James September-October 2024 web - Flipbook - Page 61
he financial industry in Georgia, centered
around Atlanta, plays a crucial role in
the state’s economy. My entire financial
career has been rooted in Atlanta, beginning in the early 2000s when I established
our private investment office and later expanded into a
broader financial services practice. Three decades ago,
the logical move might have been to head to Manhattan
or Chicago, but by the 2000s finance in Atlanta began to
gain serious traction. Since then, the arrival of significant
banking institutions, investment firms, and a robust financial industry has underscored the city’s emergence. The
presence of world-class universities and a diverse, skilled
workforce has also solidified Atlanta’s stature. Over the
years, I have witnessed the city’s transformation and the
rise of once-unimaginable opportunities. Atlanta is now
competing with major U.S. financial centers and becoming
a major financial hub.
Today’s Industry Landscape
Atlanta is one of the largest and most influential economies in the United States. The city and state boast a mix
of regional, community, national, and international banks.
Financial enterprises like Truist, Georgia’s Own Credit
Union, Delta Community Credit Union, Bank of America,
Capital One, TransUnion, and Square have substantial
operations here. Major international financial firms, such
as Intercontinental Exchange (ICE)— which operates
global exchanges and owns the New York Stock Exchange
(NYSE)— and Invesco, which started as Citizens & Southern Bank and now has $1.7 trillion in assets under management, are headquartered in Atlanta.
Numerous insurance companies are based in Atlanta
and Georgia at large, from Aflac in Columbus to firms like
Auto-Owners Insurance, State Farm, Nationwide, Farmers
Insurance, and Travelers Insurance. These companies not
only have large employment bases but also drive investment. State Farm’s corporate campus in Dunwoody is one
of the most significant corporate office projects to have
taken place in Atlanta in recent years, and it has transformed the Perimeter Center business district.
In the past year alone, the metropolitan area added
5,900 jobs in the financial sector. As of June 2024, Georgia’s financial sector employed approximately 286,300
people, which is a 2.5 percent increase year-over-year.
Atlanta is often referred to as “Transaction Alley” because
over 70 percent of U.S. debit and credit card transactions
are handled by Atlanta-based companies or firms with
a footprint in Atlanta. Companies like NCR Corporation,
Fiserv, Global Payments, and Elavon— a subsidiary of U.S.
Bancorp that processes more than 3 billion transactions
annually— drive this activity, which is some of the highest
volume of consumer transactions in the developed world.
