Who’s on First? It’s Bank of America….No, it’s Citi……No, It’s B of A….

Bank of America Corp. briefly beat out longtime leader Citigroup Inc. as the world's largest bank by market value on Tuesday, though by the end of the day Citigroup had reclaimed its crown for the time being.

"It reflects investors' preference for a growth story," said Jim Russell, director of core equity strategy at Fifth Third Asset Management in Cincinnati, Ohio, which owns both banks' shares.

"Bank of America seems to be hitting on all cylinders domestically. In contrast, Citigroup has run into growth bumps that are taking longer to fix than many investors would like," Russell said.

Being bypassed is not a definitive gauge of Citigroup's long-term prospects, but might be a blow for a bank that prides itself on its size and reach in more than 100 countries. Based on reported shares outstanding, Bank of America's market value on Tuesday topped Citigroup's several times. In its quarterly report filed Tuesday afternoon, however, Bank of America reported a 37.6 million decline in shares from April.

By Tuesday's close, Citigroup lengthened its lead over Bank of America in market capitalization, $238.8 billion to $235.6 billion based on reported shares. Citigroup shares closed up 8 cents at $48.31, and Bank of America closed down 10 cents at $52.06.

Among publicly traded U.S. companies, the banks rank fourth and fifth in market value, behind Exxon Mobil Corp., General Electric Co. and Microsoft Corp.

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