Jacksonville an d NORTHEAST FLORIDA
Florida’s Banking Center
Jacksonville is historically Florida’s banking capital, and Northeast Florida continues
to be a center of financial activity.
Jacksonville earned its reputation as Florida’s
banking center in the 20th century, and even
as the financial services industry consolidates
in the 21st century, Northeast Florida continues
to be a hotbed of banking activity.
The U.S. has four dominant banking
companies with more than $1 trillion in assets,
and all four have major operations centers in
Jacksonville.
It starts with Bank of America, which already
had a large banking presence in Jacksonville
after acquiring Jacksonville’s biggest homegrown
bank, Barnett, in 1998.
But Bank of America grew its Jacksonville
operation even more through its 2009 merger
with Merrill Lynch, which had its own office
campus on the city’s Southside. Bank of
America now employs about 8,000 people in
the area.
Citibank isn’t a player in the Northeast
Florida banking market, with just one
consumer branch, but it’s a major employer
with more than 4,000 workers in Jacksonville
supporting customer operations.
JPMorgan Chase was also not a player in
the local banking market but became a major
employer in 2008 by acquiring a mortgage
46 JACKSONVILLE AND NORTHEAST FLORIDA SPONSORED SECTION
company that traced its roots in Jacksonville
to the 19th century. Its Chase Bank unit began
opening branches in Northeast Florida in 2013,
and it now has nearly 4,000 employees in the
region.
Finally, Wells Fargo, which has the largest
branch network of any bank in the Jacksonville
area, has about 3,500 employees.
Other top U.S. banks have also
been attracted to the Northeast
Florida market in recent years.
Sixth-ranked PNC Bank announced in
late 2017 that it is establishing a regional
headquarters office in Jacksonville to pursue
corporate banking clients.
Ninth-ranked TD Bank entered the market
in 2010 and has nine branches in Northeast
Florida.
Cindy Stover, TD’s North Florida market
president, says the area’s low cost of finding
available space and its legacy of finding talent
to staff operations centers make it attractive
for big banks.
“The people who have been here are pretty
pleased,” she says.
The low cost
of space
and ease of
staffing make
the area
attractive for
big banks.
— Cindy Stover
TD Bank
North Florida
Market President