Charlotte Snags Another Banking Headquarters Without the Amazon Hoopla
- North Carolina city didn’t offer lender any incentives
- Mayor says affordable living is big part of the city’s appeal
SunTrust Banks Inc. signage is displayed outside an automatic teller machine (ATM) in Washington, D.C.
Photographer: Andrew Harrer/BloombergIt was early on a February morning when Charlotte, North Carolina, Mayor Vi Lyles got the call: BB&T Corp. would combine with SunTrust Banks Inc. in the largest bank deal in a decade and wanted to place its headquarters in her city.
Charlotte didn’t even have to offer any incentives to lure the lending giant to the so-called Wall Street of the South, where a typical home is selling for less than $300,000, according to Zillow. "They did not ask us for anything," Lyles said in an interview. The city is finding strong interest from other companies, too, she says: "They’re probably targeting us because we talk a lot about our affordability."