A new report released by the California Bankers Association (CBA) and Beacon Economics looks at the economic impact of the state’s banking industry.
The report, “The Economic Impact of California Banks,” found that banks in the state have a $132 billion impact on the economy. That includes $82.9 billion in direct output and $49.5 billion in additional outputs.
Author Chris Thornberg, founding partner at Beacon Economics, revealed that the state’s banking industry direct employs 162,000 people and directly and indirectly supports 462,163 jobs.
In addition, the report said banks generated $4.8 billion in annual state and local tax revenues generated through income and sales taxes.
The report also showed that bank lending supported the economic activities of $94 billion directly and $88 billion indirectly in output.
Commercial and industrial loans comprised the largest portion of new lending, $27.5 billion, which accounted for almost 30 percent of all new loan growth, the report said. Individual loans such as credit card loans and automobile loans trailed closely behind at $25.4 billion, which made up 27 percent of all new loans.
Among other findings, the average wage at a California commercial bank was about 44 percent higher than the statewide average across other private sector employers.
Total deposits in California banks reached $1,167 billion in 2015, up 6.9 percent from the previous year.