SMBC plans to build a second US headquarters in Charlotte

• Key insight: Tokyo-based SMBC says its second U.S. headquarters in Charlotte will help support an expanding corporate and investment banking operation.
• Supporting data: SMBC plans to add as many as 2,000 jobs in North Carolina over the next six years.
• Expert quote: "We know that there are clients of SMBC in Japan that are probably always thinking about further expansion, including into the United States." — Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina CEO Christopher Chung

Tokyo-based Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. has made headlines for dismantling much of its U.S. presence. SMBC shuttered Jenius Bank, its digital-only consumer unit, in January. Last week it agreed to sell a commercial banking unit to Hope Bancorp.

Amid the divestitures, SMBC made clear that it planned to maintain a U.S. presence, focusing on corporate and investment banking, as well as the global markets business. It underscored that point Tuesday by announcing plans to construct a $50.5 million second U.S. headquarters in Charlotte.

SMBC's primary U.S. headquarters is in New York.

While SMBC is no stranger to Charlotte — it has about 160 people based there now — building a second headquarters pushes its presence to a new and higher level. The Japanese banking giant expects to add as many as 2,000 employees, mostly in support roles, over the next six years.

"This is a significant, long‑term commitment, one that reflects our confidence in this region and our plan to build lasting roots here," SMBC Americas CEO Hirofumi Otsuka said Tuesday during a ceremony celebrating the announcement.

Charlotte already serves as the headquarters city for two of America's largest banks, Bank of America and Truist Financial. North Carolina officials fought hard to lure SMBC, viewing its presence as a potential magnet for additional Japanese investment.

"We know that there are clients of SMBC in Japan that are probably always thinking about further expansion, including into the United States," Christopher Chung, CEO of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, told American Banker. "To the extent SMBC can influence those decisions, or even speak to its experience of doing business in North Carolina, we think that will be additive to our efforts."

The effort to land SMBC's planned second headquarters was "very competitive," Chung said. "We know that at a minimum, Jacksonville, Florida, was another location they were strongly considering."

More than 220 Japanese companies do business in North Carolina, Otsuka said, adding that SMBC will be an "engaged member" of the Charlotte community. 

"We are proud of the jobs this project will create, but our goal is broader," Otsuka said. "Our goal is to be a trusted, engaged member of this community and a long‑term partner in its success."

Most of Japan's leading banks, including MUFG and Mizuho Financial Group, have a presence in the U.S. and are active providers of advisory and corporate and investment banking services. They've been less successful in the retail and small- and medium-size business sectors. MUFG exited the U.S. retail banking market in December 2022, after agreeing to sell its MUFG Union Bank subsidiary to U.S. Bancorp for approximately $8 billion.

SMBC launched Jenius in 2023 in an effort to attract deposits and loans from upwardly mobile U.S. consumers. Though Jenius surpassed the $1 billion deposit threshold less than two years later, it had yet to reach the break-even point, prompting SMBC to cease operations in a cost-cutting move. 

The $28.2 billion-asset Axos Financial agreed to acquire $2.6 billion of Jenius deposits in February. SMBC extended its retail pullback to small- and medium-size business lending with the deal to sell SMBC Manubank's commercial banking unit to the $18.5 billion-asset, Los Angeles-based Hope.