The California Bankers Association and Beacon Economics Release California Economic Impact Report

The California Bankers Association (CBA) and Beacon Economics have released a report, “The Economic Impact of California Banks” which examines the critical role banks play in supporting California’s economy and the communities where they do business. We have also produced a video that complements and highlights the important findings in the report.

The report is authored by Chris Thornberg, Ph.D., founding partner at Beacon Economics, and updates a previous study conducted in 2013.

The report examines and identifies a number of direct economic impacts banks have, as well the considerable contributions banks make to California’s economy through what the report’s authors refer to as indirect and induced effects.



Among the report’s key findings:
  • $132 billion: Economic impact of banks doing business in California on the state’s economic output
  • 462,163: Total employment supported by the banking industry in the state 
  • $4.8 billion: Annual state and local tax revenues generated through income and sales taxes by bank operations 
The report also showed that bank lending supported the economic activities of:
  • $94 billion directly and $88 billion indirectly in output 
  • More than 700,000 in direct employment and more than 500,000 in indirect employment 
  • $8.8 billion in state and local tax revenues 
  • And more… 
View the complete report here.

About Beacon Economics, LLC 
Beacon Economics, LLC is an independent economic research and consulting firm with offices in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. The firm delivers economic analysis and data sites that help their clients make informed, strategic decisions about investment, growth, revenue, policy, and other critical economic and financial issues. Their nationally recognized forecasters were among the first to predict the collapse of the housing market and foretell the onset and depth of the economic downturn that followed. Core areas of expertise include economic and revenue forecasting, market and industry analysis, economic impact studies, economic policy analysis, and international trade analysis.