Fortune magazine has been publishing the Fortune 500, an annual list of America’s largest closely held and public corporations, since 1955. The rankings are based upon the gross revenue a company makes in any given year. Although the Fortune 500 originally only ranked companies involved in the industries of manufacturing, mining and energy, in recent years, commercial banks have been allowed onto the list. The Fortune 500 for 2010 contained 20 banking institutions spread throughout the list.

Banks in the Fortune 500's Top 50

The highest-ranked bank on the 2010 Fortune 500 was Bank of America Corp., with recorded profits of $6.2 billion. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co was ninth on the list despite CEO Jamie Dimon calling its annual results “mediocre.” Citigroup, after a year spent trying to offload $500 billion in toxic assets, placed 12th. Wells Fargo came 19th with a year-on-year profit increase of 362.3 percent. Goldman Sachs Group, whose CEO Lloyd C. Blankfein once told a newspaper that the company was doing “God’s work” was 39th.

Banks in the Fortune 500: 50 to 150

Morgan Stanley came in at number 70 on the Fortune 500 for 2010 despite a fall in year-on-year revenue of 49.4 percent. American Express was 88th, a drop from 74th in 2009. Headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, the 122nd company on the Fortune 500 was GMAC. PNC Financial Services Group nearly doubled its revenues between 2009 and 2010 and came in at 123. Capital One Financial, probably better known for its range of credit cards, was 144th.

Banks in the Fortune 500: 151 to 250

BB&T Corp., which stands for Branch Banking and Trust, was 217th on the 2010 Fortune 500. It had been 260th on the 2009 edition. The 224th position on the list was taken by SunTrust Banks. Fifth Third Bancorp was 248th on the list. The 249th spot on the Fortune 500 in 2010 was taken by State Street Corp, which reported a loss of $1.8 billion in 2010.

Banks in the Fortune 500: 251 to 500

Regions Financial, led by CEO Grayson Hall, was 254th in the 2010 Fortune 500. Bank of Mellon New York Corp., despite a year-on-year profit fall of 176.4 percent, was 274th. Discover Financial Services was ranked 352nd on the 2009 list, but a year later, had climbed to 286th. KeyCorp was 356th. The lowest-ranked bank on the 2010 Fortune 500 was Northern Trust Corp., headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, at number 497.