What Is Bank Holding Company?
A corporation that owns or controls one or more banks, subject to regulation by the Federal Reserve.
How It Works
A bank holding company (BHC) is a corporate entity that owns or has controlling interest in one or more banks. Most of the largest banking organizations in the United States are structured as BHCs, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. (which owns JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.), Bank of America Corporation (which owns Bank of America, N.A.), and Citigroup Inc. (which owns Citibank, N.A.).
The Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 established the regulatory framework for BHCs, designating the Federal Reserve as their primary supervisor. BHCs must register with the Fed, submit to examination, and comply with capital requirements at both the holding company and bank subsidiary levels. This dual-level regulation adds an extra layer of oversight beyond what standalone banks face.
BHCs can own multiple bank subsidiaries (useful for operating across state lines before interstate banking was fully deregulated) as well as non-bank financial subsidiaries engaged in activities "closely related to banking," such as insurance, securities dealing, and asset management. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 expanded the range of permissible activities for financial holding companies (a subset of BHCs that meet certain requirements).
For depositors, the BHC structure matters because it means your bank is part of a larger corporate family. The holding company can be a source of financial strength — it can inject capital into a struggling bank subsidiary. However, it can also be a source of risk if other subsidiaries in the holding company group encounter financial problems. On BankHealthData, the financial data shown for each bank reflects the specific FDIC-insured bank subsidiary, not the parent holding company. If you want to understand the full picture, check the holding company's SEC filings in addition to the bank's FDIC data.
Related Terms
Too Big to Fail
The concept that certain financial institutions are so large and interconnected that their failure would cause catastrophic damage to the broader economy.
Community Bank
A locally focused bank, typically with under $10 billion in assets, that emphasizes relationship-based lending and community service.
Dodd-Frank Act
The landmark 2010 financial reform law enacted after the financial crisis that strengthened bank regulation, created stress testing, and established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.