Residents of this banking center of the U.S. South were living the high life. Then came the market meltdown and the resultant evaporation of high-paying jobs and confidence. On the surface, there's little to suggest Charlotte, the great banking center of the American South, is hurting. And yet, the financial crisis has probably hit harder here than just about anywhere outside of Lower Manhattan, jeopardizing the city's status as the No. 2 banking centre in the United States. In the past year, Charlotte has lost the headquarters of homegrown Wachovia Corp., once the fourth-largest bank in the country. That brought the additional pain of losing some 2,000 high-paying jobs that were cut following its shotgun marriage with San Francisco-based Wells Fargo. No. 2 Bank of America is still here, but it's in the ranks of the country's many “zombie” banks – still hoarding cash and reluctant to take on much risk as it operates under the watchful eye of regulators.
There's speculation that whoever succeeds Bank of America's chief executive officer Ken Lewis when he leaves at the end of the month will order a breakup of the financial behemoth, delivering another indignity to Charlotte.
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