Jacksonville an d NORTHEAST FLORIDA
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.
Jacksonville’s financial services
climate has also attracted the
attention of foreign banks.
Germany-based Deutsche Bank opened a
Jacksonville operations center in 2008 and
already has nearly 2,000 employees, with plans
to add more.
Jacksonville has become Deutsche Bank’s
second-largest U.S. city of operation, behind
New York.
Australia-based Macquarie Group opened a
global financial services center in Jacksonville
in 2016 with plans to create 140 jobs. Macquarie
chose Jacksonville over 20 other cities for the
center.
“Jacksonville’s rich talent pool, incredible
quality of life and downtown growth provide
us the key ingredients to continue growing
Macquarie Group offices
at Riverplace Tower
30 JACKSONVILLE AND NORTHEAST FLORIDA SPONSORED SECTION
our operations in the U.S.,” Macquarie CFO
Patrick Upfold said as he cut the ribbon on the
downtown office.
Jacksonville’s largest homegrown bank,
EverBank, was acquired by TIAA in 2017. But
the St. Louis-based financial services company
decided to keep the headquarters of the merged
bank at EverBank’s offices in Jacksonville,
where the company employed about 1,600.
While the big banks grab headlines,
the Jacksonville market has
room for smaller financial institutions
to serve the community.
Northeast Florida is home to 19 credit unions,
led by VyStar Credit Union. Founded in 1952
as Jax Navy Federal with 12 members and
$60, today VyStar is the second-largest credit
union in Florida and the 18th largest in the U.S.,
with $6.8 billion in assets. It serves more than
560,000 members.
Credit unions provide a necessary service in
the marketplace, says Bruce Fafard, CEO of 121
Financial Credit Union.
“We compete by providing service to what
would be called the underserved, or the middle
class,” he says.
Fafard’s institution was one of the first credit
unions established in the U.S. in 1935. It was
founded as Florida Telco Credit Union and
became 121 Financial in 2010.
While Jacksonville is home to many giant
global financial institutions, Fafard says credit
unions like 121 appeal to consumers who prefer
the “buy local” concept.
Largest Area Banks
by Deposit
(in Billions)
Bank of America $24.0
EverBank $16.7
Wells Fargo $6.0
Compass $2.6
SunTrust $2.0
Regions $1.0
Ameris $1.0
60,000+
FINANCIAL
SERVICES
WORKERS
Employed
in Northeast
Florida