Explore the banking institutions serving the San Francisco commercial real estate market. The rankings below use FDIC data to compare institutions by assets, deposits, branch presence, and CRE lending — not by CRE lending activity itself, which FDIC data can only establish for banks actually headquartered here.
Largest Banking Institutions in San Francisco, by Assets
Institutions headquartered in the San Francisco metro. Ranked by total (bank-wide) assets — not a measure of San Francisco-specific size, which FDIC data can't establish (see Sources).
| # | Institution | Total assets |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mechanics Bank | $21.25bn |
| 2 | Bank of America California, National Association | $14.81bn |
| 3 | Fremont Bank | $5.97bn |
| 4 | Westamerica Bank | $5.77bn |
| 5 | Bank of Marin | $3.86bn |
| 6 | United Business Bank | $2.56bn |
| 7 | Beneficial State Bank | $2.03bn |
| 8 | Bank of the Orient | $1.21bn |
| 9 | Pacific Coast Bankers' Bank | $1.21bn |
| 10 | Bank of San Francisco | $0.86bn |
| 11 | Gateway Bank, F.S.B. | $0.29bn |
| 12 | Mission National Bank | $0.28bn |
| 13 | Summit Bank | $0.26bn |
| 14 | Metropolitan Bank | $0.23bn |
| 15 | First Federal Savings and Loan Association of San Rafael | $0.22bn |
Largest CRE Books, Headquartered in San Francisco
Same population as the assets table above — not branch presence, which would seat a national bank's entire balance sheet here on the strength of a single branch. Ranked by current-quarter investor CRE loans (construction, multifamily, non-owner-occupied commercial), $100 million floor.
| # | Institution | CRE book |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mechanics Bank | $7.04bn |
| 2 | Bank of Marin | $1.36bn |
| 3 | United Business Bank | $1.26bn |
| 4 | Fremont Bank | $1.19bn |
| 5 | Beneficial State Bank | $0.66bn |
| 6 | Bank of the Orient | $0.52bn |
| 7 | Westamerica Bank | $0.34bn |
| 8 | Pacific Coast Bankers' Bank | $0.32bn |
| 9 | Bank of San Francisco | $0.22bn |
| 10 | First Federal Savings and Loan Association of San Rafael | $0.19bn |
| 11 | Mission National Bank | $0.13bn |
| 12 | Summit Bank | $0.13bn |
| 13 | Metropolitan Bank | $0.10bn |
9 money-center/specialty charters excluded from population, same list as the state CRE-size pages.
Largest Banks in San Francisco, by Deposits
Institutions with at least one San Francisco branch. Ranked by deposits actually booked at a San Francisco office — real local presence, unlike the assets table above.
| # | Institution | San Francisco deposits | San Francisco branches | Largest office |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bank of America, National Association | $215.05bn | 100 | 82% |
| 2 | Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | $92.32bn | 127 | 27% |
| 3 | JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | $53.25bn | 137 | 13% |
| 4 | Citibank, National Association | $19.09bn | 65 | 15% |
| 5 | BMO Bank National Association | $11.24bn | 50 | 44% |
| 6 | U.S. Bank National Association | $9.23bn | 59 | 4% |
| 7 | East West Bank | $6.31bn | 18 | 16% |
| 8 | HSBC Bank USA, National Association | $5.07bn | 2 | 94% |
| 9 | Fremont Bank | $4.79bn | 19 | 19% |
| 10 | Mechanics Bank | $3.75bn | 21 | 28% |
| 11 | Citizens Bank, National Association | $3.72bn | 2 | 56% |
| 12 | City National Bank | $2.57bn | 5 | 45% |
| 13 | Bank of Marin | $2.07bn | 14 | 16% |
| 14 | Comerica Banknow Fifth Third Bank, National Association | $1.82bn | 14 | 54% |
| 15 | Heritage Bank of Commercenow Citizens Business Bank, National Association | $1.81bn | 10 | 17% |
Bank of America California, National Association reports $12.60B of deposits at 1 San Francisco-area office and is not ranked here. Bank of America, National Association: $175.6B of its San Francisco deposits are booked at a single San Francisco office; its other 99 San Francisco branches hold $39.4B. Comerica Bank (now Fifth Third Bank, National Association): $1.0B of its San Francisco deposits are booked at a single San Francisco office; its other 13 San Francisco branches hold $0.8B. Deposits are as FDIC reports them, by the office where they are booked - not necessarily where the underlying relationship or customer is.
Banks With the Most San Francisco Branches
Same population as the deposits table above, ranked by branch count.
| # | Institution | San Francisco branches | San Francisco deposits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | 137 | $53.25bn |
| 2 | Wells Fargo Bank, National Association | 127 | $92.32bn |
| 3 | Bank of America, National Association | 100 | $215.05bn |
| 4 | Citibank, National Association | 65 | $19.09bn |
| 5 | U.S. Bank National Association | 59 | $9.23bn |
| 6 | BMO Bank National Association | 50 | $11.24bn |
| 7 | Mechanics Bank | 21 | $3.75bn |
| 8 | Fremont Bank | 19 | $4.79bn |
| 9 | East West Bank | 18 | $6.31bn |
| 10 | EverBank, National Association | 18 | $1.54bn |
| 11 | Westamerica Bank | 15 | $1.08bn |
| 12 | Bank of Marin | 14 | $2.07bn |
| 13 | Comerica Banknow Fifth Third Bank, National Association | 14 | $1.82bn |
| 14 | Cathay Bank | 11 | $1.44bn |
| 15 | Tri Counties Bank | 11 | $1.19bn |
Bank of America California, National Association reports $12.60B of deposits at 1 San Francisco-area office and is not ranked here.
What does this mean for CRE borrowers?
Bank size, deposits, and local branch presence are useful indicators of an institution's scale and footprint in San Francisco, but they don't tell you a bank's CRE lending appetite, property-type focus, or how it prices a deal like yours. A bank near the top of these lists may not lend on your property type at all; a bank you've never heard of may be exactly the right fit. Use Lender Compass to identify lenders based on property type, loan type, geography, and other deal characteristics — not bank size alone.
Sources & methodology
Geography: the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont MSA (FDIC MSA code 41860) — not statewide, not a hand-assembled county list. Every branch and institution figure above is scoped to this MSA using FDIC's own MSA classification.
Assets and CRE book tables use institutions whose main office is registered in the San Francisco MSA, not merely a branch — a bank's total assets or CRE book has no geographic allocation to a single branch, so a branch-presence population would seat a national bank's entire balance sheet here on the strength of one office. Active institutions only, checked against FDIC's current status, not a fixed list — a bank that merges away next quarter drops out automatically.
Deposits and branch-count tables use any institution with a San Francisco branch, since FDIC's Summary of Deposits survey specifically allocates deposits to the office where they're booked — the one figure that genuinely reflects local presence. Recently-merged institutions are shown under their prior charter with the successor named, since the historical San Francisco presence is real regardless of what happened to the charter since; when the successor also lands in the same table, a note states the combined figure.
CRE book means investor commercial real estate loans — construction & land development, multifamily (5+ unit residential), and non-owner-occupied commercial property — per FDIC Call Report Schedule RC-C. It excludes owner-occupied CRE, which is reported separately and generally reflects a business's own real estate rather than third-party lending.