The banking industry is seeing a shift away from more branch locations and more emphasis on digital services. Photo by Miquel Parera on unsplash.com

Over the past five years, the banking landscape throughout the Central Valley has shied. While the total number of bank branches has continuously declined since 2020, total deposits have remained somewhat steady.

Since 2021, when combined deposits for the top Central Valley banks reached over $30 billion, the number has remained between $28 billion and $31 billion for four straight years

In 2025, banks in Fresno, Kings, Madera and Tulare counties held $29.7 billion in total deposits, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC). The $29.7 million is up from $28.9 million in 2024 and a 12.7% increase from 2020.

From that same time, the number of bank offices dropped from 205 in 2020 to 185 in 2025, reflecting an increase in people banking online.

The FDIC data was used to build the Financial Institutions list on page 13.

While the Central Valley has several large community banks, the larger national banks continued to dominate the market. Wells Fargo has been the area’s largest deposit holder for the past several years. In 2025, the San Francisco-based Wells Fargo had $5.35 billion in total deposits, which made up 18% of the market.

Just like Wells Fargo, two other national banks were second and third every year since 2020: Charlotte-based Bank of America and the New York City-based JPMorgan Chase. Combined, the three banks made up 46.7% of the market in 2025, down from 48.1% in 2020.

Outside of the national banks, local banks are continuing to be a key part of banking in the Central Valley. Porterville-based Bank of the Sierra now holds nearly $2 billion in local deposits across 20 offices, while Community West Bank has grown to $1.78 billion.

FFB Bank, which was the top bank with a single office, controls $1.24 billion, making up over 4% of the market. Citizens Business Bank, with six offices, holds over $1 billion.

Community West Bank could be in for a larger 2026 as its recently announced merger with United Security Bank will have a substantial impact, even outside of the four-county region. Once the deal closes in the second quarter of 2026, the combined company is expected to have $5 billion in total assets. 

This merger is one of several over the past five years that will have a large impact on the banking industry in the Central Valley.

Due to mergers, some of the banks in the early 2020’s FDIC list have joined with other banks. Suncrest Bank merged with Citizens Business Bank, BBVA USA merged with PNC Bank and Premier Valley Bank recently merged with the Kansas City based-UMB Bank.

With the total number of banks decreasing consistently, banks still prioritize making a personal connection with customers, even as banking has become more digital than ever before.

“People bank with people,” said Dustin Koelewyn, vice president, regional manager with Tri-Counties Bank, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. “This great bank of ours allows us to really get to understand our customers and make decisions on a case-by-case basis, and I think that’s been really beneficial for us in our growth in the past 10 years.”

While Tri-Counties Bank has three offices in the four-county region, they have a larger presence across California, with 67 banks outside of the region. In 2025, the bank had over $350 million in total deposits and over $8 billion outside of the region.

Even among established larger banks, performance has varied. Citibank saw deposits rise and fall between $1.03 billion in 2020 and $1.38 billion in 2025, while Westamerica Bank experienced a decline despite maintaining 15 local branches.

The pandemic years brought an increase in deposits. From 2020 to 2021, local deposits increased 15%. Deposits later dropped slightly before rebounding in 2025.

Looking ahead, the region is likely to see continued consolidation of branches, even as deposits keep growing. Mergers, acquisitions and shifts in technology will continue to reshape how Central Valley residents bank.