Commercial banks in Orange County continued to grow local deposits, notching another 8% increase over the year through June for a total of $84.1 billion.
This week’s Business Journal list features 43 banks with headquarters or significant operations in Orange County and ranks them by the amount of local deposits as of June 30 based on data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
The recent growth followed an 8% increase a year earlier after three years of modest growth averaging nearly 3% a year.
This year’s list is the longest yet, thanks in part to improved research.
We’ve also merged OC savings and loans into the commercial banks list. The thrifts list had been contracting over a number of years and had just three entries last year. The distinction between thrifts and banks has also diminished significantly over time.
Nearly 80% of this year’s entries—34—had deposit increases, with many in double and triple digits. Nine had deposit decreases over the one-year period. The list also includes other data, such as current figures for the number of OC employees and local branches.
Deposits at the top four banks, whose ranks didn’t change, account for about 60% of the collective total.
n The perennial No. 1, Wells Fargo Bank, again topped the list, with $19 billion, up by about $851 million, or nearly 5%, year-over-year. The San Francisco-based bank has 115 branches in Orange County, unchanged from a year earlier, and about 3,900 employees in OC, down nearly 11%.
• Bank of America Corp. followed with $15.9 billion in deposits, up 2%. It had 5,500 employees in OC, unchanged from a year earlier.
• No. 3, Chase Bank, had $9.5 billion in deposits, up 12%. It had 1,720 local employees, down 20%.
• No. 4, Union Bank, notched an 11% increase in its OC deposit total to $5.9 billion. The subsidiary of Tokyo-based Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. had 1,423 local employees, down 8%.
• No. 8, L.A.-based Pacific Western Bank, which has an office in Brea, had the largest gain in raw dollars and percentage growth. It had $2.1 billion in deposits, up about 313%. About 90% of that was attributable to its acquisition of CapitalSource Bank in April. CapitalSource ranked No. 10 on the list last year, with $1.5 billion in OC deposits.
• No. 19, Irvine-based Pacific Premier Bank had a 110% increase in deposits to $843.7 million. It’s been growing organically and through acquisitions, though the recent growth in deposits wasn’t due to any deals.
“Our business plan for the last few years has been pretty straightforward,” said Chief Executive Steven Gardner. “As our business clients grow, we grow with them [and we grow] by acquisitions. We’ve been quite acquisitive, and we’re going to continue with both approaches.”
Pacific Premier completed two deals in the first half of 2013, buying First Associations Bank and San Diego Trust Bank, whose deposits had already been figured into the June 30, 2013, number. It completed the buy of Infinity Franchise Holdings LLC, which had no deposits, in January 2014.
• Pacific Premier just last week wrapped up its purchase of Independence Bank, which was headquartered in Newport Beach.
Independence was included separately on this week’s list since it had its own deposit base as of June 30. It ranked No. 40, with $222.6 million, up 18% year-over-year.
• Opus Bank stayed at No. 15 with $923.6 million in deposits, up 39%. The bank, which has its headquarters and eight branches in Orange County, had 300 employees, down by three.
Among the entries with deposit decreases was No. 14, Los Angeles-based City National Bank, whose OC deposit base dropped 57% to $1.1 billion. Much of the decrease was due to a relocation of about $1.4 billion worth of deposits from its La Palma branch to its Los Angeles office, according to the bank.
City National, which had 116 employees here, was recently acquired by Royal Bank of Canada for $5.4 billion.
Banks on the list combined for a 5% drop in local employment. They employed 18,672, down by about 900. Most of the cuts came at large national banks, including Wells Fargo and Chase, each of which cut jobs by more than 400.
• East West Bank, No. 18, had the largest percentage increase in its OC workforce, 44% to 79. The Pasadena-based bank had $861 million in OC deposits, up 14%.
• No. 26, BBCN Bank, added 11 jobs in OC, up 32% to 45. The Los Angeles-based bank stayed at No. 26, with $471 million in deposits across five local branches.
• Banc of California, No. 10, added 80 employees over the past year to total 725. The Irvine-based bank had $1.4 billion in deposits, more than double year over year.
The list has seven newcomers, including two that moved from the thrift list: First American Trust in Santa Ana made No. 12 with $1.4 billion, and OneWest Bank was No. 13 with $1.3 billion.
• Irvine-based Sunwest Bank slipped two spots to No. 25 despite a 4% increase in local deposits to $479 million. Part of the growth came from its acquisition of Synringa Bank in Idaho.
“We experienced modest or break-even deposit growth in the other regions in which we operate,” said Chief Executive Chris Walsh. “That said, this acquisition, along with the hiring of several deposit-focused relationship managers across our geographies, positions us for continued growth and a strong 2015.”
• Los Angeles-based Wilshire Bank debuted at No. 36, with $252.9 million in OC deposits, up 36%.
• Plaza Bank came in at No. 39, with $230.1 million, up 21%. It recently announced that it’s buying Bank of Manhattan in El Segundo. Plaza and Bank of Manhattan are owned by the Carpenter Community BancFund, a private equity bank-holding company in Irvine.
