Too big to fail? It may turn out that the biggest banks in the U.S. are too big to break up.



The idea that the TBTF institutions were going to get cut down to size after the financial crisis has turned into a giant myth. If anything, the system has gotten even bigger.

JPMorgan Chase, No. 1 among banks and thrifts in total assets, has seen its base swell to more than $2.5 trillion, according to SNL Financial. The company's deposit base alone has grown by 29 percent since the end of 2008.