Don’t count out N.C.’s smaller banks (free version)
Plus: Concert venue envisioned for Eastland; Readers sound off on CMS boundary plans; Charlotte companies load up on lobbyists; Auditor plans re-election campaign after hit-and-run
Good morning! Today is Wednesday, April 26, 2023. You’re reading The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.
Today’s Charlotte Ledger is sponsored by SPARK Publications. SPARK Publications helps business owners and leaders create (write, edit, design, layout, and publish) their custom nonfiction books to help grow their business, brand, and platform (cookbooks, business, coffee table, workbooks, specialty publications). Located in Charlotte, working nationally.
Editor’s note: This is a shorter, free version of The Charlotte Ledger sent to people on our free sign-up list. The complete version for paying members went out 15 minutes ago. It included:
The complete article examining the fallout in North Carolina from last month’s high-profile bank failures — and what it means for the state’s banking industry: both the big banks in Charlotte and the many smaller hometown banks throughout the state.
The scoop on a new proposal for Eastland that has not been made public yet. Well-placed sources tell us there’s momentum building toward a soon-to-emerge plan for a concert venue and several other components at the site, which once was envisioned as a training facility for Charlotte FC.
Details on how many lobbyists major Charlotte companies employ in Raleigh. An article we co-published with N.C. Health News and The Assembly on Blue Cross NC revealed that the insurer has 14 lobbyists working on its behalf — so we examined the lobbying presence of Charlotte’s banks, Duke Energy, hospital systems and more.
Ledger members also received Tuesday’s Ways of Life obituaries newsletter, examining the life of Peetie Davant, a force of nature who will be remembered for her environmentalism, her cross-country road trip and for wearing distinctive hats. She died in March at age 94.
Local journalism, in Charlotte and elsewhere, is in crisis, after more than a decade of repeated layoffs and cutbacks.
The Ledger is working to reverse that trend. We’re growing. We’ve found a business model that works — and that assures a bright future for smart and responsible local journalism. It’s not by employing failed tactics like churning out clickbait, or by becoming a marketing arm of deep-pocketed companies. Rather, it is by valuing your intelligence and producing information you crave about your community.
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Charlotte’s big banks made gains after last month’s banking crisis. Smaller institutions lost billions in deposits — but in N.C., they say they’re doing just fine
By Hannah Lang
On March 10, Adam Currie’s cell phone started lighting up.
Currie, chief banking officer at First Bank, took calls from dozens of clients that weekend. They’d read about the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, and they had questions.
“Is my money safe?” they asked. “Is your balance sheet sound?” “Should I be worried?”
“Most people that I talked to just wanted somebody that they trusted to tell them that it was going to be OK,” Currie said.
After a tumultuous few weeks in which clients and industry pundits questioned the future of small banks, lenders in N.C. now say they’ve pretty much moved on from the banking crisis.
That’s in spite of a gloomy economic picture that suggests it’s not the best time to be a small bank.
In the wake of two of the largest bank failures in U.S. history, consumers fled for the perceived safety of institutions considered “too big to fail,” while midsized and regional banks lost billions. Large banks posted big gains in quarterly earnings this month, while smaller institutions are expected to take a hit. Even with the threat of a recession looming, megabanks raked in revenue on higher interest rates — while some say smaller banks are headed for a credit crunch.
That’s all to say that it’s been a pretty good month to be JP Morgan Chase, or Bank of America, or even Wells Fargo, and a bad month for just about everybody else.
Hannah Lang is a freelance reporter based in Charlotte. Most recently, she covered banking and economic equity at The Charlotte Observer. Her work has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal, the Triangle Business Journal and the Greensboro News & Record.
Related Ledger articles:
“Is it time to let Wells Fargo out of the penalty box?” (🔒, March 22)
“Local startups jolted by bank collapse” (March 13)
Latest Eastland proposal: Concert venue + more?
With the clock ticking for developers to propose or refine projects at the old Eastland Mall, there’s apparently a new option in the mix.
You might recall that last month, the City Council was told that there are three proposals to develop a portion of the long-vacant Eastland site — a tennis facility, an aquatic center and a Target.
Now, we’re hearing from well-placed sources that a new group has emerged and is proposing
Related Ledger articles:
“Crescent’s River District is open to including a sports complex” (🔒, April 5)
“Choice at Eastland: tennis, swimming … or a Target?” (🔒, March 2)
Reader mailbag: Readers sound off on new CMS south Charlotte boundary draft maps; district leaders want feedback by Friday
Last week was big for south Charlotte school news, as Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools unveiled a new draft plan for the redrawing of boundary lines in preparation for adding a new high school and new middle school to relieve overcrowding.
The new plan would affect 28 elementary, middle and high schools, and as you’d expect, the boundary redrawing process has been, well, a dynamic one.
The Ledger has been covering the progression of map drafts exhaustively over the last several months, attending meeting after meeting and talking to families in many parts of the zone in flux.
After our coverage last week, several readers wrote in to offer their thoughts on the boundary discussions. Here’s a sampling:
✉️ Olde Providence could have been close to school: “It is interesting that Olde Providence neighbors are fighting the South Meck move based on distance when they are closer to South Meck than they are to their current school of Myers Park. This is the same group who fought to keep the new high school out of their area a few years back. I’d also bring up the Olde Providence [community] was really opposed to a new high school close by. If they are concerned with distance, they had a chance to be within walking distance.”
