- Key insight: Pacific Valley Bank, a small community bank that operates along California’s Central Coast, has secured a large investment from a family-owned local agricultural company.
- Why it matters: The investment illustrates the enduring importance of linkages between bankers and farmers in rural communities.
- Expert quote: “Bankers kind of pick the cream of the crop, as far as the farmers.” — Lynn David, president of Community Bank Consulting Services.
As farmers across the country struggle with inflation, a small bank in a California region known as the “Salad Bowl of the World” is getting a boost from a large agricultural company that’s based nearby.
Pacific Valley Bank in Salinas, California, announced that Taylor Fresh Foods, one of the leading makers of pre-packaged salads, has acquired a 16.3% ownership stake in the privately held bank.
Processing Content
The investment will be used to support the bank’s growth, Pacific Valley CEO Anker Fanoe told American Banker. The bank’s assets have risen from around $200 million when Fanoe came onboard roughly nine years ago to $596.6 million, as of Sept. 30, 2025. The enlarged balance sheet has come without the help of acquisitions.
“There are other markets that we have our eye on,” Fanoe said. “The long-term strategy is organic growth.”
Taylor Fresh Foods, the family-owned parent of the Taylor Farms companies, is built partly on a different kind of organic growth. Its products — sold in supermarkets under the Taylor Farms label — include the Organic Honey Citrus Chopped Salad Kit and the Organic Kale Caesar Chopped Salad Kit.
Taylor Farms CEO Bruce Taylor has been a customer of Pacific Valley, and he’s also referred business to the bank, according to Fanoe. The produce company executive expressed an interest in investing in Pacific Valley after Salinas’ only other locally owned and locally headquartered bank, 1st Capital Bancorp,
Taylor was not made available for an interview, but he said in a press release: “With deep family roots in the Salinas Valley, we believe it is important for Monterey County to have a locally owned and headquartered bank that supports the small and medium-sized businesses that drive the local economy. We are pleased to participate as a shareholder and support the bank’s continued focus on serving the region.”
Taylor was also attracted by the economics of the investment. “He’s a value guy … meaning he can buy in at a good price, and where he sees upside,” Fanoe said.
Under the terms of the transaction, 90% of Taylor Fresh Foods’ investment came through the issuance of new shares, while the remaining shares were purchased on the open market.
The parties worked with the Federal Reserve Board to structure the investment such that Taylor Fresh Foods does not have “control” of the bank from a regulatory perspective, which would have triggered more reporting requirements.
The agricultural company now owns 9.9% of Pacific Valley’s common shares, according to the bank. The remainder of the investment involved the purchase of preferred, non-voting shares.
In connection with the investment, Jeff Cook, the chief financial officer at Taylor Farms, will join Pacific Valley’s board of directors, according to the bank.
“The bank’s track record and strategic plans for measured expansion align well with Taylor Farms’ long-term investment strategies,” Cook said in the release.
It’s common in farming communities for local community banks to include top local agricultural people on their boards, said Lynn David, president of Community Bank Consulting Services.
“Bankers kind of pick the cream of the crop, as far as the farmers,” David said, explaining that such board members tend to have extensive local knowledge.
“If you’re in a rural area, and you want to know where to go to breakfast, you go where all the pickup trucks are,” David said.
Pacific Valley was founded by local farmers and businesspeople in 2004, after there was turnover in the local community banking market, according to Fanoe. The bank currently has four branches, including one that opened recently in Santa Cruz.
Now the bank has its sights set on expanding into other adjacent California counties.
“Our strategy is to bank what’s in our market,” Fanoe said, explaining that the economy along California’s Central Coast is built not only on agricultural businesses, but also on commercial real estate, multifamily housing and the hospitality sector.
Through the first nine months of 2025, Pacific Valley reported net income of $3.3 million, down from $3.8 million during the same period the previous year. Fanoe attributed the lower profits to investments the bank made in growth, including approximately 13 new hires.
“We budgeted for that, knowing that there was opportunity for us to expand our footprint,” he said.
The large investment gives Pacific Valley more flexibility with its balance sheet, even though the bank was already very well capitalized, Fanoe said. It will also result in a higher lending limit, he added.
“It’s a real vote of confidence,” Fanoe said.