Banking in the United States

First Bank of the United States, the country's first central bank under the United States Constitution In the United States, banking had begun by the 1780s, along with the country's founding. It has developed into a highly influential and complex system of banking and financial services. Anchored by New York City and Wall Street, it is centered on various financial services, such as private banking, asset management, and deposit security. The beginnings of the banking industry can be traced to 1780 when the Bank of Pennsylvania was founded to fund the American Revolutionary War. After merchants in the Thirteen Colonies needed a currency as a medium of exchange, the Bank of North America was opened to facilitate more advanced financial transactions. As of 2018[update], the largest banks in the United States were JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs. In the second quarter of 2026, the FDIC’s Quarterly Banking Profile was based on reports from 4,238 insured commercial banks and savings institutions. Those institutions reported aggregate net income of $90.1 billion and a return on assets ratio of 1.37 percent. History Merchants traveled from Brit