Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

I am doing my report on Charlotte North Carolina. Both companies and individuals are attracted to very successful Charlotte region. Accelerating with economics and commercial activity this city has all has all the advantages of one of the most rapidly growing metropolitan areas in the nation. And from my experiences to Charlotte the people are friendly and have that small town environment that I like. Charlotte was settled by the Scotch-Irish in the seventeen forties, the Charlotte area also felt the strong influence of German colonists who came south about the same time. The city of Charlotte owes it name to the German born Queen Charlotte, wife of England's King George III, and also the county to her birthplace of Mecklenburg. That's also why Charlotte is referred to as the "Queen City" and why the Bank of America buildings have a crown architecturally incorporated in its design.

From its modest beginnings as a small village, Charlotte abruptly attained city status with America's first discovery of gold in 1799. It was also the first small step in establishing the city as a financial center. Charlotte quickly became the gold mining capital of the country until the California Gold Rush fifty years later. It was about that time that the cotton industry moved south from New England. By 1903, the Charlotte area was clearly defined as a textile leader. But the real driving force propelling business activities was the arrival of the railroad. Charlotte is also a major distribution hub and is at the center of the largest consolidated rail system in the United States.

Charlotte is the center of the nation's fifth largest urban region. This fact is startling considering that Charlotte is a mid sized city with a population of 632,760 that is the largest city within the region. Of the major distribution centers in the Southeast, Charlotte has 6.9 million and Atlanta has 7.5 million people living within a 100- mile radius. This radius population well exceeds Miami's 5.8 million and the 2.6 million around Memphis. Charlotte has emerged as a financial, distribution, and transportation center for the entire urban region. In addition, Charlotte has developed into a major wholesale center with the highest per capita sales in the United States, ranking 6th nationally in total wholesale sales.

Charlotte serves as the subsidiary headquarters for many major national and international companies. During the past ten years, 8,888 new firms have invested $9.1 billion in new Charlotte facilities. Abundant modern office space is conveniently located throughout the city, with 6.7 million square feet available for lease. Dun & Bradstreet lists 687 companies in their Million Dollar Data Base with facilities in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. Also 286 of the Fortune 500 companies have facilities here. Charlotte has more headquartered Fortune 500 companies than all but five other U.S. cities. Lots of companies have been attracted to Charlotte because of the numerous components of success provided in this city. In the past 10 years alone 8,928 new firms have opened in Charlotte creating 77,327 new jobs and investing $7.4 billion in new facilities. These companies call Charlotte home for a reason.

Charlotte is first and foremost a banking city. With more than $1.3 trillion in assets, it is the second largest financial center in the nation, behind only New York. Businesses have many options in dealing with firms ranging from large bank holding companies offering diverse financial services with operations throughout the world to small, locally operated companies often specializing in one particular financial service. More banking resources ($1.3 trillion) are headquartered in Charlotte than in all but one other U.S. city. Five of the nation's top 150 banks operate in Charlotte. The nation's largest two banks based on deposits, Bank of America and Wachovia, are both headquartered in Charlotte. Their combined deposits total more than one half trillion dollars.

Charlotte banks provide sophisticated cash management services that help move a company's funds into and out of Charlotte. Enhancing Charlotte's position as a financial center is a branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and a U.S. Postal Service State Distribution Mail Facility. The expertise of Charlotte banks in services such as concentration accounts, disbursement accounts and lock boxes, assures that a company's available funds are efficiently utilized. Charlotte headquartered banks are the largest factoring banks in the world, and they also operate the nation's largest bank branch system in addition to nearly 21,000 automated teller machines.

Banking deregulation in the 1980's and 1990's encouraged the development of interstate banking, and Charlotte institutions are in the forefront of developing strong national and regional networks. Charlotte-based bank holding companies presently operate in 29 states plus the District of Columbia. Such interstate networks allow companies operating in North Carolina and other Southeastern states uniform and simplified financial support. Charlotte is well positioned to handle international banking needs. Many of the banks offer international services. Multiple banks in Charlotte have international departments and offer foreign currency exchange, multi-currency loans, trade financing, letters of credit, money transfers and cash management.

In addition to their nearly 10,000 domestic branches, they operate branches and representatives offices in 45 countries including these financial capitals: Amsterdam, Antwerp, Beijing, Calcutta, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Jakarta, London, Madrid, Manila, Melbourne, Mexico City, Milan, New Delhi, Paris, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Sidney, Singapore, Taipei, and Tokyo. Several other Charlotte banks offer international banking through subsidiaries. Foreign deposits total more than $43 billion.

Charlotte banking is highly competitive with 20 banks having 218 banking offices throughout the city and county. Charlotte enjoys one of the highest ratios of bank branches to population in the nation. No point in the city is more than 2 1/2 miles from a branch. In fact, there are usually several convenient alternatives available. Two hundred and seventy two mortgage banking companies operate in Charlotte including fourteen of the nation's 25 largest. Two of the nation's largest mortgage lenders are headquartered in Charlotte. These two alone service over $53 billion in mortgages. Charlotte banks also lead the way in commercial and industrial loans. Eight of the top 10 banks in this category operate in Charlotte. A volume of approximately $126 billion in commercial and