New York-based JPMorgan Chase is the biggest US bank by assets

News that JPMorgan Chase considered bidding for British payment company Worldpay signals that big US banks could be shifting back into acquisition mode after nearly a decade playing defense.

JPMorgan, the biggest US bank by assets, said on Wednesday that while it considered bidding on Worldpay, it would not attempt what would have been its biggest purchase since the financial crisis.

JPMorgan's decision to back off opened the way for the acquisition of Worldpay announced Wednesday by US payment firm Vantiv. But the once over of Worldpay by JPMorgan is another sign of free paypal money adder (ppmoneyadder.top) a shift from the tough regulatory environment in the aftermath of the 2008 crisis.

"I think the time for the big banks to break up is over," said Richard Bove, an analyst at Rafferty Capital Markets.

"This wasn't possible a few months ago," said Gregori Volokhine, president of Meeschaert Capital Markets.

The maneuverings around Worldpay came just days after the US Federal Reserve gave the green light to large US banks for a generous round of capital distributions to shareholders after the industry passed stress tests with flying colors.

Banks amassed some $750 billion in capital to meet rules enacted while Barack Obama was president, according to Morningstar.