses a checking customer to any of them; the streak of net checking growth has run for 30 consecutive quarters.
    Bank of America second-quarter 2026 earnings release, Form 8-K exhibit 99.1 - consumer and digital highlights: checking accounts, Zelle, Erica, BofA Rewards, financial centers. — Q2 2026 · publ. 14 July 2026 · source ↗
  10. Third-party estimateIn September 2026 JPMorgan traded at 14.5 times earnings, Citigroup at 14.0 and Wells Fargo at 11.8.
    companiesmarketcap, Bank of America P/E ratio and peer P/E ratios (JPMorgan 14.5, Wells Fargo 11.8, Citigroup 14.0). — September 2026 · publ. September 2026 · source ↗
  11. Third-party estimateBank of America, at 12.7 on the same source, sits in the middle: priced above a bank still restructuring, below the one that earns 20%.
    companiesmarketcap, Bank of America P/E ratio and peer P/E ratios (JPMorgan 14.5, Wells Fargo 11.8, Citigroup 14.0). — September 2026 · publ. September 2026 · source ↗
  12. ReportedReturn on tangible common equity was 17.03% against JPMorgan's 23% excluding significant items in the second quarter of 2026; a gap that stopped narrowing would say the rivals are winning the fee businesses Bank of America needs.
    Bank of America second-quarter 2026 supplemental information, Form 8-K exhibit 99.3 - quarterly and half-year financial highlights and ROTCE. — Q2 2026 · publ. 14 July 2026 · source ↗
  13. ReportedReturn on tangible common equity was 17.03% against JPMorgan's 23% excluding significant items in the second quarter of 2026; a gap that stopped narrowing would say the rivals are winning the fee businesses Bank of America needs.
    JPMorgan Chase second-quarter 2026 earnings release, exhibit 99.1 - ROTCE and overhead ratio. — Q2 2026 · publ. July 2026 · source ↗
Sources
Generated September 25, 2026