Big banks in transition after years of dominance

Three years after the financial crisis, Banktown is still in a time of transition.

Charlotte-based Bank of America Corp. continues to wrestle with toxic loans inherited from its 2008 Countrywide Financial Corp. purchase and is working to adjust to new financial regulations.

Down Tryon Street, Wachovia is now part of San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co. and in October will exchange its blue-and-green signs for red-and-yellow ones. After that, a North Carolina banking brand with roots to 1879 will be relegated to history.

Thanks to Bank of America's more than $2 trillion in assets, Charlotte remains the nation's No. 2 banking center behind New York. But it's a crown that's more than a bit smudged.

The financial crisis cost Charlotte 3,000 financial jobs and nearly $1 billion in wages from 2008 to 2009. Lately, though, there have been some hopefully signs on the employment front.

After 10 straight quarters of declines, financial jobs in Mecklenburg County ticked up three of the four quarters in 2010, according to state labor data. The sector now employs more than 49,000, down from 54,000 at the beginning of 2007 but up from about 47,000 at the end of the fourth quarter.

In the past few years, financial companies such as lender Ally Financial and mortgage processor Zenta have announced expansion plans in Charlotte, looking to nab some of the city's financial workers. Banks such as U.S. Bancorp and SunTrust Banks have set up trading floors here, and small investment banks and private-equity firms have spun off from the big banks, adding to the diversity of the financial landscape.

The big banks also remain major employers.

Bank of America says it has about 15,000 workers in Charlotte, although chief executive Brian Moynihan has pledged to trim costs to improve profitability. Wells has more than 20,000 workers, about the same number as before the Wachovia merger, but has also launched a cost-cutting campaign.

As Charlotte's banks grew over the years, so did the city. While its twin financial giants competed in business, they worked together to attract sports teams, raise money for civic causes and enliven the center city.

In a sign of changing times, the leader behind the effort to lure the 2012 Democratic National Convention to Charlotte was not a banker but Duke Energy Corp. CEO Jim Rogers. Still, both banks remain heavily involved in local charities, and it's hard to miss Bank of America's name on the Carolina Panthers' stadium.