Banks in Orange County enjoyed another banner year as deposits climbed 13% to $109.6 billion for the year ended June 30, up 60% over five years earlier.
Third-ranked JPMorgan Chase & Co. led the increase among the three biggest commercial banks with significant operations here, climbing 18% to $12.7 billion in deposits on mostly organic growth.
“Customers love our accessibility with more than 100 branches and 1,600 employees in Orange County,” said Rick Nogueira, head of Chase’s Orange County operations. “They also love our technology. At our new ATMs, you can withdraw cash in unusual dominations, like $1, $5 and $10. You can pay bills on your phone or transfer money. We are a global firm, so our scope is broad.”
• Deposits at top-ranked Wells Fargo Bank rose 8% to $22.4 billion, and at No. 2, Bank of America Corp., by 6.2% to $19.4 billion.
The top three banks’ rankings were unchanged and accounted for 37%, or $12.7 billion, of the deposits growth in Orange County.
The Business Journal’s latest commercial banks ranking features 43 banks with headquarters or significant operations here and with a minimum of $200 million in local deposits based on data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The banks supplied information on local employees and branches, statistics that don’t factor into the ranking.
Growth in deposits was widespread as 22 banks reported increases at a clip higher than 10%.
• The number of branches climbed by six to 647, mostly because No. 9, Newport Beach-based Bank of the West, boosted its branch count from 14 to 20.
• The combination of No. 30, BBCN Bancorp Inc. in Buena Park, and No. 35, Wilshire Bancorp Inc. in Los Angeles, to form Hope Bancorp Inc. resulted in one more branch for a total of 13.
Twenty-nine banks maintained branch numbers while seven closed some branches and five reported an increase.
Banks increased employment at a slower pace than deposits, growing staff by 3.1% to 18,612. Headcounts climbed at 21 banks altogether. New York-based JPMorgan added the most among the big three—a 9.4% jump to 1,668.
San Francisco-based Wells Fargo added one branch and grew employment by 2.1% to 3,830 in Orange County. Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America cut its workforce 2% to 4,800 while maintaining its 86 branches.
• Banc of California made the biggest jump on the list, climbing three spots to No. 5 on the strength of its 94% growth in OC deposits to $5 billion. The bank’s headcount climbed 5.2% to 994 as it maintained only 13 branches in the county.
“The disruptions in our markets from the sale of many of our competitors have positioned Banc of California to be the employer of choice for California’s top banking professionals,” then Chief Executive Steven Sugarman wrote in the bank’s most recent annual report. This “has put a brisk wind at our back.”
Sugarman resigned from the Irvine-based bank last month amid a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation of the company (see related story, page 1).
• No. 10, Pacific Western Bank in Brea, was one of only six banks to report a decline in deposits, dropping 18% to $2.5 billion. Its headcount, interestingly, climbed 87% to 196. A bank spokesperson declined to comment.
• No. 14, First Foundation, in September agreed to buy two branches from Pacific Western and take over $200 million in deposits, leaving Pacific Western with six branches in OC.
Irvine-based First Foundation’s local deposits almost doubled to $1.74 billion while it increased employment 7% to 231. Wall Street is giving good marks to the Irvine-based bank; the stock is up 70% from its 52-week low last June.
“We were able to substantially grow our deposits in 2016 by assembling a team of seasoned, experienced bankers with deep ties to their communities or niches both in our branches and through our specialty deposits group,” said Chief Banking Officer Lindsay Lawrence.
• Among notable increases were No. 8, Irvine-based Opus Bank, whose deposits rose 67% to $3.25 billion, and No. 18, Mechanics Bank in Irvine, up 53% to $1.25 billion. Mechanics Bank merged with Irvine-based California Republic Bancorp in October.
No new banks broke onto this year’s list.
