Sacramento region · Banking
Steve Fleming
President and CEO, River City Bank
Grew Sacramento’s largest locally based bank from $800 million to more than $6 billion and took it public in 2026.
Steve Fleming has been president and CEO of River City Bank since September 2008. In that time the bank, which calls itself the largest and most profitable bank based in Sacramento, grew from $800 million to more than $6 billion in assets.
By the numbers
The data
River City Bank total assets, billions of dollars
Sources: River City Bank (about, leadership, Sept. 4, 2020 release). 2008 = when Fleming took over.
The story of Steve Fleming
Fleming earned a bachelor’s degree in economics at UC Davis, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and an MBA at UC Berkeley. He spent more than 20 years at Bank of America in Sacramento and London, including on the executive committee for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, then founded Presidio Bank in San Francisco and led National Bank of the Redwoods in Santa Rosa.
River City Bank was founded in 1973 by broadcasting pioneer Jon S. Kelly. Under Fleming it began lending in the Bay Area in 2010, in Southern California in 2015 and across the Western U.S. in 2021, opened a San Francisco office in 2018 and created a Public Sector Banking Division in 2025.
On Aug. 6, 2026, River City Bank began trading on the Nasdaq as RCBC, in an offering of 2.7 million shares at $45 each. The Sacramento Business Journal named Fleming one of its first 25 Most Admired CEOs in 2020.
Awards and recognition
Milestones
- 1973Jon S. Kelly opens River City Bank in downtown Sacramento.
- 2008Fleming becomes president and CEO (September); assets about $800 million.
- 2010Commercial real estate lending begins in the Bay Area.
- 2018San Francisco office opens.
- 2020Sacramento Business Journal Most Admired CEO; assets $3.2 billion.
- 2025Public Sector Banking Division established.
- 2026Nasdaq listing as RCBC (Aug. 6); assets above $6 billion.
Companies and ventures
Lessons for business builders
- Steady compounding works: about 7.5 times the assets in 18 years.
- Expand lending where you have expertise, one market at a time.
- Serve the community that built the bank; local boards keep a bank close to its customers.
Sources
- River City Bank: Leadership
- River City Bank: About
- River City Bank: Most Admired CEO (Sept. 4, 2020)
- River City Bank: IPO closing (Aug. 7, 2026)
Photo: River City Bank (rivercitybank.com). Figures marked firm-reported come from the company; all others from the sources above, checked November 2026.
