The banks with the largest market share spent the most in advertising in 2005, according to a survey by American Banker magazine. Leading the pack was, naturally, Citigroup, spending $256 million on advertising, with Bank of America a distant second at $174 million. Meanwhile, HSBC has more than doubled its spending, but, as the magazine notes, the jury is still out on whether it has been worth it. BofA sharply slashed its spending from $276 million in 2004, much of it used to win over the customers of its then-new acquisition, FleetBoston Financial. When it comes to Internet ad spending, however, BofA ranked first.