(The Center Square) – Citi and AssetMark are adding to the financial industry footprint of Charlotte, each on Tuesday announcing projects for North Carolina’s Queen City with combined investments eclipsing $26 million.
Citigroup, Inc., plans a $16.1 million office building with a promise to create 510 jobs of annual salary averaging $131,832. The state Department of Commerce says the average wage in Mecklenburg County is $86,830.
AssetMark, a wealth management platform for advisors, plans a $10 million investment for a new hub that will employ 252 people. These jobs will average annual pay of $110,518, the state said.
Economists question the effectiveness of financial incentives to businesses to expand or come to a new state. Context is encouraged when wages are introduced because a few corporate leaders at a site can skew the average higher while the median wage would not have the same ratio.
“As we reviewed our real estate footprint in the United States, Charlotte stood out as a location where we had a unique opportunity to invest by establishing a formal presence,” Edward Skyler, the Citi head of Enterprise Services & Public Affairs, said in a statement. “This will create a better working environment for our existing colleagues as well as allow us to further tap into the deep pool of talent in this market.”
Incentives for Citi, No. 36 on the Fortune 500 list, included $8.9 million over 10 years from the state Department of Commerce’s Job Development Investment Grant; $2 million from the N.C. Communitiy College System and Workforce Solutions; and about $375,000 from the city and Mecklenburg County.
Incentives for AssetMark included $1.9 million over 12 years from the state Department of Commerce’s Job Development Investment Grant; $900,000 from the N.C. Communitiy College System and Workforce Solutions; and about $170,000 from the city and Mecklenburg County.
In a corresponding move, because of Mecklenburg’s Tier 3 status for distress or lack thereof, about $2.9 million from the Economic Investment Committee goes to the state’s Utility Fund helping more stressed parts of the state.
JP Morgan Chase, headquartered in New York City, and Charlotte-anchored Bank of America are the respective Nos. 1 and 2 banks by size ahead of New York City native Citi. Wells Fargo, based in San Francisco, joins them as “too big to fail” megabanks under tight federal surveillance.
First-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein in a statement said, “There’s never been a month better for job recruitment in North Carolina. I am just incredibly excited that the company chose North Carolina over not only every state in the country but every country in the world. It’s because of our people.”
