Jarrod Ingle, the PNC Bank regional president for Orange County and the Inland Empire, says the administration of President Donald Trump will probably provide more support for bank mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
“That doesn’t mean that we’re predicting a lot of M&A this year,” Ingle told the Business Journal. “I think the banking sector is in a good space.
“But as you go through an economic cycle, I think you’re probably going to see more consolidation from this administration.”
He adds the government “seems to be a little more supportive of crypto.”
He said PNC is watching crypto developments though it hasn’t “done a ton in crypto” work, but “it’s certainly something that we’re watching.”
Ingle, a Southern California banker with 30 years of experience, joined PNC in 2021 and has been leading the bank’s regional growth. Pittsburgh-based PNC (NYSE: PNC), with local headquarters in Irvine next to John Wayne Airport, has about $560 billion in assets and has been expanding in Southern California.
He oversees business development and client relationships with both middle-market and large corporate clients. He also leads PNC’s local philanthropic initiatives.
‘We’re Prepared’
“We’re prepared,” Ingle told the Business Journal on Feb. 6 when asked about the Trump administration. “We’re talking internally on how to respond.”
He indicated that some of the talk in Washington may be “words that end up turning into negotiation and never really truly impact banking.”
The bank has been advising clients on areas including tariffs and “other moving pieces.”
Trump and his chief lieutenant, Elon Musk, have been tearing through the federal bureaucracy, causing uncertainty about the outcome of the wholesale cost-cutting, staff reductions and agency overhauls.
Ingle is also the head of corporate banking for Orange County and the Inland Empire.
Prior to joining PNC, he served as market executive for JP Morgan Chase in Orange County and before that he held various senior positions at Wells Fargo.
PNC doesn’t appear on the Business Journal’s annual list this week of banks operating in Orange County because its deposits aren’t linked to Orange County in the FDIC database, a spokesman said.
“Regarding deposits, while we don’t have a physical branch location in Santa Ana/Orange County, we do have digital banking customers located in the area, whose deposits would be captured centrally,” the spokesman told the Business Journal.
A sign of how serious PNC takes Orange County is that it has 100 to 120 employees in Orange County, many of whom work at its Irvine office. The bank has another 150 employees working in the Inland Empire, according to Ingle.
“We’ve seen a ton of growth of new business activity. New clients have come over especially last year. 2024 was a huge year for growth in our office,” Ingle said. “I expect a lot of the same here in 2025.”
The major client sectors served are food and beverage, aerospace, general manufacturing and distribution, transportation, logistics and medical devices.
“We’ve hired up bankers across multiple lines of business,” according to Ingle, who lives in Anaheim Hills. “We’ve got a very significant commercial real estate practice.”
No Retail Branches in OC
As of now, PNC has no brick-and-mortar branches in Orange County.
Ingle said he hopes that can change in the near future.
The bank has a $1.5 billion investment to build new retail branches, with a focus on Texas, Colorado, Georgia and Florida as a first step, Ingle said.
California is now a top five market for PNC.
The CEO emphasized a large majority of the local workforce is “from and part of Orange County.”
