TriCo Bancshares

At its inception in 1974, a group of farmers and small business owners within the Chico area came together to form their own bank and assist local growers. The company began operations with Robert H. Steveson as the first president and CEO.TriCo Bancshares was incorporated in 1981. It was formed as a holding company, with Tri Counties Bank as its sole subsidiary. Later that year, Tri Counties Bank merged with Shasta County Bank. The bank opened in store branches in 1994 to bring financial services into supermarkets. After Stevenson retired in 1999, Richard P. Smith became the president and CEO of the company.

In 2010, Richard P. Smith was named the chairman of the California Bankers Association and held the position through 2011, when the company acquired Citizens Bank of Northern California after regulators ordered it to permanently close due to financial loss from non-performing loans.

In 2013, the company opened a new $9 million campus at the Chico Airport complex, which houses information technology, operations, a call center, and training departments.The company then acquired North Valley Bank in 2014, expanding Humboldt, Trinity, and Sonoma counties. Three members of North Valley's board of directors joined the Tri Counties Bank board, which grew from nine seats to twelve. In 2018, the company acquired First National Bank of Northern California, expanding into the Bay Area market.In 2020, the Sacramento Business Journal nominated Bindu Jaduram with Tri Counties Bank as one of the year's Women Who Mean Business honorees. Jaduram helped the company expand its footprint by launching twelve new branches. A 2021 survey published in Forbes magazine of America's Best In-State-Banks ranked Tri Counties Bank as #2 in California.In 2021, the company acquired Valley Republic Bank. After the acquisition, the combined bank had more than $10 billion in assets.