Street is sweet to money bins.

• Author: McMillan, Alex Frew
• Position: North Carolina banks - Industry Overview

The state Big Three banks lock up more than half of the Top 75 public companies' market capitalization.

It's no surprise to hear that banks are big business in this state. But just how big is remarkable. With Duke Power slipping from third to fourth, banks own the top three slots in BUSINESS NORTH CAROLINA's ranking of the Top 75 public companies. Between them, NationsBank, First Union and Wachovia account for $81 billion of market value. That's 54% of the Top 75's total.

NationsBank's buyout of St. Louis-based Boatmen's Bancshares explains some of the gain over last year, when Wall Street valued the three banks at $50 billion. But all 13 banks in the Top 75 have seen big run-ups - averaging a 40% jump in market capitalization, the value of the shares outstanding multiplied by the stock price. That compares with 8% for the rest of the list. Banks account for 61% of the Top 75 market value.

Investors have realized higher interest rates aren't that bad for banks that have diversified into capital markets and other fee-income sources. As Mark Vitner, an economist with First Union Capital Markets Group, points out, that partly explains why bank stocks are now catching up with the rise the rest of the market felt earlier.

Some segments are already seeing market corrections. High-tech stocks in the Top 75 are down substantially almost across the board, with Glenayre Technologies and BroadBand Technologies showing the biggest drops in market value.

The bank dominance reflects in part the declining...