It Was a Tough Year for Almost Every Bank Not Named JPMorgan

More than a decade after regulators vowed to tame the risks of too-big-to-fail banks, White House officials were on a call. Why, one attendee asked, was JPMorgan Chase & Co. allowed to buy First Republic Bank that morning in a government-led auction?

The answer came, flatly, from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen: They had the highest bid.

After a year marred by the biggest US bank failures since the 2008 financial crisis, the nation’s largest lender is on familiar footing — scooping up a weakened rival, reeling in its clients and minting record profits along the way.

Yet for most ...