California bank staffing scorecard, Q2 2026: small banks grew fastest and hired least
Every FDIC-insured bank files a call report each quarter. It shows the loan book and how many full-time people are on the payroll. I pulled the June 30, 2026 reports for all 110 community and regional banks headquartered in California and lined them up against June 30, 2025.
I left out the trust companies, the bankers' bank and two captive or foreign-owned units. They file call reports, but they sit outside the commercial banking market I recruit in.
The market grew. Headcount mostly didn't keep pace, and the gap is widest at the smallest banks.
The market as a whole
91 of the 110 banks grew their loan books. The median bank grew loans 5.3% and deposits 3.6%. Staff grew 1.6%.
That gap shows up in loans per employee, which rose 4% at the median bank. A little more book on every desk.
36 banks grew headcount 5% or more. 17 cut it by 5% or more. 48 ended the year with the same number of people or fewer.
By size, the picture splits
| Asset size | Banks | Median loan growth | Median staff change | Median loans per employee | Grew loans 10%+ | Added staff 5%+ | Cut staff 5%+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $1B | 55 | 7.1% | 0.0% | +5.7% | 22 | 17 | 15 |
| $1–3B | 25 | 4.1% | 3.8% | +1.9% | 8 | 11 | 0 |
| $3–10B | 21 | 4.2% | 1.3% | +1.6% | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| $10B+ | 9 | 6.5% | 2.8% | +4.7% | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| All 110 | 110 | 5.3% | 1.6% | +4.0% | 36 | 36 | 17 |
Staff is full-time equivalent employees as reported. Changes compare June 30, 2026 with June 30, 2025. Source: FDIC call reports.
Banks under $1 billion grew loans fastest, 7.1% at the median. Their median staff change was zero. 22 of them grew loans 10% or more, and 9 of those did it with the same headcount or less. And 15 of the 17 banks that cut staff 5% or more are in this group.
Banks between $1 billion and $3 billion look different. Median headcount up 3.8%. 11 of the 25 added staff 5% or more, and not one cut 5% or more.
The $3 to $10 billion group grew loans 4.2% and staff 1.3%. The 9 banks over $10 billion grew loans 6.5% and staff 2.8%.
What I think it means for hiring
A small bank growing loans 7% with the same team is running on its people's extra hours. That can work for a while. In my experience it works right up until the best producer takes a call.
And I think the calls are most likely to come from the $1 to $3 billion banks. They're the ones adding people, and they're big enough to pay for a book.
If you run a smaller bank, I'd look hard at loans per head on your production team before your 2027 plan assumes another 7%.
If you're the producer carrying that book, it's worth knowing where the hiring is happening.
Growing loans on the same headcount?
I run searches for production and credit leaders at California community and regional banks. If your book is outgrowing your team, I'm glad to talk through which seat to add first.
Talk to JonWhat this data doesn't say
Some of the biggest jumps are acquisitions. Mechanics closed its HomeStreet merger in September 2025, Plumas closed Cornerstone in July 2025 and CVB closed Heritage in April 2026. All 3 count as growth here. That's why I used medians.
Headcount is full-time equivalents as each bank reports it. It doesn't say which seats were added or cut. A bank can add 10 tellers, lose 2 lenders and still look like it's hiring.
And call report data runs a quarter behind earnings releases. The Q3 2026 call reports aren't posted yet. My Q3 State of the Market covers what the banks said in their Q3 earnings.
Loans grew faster than headcount almost everywhere, and fastest at the smallest banks. I'll run this scorecard again once the Q3 call reports are in.
If your loans grew 7% this year, how many more people did it take?
Sources
- Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, BankFind Suite financial data (call reports), June 30, 2026 and June 30, 2025; 110 active FDIC-insured banks headquartered in California, excluding 2 trust companies, a bankers' bank, a foreign bank unit and a captive unit. Medians and counts calculated by Ward & Dean. banks.data.fdic.gov
- Mechanics Bancorp, “Mechanics Bank Completes Strategic Merger with HomeStreet, Inc.,” press release, September 2, 2025. businesswire.com
- Plumas Bancorp, Form 8-K reporting completion of the Cornerstone Community Bancorp acquisition, effective July 1, 2025. sec.gov
- CVB Financial Corp., “CVB Financial Corp. Reports Earnings for the Third Quarter 2026,” press release, October 21, 2026; Heritage acquisition closed April 17, 2026. finance.yahoo.com
If you're hiring for a production or credit seat in California, let's talk.
More Insights: Market Intelligence · Hiring & Retention · Career Moves