Ever walked into a massive marble lobby of a Chase or Bank of America branch and wondered where they actually keep the "safe" money? It’s not just in vaults or overnight treasury yields. If you dig into the messy, often overlooked regulatory filings of the largest financial institutions, you’ll find a massive line item called Bank-Owned Life Insurance, or BOLI.
Honestly, it sounds kinda weird at first. Why would a bank—an entity that literally makes money by moving money—be one of the biggest buyers of life insurance in the world? It’s a specialized asset class that provides a tax-advantaged way to fund employee benefits, and for the giants, it’s a multi-billion-dollar game.
The Heavy Hitters: Bank Ranked by Life Insurance Assets
When we talk about a bank ranked by life insurance assets, we aren't talking about a few thousand dollars in premiums. We are talking about the "Cash Surrender Value" (CSV) of policies held on the lives of key executives. As of early 2026, the rankings have stayed remarkably consistent at the top, though the raw numbers have shifted with the interest rate environment.
Bank of America consistently sits at the top of this mountain. They have historically held more BOLI assets than almost any other commercial bank in the United States. Why? Because they have a massive workforce and a legacy of acquisitions (like Merrill Lynch) that brought in enormous benefit liabilities. By holding these insurance assets, they can offset the costs of things like executive pensions and healthcare.
Wells Fargo usually follows closely behind. Despite their various "re-shaping" efforts over the last few years, their BOLI portfolio remains a cornerstone of their Tier 1 capital strategy. They use it as a hedge.
JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup round out the primary list. Interestingly, JPMorgan often has a lower ratio of BOLI to total assets compared to BofA, even though they are the largest bank overall. It’s a choice in asset allocation. They might prefer higher-yielding, higher-risk instruments in certain cycles.
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Here is how the landscape looks for the top tier when you look at the sheer volume of life insurance cash value they carry:
- Bank of America: Routinely holds over $20 billion in BOLI assets.
- Wells Fargo: Generally stays in the $18 billion to $19 billion range.
- JPMorgan Chase: Sits around $12 billion, focusing more on liquidity.
- U.S. Bancorp: A major regional player that punches way above its weight in this category, often holding more than $6 billion.
What is BOLI anyway?
Basically, a bank buys a life insurance policy on a group of highly compensated employees. The bank pays the premium. The bank is the beneficiary.
If the employee stays, the cash value in the policy grows tax-deferred. If the employee passes away, the bank gets the death benefit tax-free. It’s a massive tax shelter. It’s totally legal and, frankly, pretty smart from a math perspective.
Most people don't realize that over 60% of all U.S. banks hold some form of BOLI. But once you look at banks with over $1 billion in assets, that number jumps to over 80%. It’s a "big bank" staple.
The Three Flavors of Bank Life Insurance
You’ve got a few ways a bank can structure this.
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- General Account: The bank’s money goes into the insurance company's general pool. It’s steady, but you’re essentially an unsecured creditor of the insurer.
- Separate Account: This is the big boy version. The assets are walled off from the insurer's other creditors. This is what the mega-banks prefer because it offers more transparency and safety.
- Hybrid: Exactly what it sounds like—a mix of the two.
Why the Rank Matters for Investors
If you’re looking at a bank’s balance sheet, you want to see how they manage "Other Assets." A bank with a high BOLI concentration is usually signaling that they are focused on long-term stability and tax efficiency.
However, there are rules. Regulators like the OCC (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency) generally don't want a bank to have more than 25% of its Tier 1 capital tied up in life insurance assets. If a bank is pushing that limit, it might be a sign they are "reaching" for yield in a way that limits their liquidity. Life insurance is not exactly easy to "sell" on a Tuesday morning if you need cash to cover a deposit run.
Misconceptions About These Rankings
A common myth is that banks are "betting on their employees to die."
That’s not it.
The real value is in the Cash Surrender Value. The death benefit is almost secondary to the tax-free growth of the internal investments. It allows the bank to record "non-interest income" every quarter as the value of the policy grows. In a world where interest rates are volatile, that steady climb is gold.
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Another thing people get wrong: they think any bank can just load up on this.
You need "insurable interest." A bank can't just take out a policy on a random teller. They have to prove that the loss of that person would actually hurt the business, or that the policy is directly funding a benefit for that specific person.
Actionable Insights for the Curious
If you're a shareholder or just a bank nerd, here is what you should do:
- Check the Call Reports: If you really want to see the "bank ranked by life insurance assets" for your local institution, look at their FDIC Call Report. Look for "Life insurance assets" in the Schedule RC-F.
- Watch the Capital Ratios: If a bank you use or invest in has a BOLI-to-Capital ratio over 20%, look at the credit rating of their insurance carriers. They are only as safe as the companies underwriting the policies (like MetLife, Prudential, or New York Life).
- Understand the "Why": If a bank is increasing its life insurance holdings, they are likely expecting a period of higher taxes or looking to lock in yields that beat traditional bonds.
Banks aren't just vaults; they are complex portfolios. Life insurance is just one of the more "human" ways they manage the math of multi-trillion-dollar balance sheets.
To dig deeper into a specific bank's holdings, you can search the FDIC's "BankFind" database. Look for the "Cash Surrender Value of Life Insurance" line item in their most recent quarterly filing. This will give you the exact dollar amount they are holding today, rather than relying on year-old annual reports. Analyzing the trend—whether they are buying more or surrendering policies—tells you a lot about their current outlook on corporate tax rates and executive retention.