First Horizon is prioritizing a more robust presence in Charlotte given the city’s growth as a financial hub, according to the bank’s mid-Atlantic regional president. 

The Memphis, Tennessee-based regional lender, which has a 12-state footprint mainly in the South, has just shy of 200 employees in Charlotte.

“We do anticipate increasing our associate base across the region and specifically in Charlotte,” said Laura Bunn, who’s based in Raleigh, North Carolina. 

The bank declined to specify a goal related to expected hiring. The $81.2 billion-asset lender employs about 7,200 people across the company, according to its latest annual filing. 

“As our presence grows, we anticipate sustained hiring across key business lines such as commercial, small business, specialized client service and corporate roles,” Bunn said in a recent interview.

Earlier this month, the bank said it’s setting up a new Charlotte office space, in the city’s South End neighborhood. First Horizon plans to move into the location in mid-2026, consolidating two other office locations it has in the city. 

The bank will take over the top three floors – about 88,000 square feet – of a building that also counts cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and Winter Haven, Florida-based SouthState Bank among its office tenants, according to The Charlotte Observer. 

The office move “positions us to invest deeper in the local economy, strengthen relationships and support continuous growth for our clients and associates,” Bunn said.

Underscoring First Horizon’s growth in the city over the past year, Bunn referenced a recent town hall in Charlotte, where about 40% of attendees raised their hands to say they had joined the bank since November. The bank declined to provide specific figures on recent growth.

The bank’s Charlotte employees are a combination of regional and corporate staffers, with the latter in human resources, communications, anti-fraud and marketing, Bunn said. 

The bank’s digital team, in particular, has grown notably in Charlotte, as First Horizon makes investments in its digital platform to improve client experience, Bunn said. Given the city’s big-bank presence – as home base for Bank of America and Truist – the local talent pool “is central to our strategy,” she said. 

First Horizon seeks to bring on bankers and continue to build out its corporate teams, such as digital and fraud, Bunn said. The lender is marching toward $100 billion in assets, which heightens regulatory requirements.

Shaun McDougall, the lender’s recently hired head of consumer banking, said First Horizon is enhancing its digital platform with security and convenience in mind. The bank is also tackling ongoing modernization, including updating core systems, he said. 

“Expanding our Charlotte hub allows us to attract top-tier associate talent, ensuring we adapt to our clients’ evolving needs,” McDougall said.

In his newly created role, McDougall oversees retail, digital and small-business banking teams. Prior to joining First Horizon, he was focused on branch banking growth and customer experience strategy at Wells Fargo; before that, he spent time at HSBC and Citizens, and more than a dozen years at JPMorgan Chase. 

McDougall is focused on tapping insights gained elsewhere “to bring the right technology and strategic thinking to our teams” to ensure the bank is delivering safe and secure experiences for clients, he said in a Monday email. 

He’s tasked with overseeing the delivery of an integrated client experience for bank customers. “It’s essential to build trust and provide intuitive technology, whether clients bank digitally or visit our banking centers,” he said.

The banking field has grown increasingly crowded in the Southeast, and Charlotte in particular is a market many banks are targeting for customer and employee growth. U.S. Bank, for example, opened its seventh branch in the city last week, and wants to double its presence in the market.

First Horizon, leaning on what the lender refers to as its “big bank muscle and small bank hustle,” aims to bridge the gap between larger and smaller competitors, McDougall said, by bringing the power and capability of a big bank with the market-centric approach of a smaller bank.