Orange County banks and thrifts increased local deposits 15.8% for a total of $96.9 billion in the year ended June 30.
The jump followed two consecutive years of 8% growth in deposits preceded by three years of modest 3% growth, based on data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
The Business Journal’s latest ranking of the largest commercial banks with headquarters or substantial operations in Orange County features 43 banks with a minimum of $200 million in local deposits.
Almost 90% of this year’s banks—38—increased OC deposits. Eight institutions added more than $1 billion in deposits or reported triple-digit growth, and 24 banks showed double-digit growth. The list also details the banks’ local employee numbers and bank branches, though those statistics don’t factor into the ranking.
The top three banks’ rankings remained unchanged, and they accounted for almost 41%, or $5.4 billion, of the deposits growth in Orange County.
• Wells Fargo Bank retained the top spot again this year, with $20.7 billion in local deposits, up by $1.7 billion, or nearly 9.2%, year-over-year. The San Francisco-based bank added a local branch, ending the period with 116 in Orange County, and let go of 4.5% of its OC employee headcount, sliding to 3,751.
“Wells Fargo has been growing both households and small business accounts across our company, and in Southern California we have some of the highest rated customer service scores. We have initiatives focusing on personal and small business customers, and being the No. 1 SBA lender demonstrates our commitment to helping small business succeed,” said Ben Alvarado, Southern California regional president.
• Bank of America, No. 2, made the greatest gross increase in local deposits—a $2.4 billion jump, or 15.1%, for a total of $18.3 billion in Orange County. The Charlotte, N.C.-based bank had the same number of local locations as a year earlier—86—though it cut 2% of its local workforce, ending with 4,900.
“The increase in deposit share is driven by a few factors, including increased popularity and trust of our brand by customers in Orange County, as well as internal reporting changes made companywide as we collapsed one of our subsidiaries (FIA Card Services) and its deposits into our main subsidiary (Bank of America, NA),” said Allen Staff, Bank of America market president and region executive.
• New York-headquartered JPMorgan Chase & Co. added $1.2 billion in local deposits, up 12.7% to about $10.8 billion, to retain the No. 3 spot. The company cut 11.3% of its OC workforce, taking it down to 1,525 while adding a location to operate 101 local branches.
• Irvine-based Banc of California rose to No. 8 after adding $1.1 billion in OC deposits, a 77.8% jump, with the acquisition of 20 California branches of Banco Popular North America. Banc of California has 913 employees in OC, a 7.7% increase from last year.
“The growth was a combination of new branches acquired from Popular Community Bank and organic growth,” said Steven Sugarman, chief executive of Banc of California, which ranked as the Business Journal’s fastest growing midsized public company last year.
Banco Popular is the holding company for bank operations and conducts business as Popular Community Bank in the U.S.
Sugarman also said the bank continues “to see very good progress attracting deposits from Orange County’s diverse private businesses, entrepreneurs and homeowners.”
• Opus Bank moved up three spots to No. 12 as it more than doubled its local deposits to $1.9 billion, a 111% increase from the prior year. The Irvine-based bank committed $1 billion in November 2014 to expand businesses in California. Opus had 350 employees in OC, a 7.7% increase.
• Umpqua Bank leapt to No. 26 from No. 43 a year ago, increasing its local deposits by 206% to $607.5 million. The Portland, Ore.-based bank has one local branch but increased OC staff by 47% to a headcount of 50.
• HSBC Bank’s deposits increased 146% to $598.9 million, moving up 10 spots to No. 27. The London-based bank had an estimated 16 local employees at two branches, unchanged from a year earlier.
• California United Bank jumped to No. 23 after experiencing 112% growth to reach $733 million in deposits in Orange County. The Los Angeles-headquartered bank has three local branches and grew its local workforce by 2.6% to 78.
Three formerly unranked banks broke into this year’s list:
• Commercial Bank of California added $100 million in local deposits to take the No. 38 spot with $273.8 million. The Irvine-based bank, which has two locations and employs 47, is scheduled to merge with Brentwood-based National Bank of California in the first quarter.
• Chicago-based Northern Trust Co. increased local deposits by 29.6% to $253 million at its Newport Beach location. The bank premiered at No. 40.
• San Juan Capistrano-based Capital Bank ranked No. 42 with $227.2 million in OC deposits, up 38%. The bank employed 24.
Five banks reported a decline in deposits:
• Manufacturers Bank slipped to No. 37 with a 24.6%, $100 million decline in local deposits to $316.2 million. The L.A.-based bank employed an estimated 11 at two locations in Orange County.
• Another L.A.-based bank, Grandpoint Bank, ranked No. 43 after its local deposits fell 6% to $204.6 million. The bank shed about a third of its OC workforce and retained 22 employees at its sole location in Orange.
• Ontario-based Citizens Business Bank was No. 20 with $861.3 million in local deposits, 0.69% less than a year ago. Bank operations were unchanged, with nine local locations employing 73.
• OneWest Bank slid to No. 15 with $1.3 billion in local deposits, $8.2 million, or 0.6%, less than a year earlier. The bank’s OC operations remained unchanged, with 11 locations and an estimated 375 employees.
• Pasadena-based Community Bank retained the No. 42 spot with $215.3 million in local deposits, a 0.26% drop.
