Wells Fargo makes a change to improve ties with small businesses in Charlotte

Wells Fargo announced this week the creation of a new position designed to better serve its small-business customers in the Charlotte region, part of a nationwide strategy.

The business development officer in Charlotte, like similar roles recently created in the Triangle and Lexington areas, will focus on building and expanding relationships with small businesses, spokesman Josh Dunn said.

In Charlotte, the position is held by Corey Sturdivant, who has worked for Wells since 2014 as a market relationship manager. Sturdivant and his counterparts elsewhere in North Carolina began working in their new roles in October, Dunn said.

San Francisco-based Wells Fargo moved to create the roles to boost its market share among small businesses, said Jason Lackey, small business acquisition manager for the Carolinas.

During a review last year of how effective Wells is at serving small businesses nationwide, the bank noticed a gap when it came to companies with annual sales of $2 million to $5 million, said Lackey, who oversees Sturdivant and his counterparts in the Carolinas.

This past spring, Wells began appointing people to the new roles in markets such as Houston, New Mexico, California and parts of the Southeast to serve businesses in that revenue range, Lackey said.

The Carolinas are part of a second roll-out phase, after which the bank expects to have more business development officers across the U.S., said Lackey, who is based in Charlotte.

Lackey, who previously served as regional business banking manager for Wells in Charlotte, reports to Bob Marshall. Marshall is based in McLean, Va., and is Wells’ national small business development leader.

Wells said it plans to name another business development officer for the Charlotte region around the beginning of next year.

Charlotte remains Wells Fargo’s largest employment hub, employing roughly 24,000 people, more than Bank of America’s local employment of about 15,000.

The creation of the new roles comes as Wells Fargo continues recovering from a scandal over fake accounts that erupted in September 2016.

Since the scandal, Wells has reported slumps in certain customer activity and the loss of some business, though it has pointed to ongoing efforts to improve its reputation and change its practices.

This story was originally published November 14, 2017 at 12:15 PM with the headline "Wells Fargo makes a change to improve ties with small businesses in Charlotte."