Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. will open a second U.S. headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, adding 2,000 jobs and investing $50.5 million in the banking sector hotspot over the next six years.
Charlotte is a “standout location for [SMBC] to invest in North Carolina for the long term in a major expansion that will establish our roots in the community,” SMBC Americas CEO Hirofumi Otsuka said in a prepared statement.
The city is a “major financial services hub” with “a deep pool of talent,” Otsuka said.
Charlotte is the second-largest banking city in the country after New York City, according to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, with about $362 billion in banking assets. SMBC has its U.S. headquarters in New York City.
Several major banks are growing in the Queen City these days – including Citi, which opened a Charlotte office this year, and U.S. Bank, which is looking to double its Charlotte presence.
SMBC already counts a Charlotte office where some executives, including recently hired Chief Information Security Officer Donna Hart, are based. A spokesperson declined to disclose the address of the new HQ, but the City of Charlotte said in its own announcement that it would be in the city’s Uptown business district.
Hiring for the 2,000 roles will occur over the next six years, the SMBC spokesperson said. Some Charlotte-based jobs are already listed on LinkedIn. Staff will work from the new HQ as early as the end of this year, according to the spokesperson.
Jobs will include back- and middle-office roles in support of the broader U.S. business, which focuses on commercial and investment banking, project finance, and sales and trading, the spokesperson said.
Charlotte hires will earn an average salary of $165,686, according to the City of Charlotte. In all, the HQ will generate a total annual impact of $1.17 million, the city said.
North Carolina is home to three Fortune 500 financial services headquarters: Truist and Bank of America in Charlotte, and First Citizens Bank in Raleigh.
The state’s financial and fintech sectors have seen 25% growth since 2019, a spokesperson for the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina told Banking Dive.
“What distinguishes North Carolina is how it pairs that scale with innovation,” the spokesperson said via email. “A growing fintech ecosystem led by firms such as nCino and LendingTree is expanding alongside a steady pipeline of talent from institutions like Duke University and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.”
The new HQ is one of several developments in SMBC’s U.S. business this year. In January, the bank said it would wind down Jenius Bank, its digital bank; and in February, Axos Financial said in a regulatory filing it would acquire Jenius’ $2.6 billion in U.S. customer deposits. The deal is projected to close this quarter, according to Axos.
SMBC is also offloading its commercial unit to Los Angeles-based Bank of Hope for an undisclosed sum, the banks said March 31. The deal is expected to close later in 2026.