✉️ Latest draft is ‘spot on’: “Thank you for keeping this matter in the forefront. Ultimately, CMS has a vision, mission, core beliefs, commitments and equity policy, that were clearly not considered in Phase 2 Draft 1 in an effort to appease the vocal minority. Draft 2 clearly addresses all 4 pillars without following any 1 or 2 off a cliff and sets all impacted students up for academic success to the best extent possible. … Draft 2 is spot on. Great job, CMS!”
✉️ Distances can be more than averages suggest: “We routinely hear the difference in distance between South Meck and Providence characterized as a couple of miles. Everyone’s mileage will vary, of course, but for our family, it’s a difference of 9 miles versus 2 miles. It’s the difference between my daughter walking or biking to school and spending huge chunks of her mornings and afternoons in a car or bus trying to traverse one of the most congested and under-construction areas in the city. Anyway, it’s obviously a complex problem; I’m among those who see no great solution. But the home-to-school distance consideration is a good bit weightier for our neighborhood than the two-mile figure suggests.”
➡️ Feedback time: CMS is circulating a feedback form, and officials told community groups last week that they’d like to receive feedback by this Friday so they can sift through it and make changes to the current draft before the public hearing on May 23. The school board is expected to vote on the new boundaries at its meeting June 6. —CB
Related Ledger articles:
“5 new hotspots in the CMS boundary maps” (🔒, April 21)
“BREAKING: New CMS south Charlotte boundary draft maps revealed” (April 19)
Nonprofit Blue Cross wants to operate more like a for-profit business; 14 lobbyists make the case in Raleigh
Blue Cross NC, North Carolina’s largest health insurance provider, is pushing for changes from Raleigh that would allow it to expand — but the effect on consumers is unclear.
In an article published Monday by N.C. Health News, The Assembly and The Ledger, Rose Hoban writes:
After a high-profile contract loss this winter, the nonprofit health insurance carrier is asking lawmakers for a serious and potentially far-reaching change to state regulations so that it can behave more like national for-profit competitors.
On Monday, North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey came out swinging against the bill, taking a fight that has been brewing inside the General Assembly this spring to the broader public. …
Ahead of Causey’s remarks, the screen behind him had displayed a slide that proclaimed in large letters: “This bill is about corporate greed.”
Proponents argue it would level the playing field, but skeptics say a lack of transparency could bring serious uncertainty for the more than 4 million North Carolinians whose insurance cards bear the name “Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina.”
The insurer has been making the case to members of the General Assembly with the help of 14 lobbyists. That’s a lot of lobbying muscle.
The bill passed a House committee on Tuesday and appears to have the support of Republican leadership in both chambers, the N.C. Tribune reported this morning.
➡️ You can read the full in-depth article on the issue on our website here. —TM
There are plenty of lobbyists in Raleigh — and lots of Charlotte companies are paying them
The revelation (above) that Blue Cross NC has 14 lobbyists representing its interests in Raleigh got us thinking: What Charlotte companies have enlisted lobbyists?
As of Monday, there were 747 registered lobbyists in the state, representing a diverse group of interests.
Seems like a lot of companies and organizations want a seat at the table as policy is made. The old saying is that either you’re at the table — or you’re on the menu.
Here’s the list of Charlotte-based companies, or those with a large Charlotte presence, and how many lobbyists they have advancing their interests in Raleigh, according to the N.C. Secretary of State’s office:
After hit-and-run charge, state auditor says she accepts accountability — and suggests she plans to run for re-election
In her first extended media interview since pleading guilty last month to a hit-and-run charge, State Auditor Beth Wood said she accepts “accountability for my mistake” — and suggested she plans to run for re-election next year.
In an upcoming episode of the PBS show “Carolina Business Review,” in reply to a question from host Chris William, Wood said:
I am disappointed in the decision I made in less than 60 seconds that evening. I am so disappointed in myself. But I have not let this issue define me. …
What I’ve absolutely done is accept accountability for my mistake — both personally with the charges, financially paying for the damages —but no, it has not undermined my confidence in the job I have done in the last 14 years or that I will do for the next two or six, if I get re-elected.
She paid $11,000 in personal money related to damages from the December wreck in Raleigh. Wood, 69, is a Democrat who was first elected auditor in 2009. The next election for the position is next year.
Wood also took questions from guests Matt Martin of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and Karen Coltrane of the Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry. The Ledger received an early look at the video on Tuesday.
The full episode, available on various PBS stations in the Carolinas, begins airing Friday (including at 8:30 p.m. Friday on PBS Charlotte/WTVI). —TM
You might be interested in these Charlotte events: Ledger ‘80s party, Party in Latta Park
Events submitted by readers to The Ledger’s events board:
THURSDAY: Charlotte Ledger 40 Over 40 Awards, 6-9 p.m., Charlotte Museum of History. Join The Charlotte Ledger crew for a fun 1980s-themed party as we celebrate this year’s 40 Over 40 award winners with food, drinks, entertainment, costume contest, concert ticket giveaways … and a few surprises. Don’t miss it. $95. (Ledger members $10 off with promo code)
SATURDAY: Party in the Park, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Latta Park, Charlotte. Family friendly party in the park, burgers, beer tents, bouncy house, live music, raffle prizes (you must be present to win). Free.
◼️ Check out the full Ledger events board.
➡️ List your event on the Ledger events board.
In brief
New CLT airport overlook update: Charlotte Douglas International Airport released renderings Monday of the new airport overlook area. It will feature views of the runways, 145 parking spots, a food truck staging area, special historical aviation exhibits and a memorial for those killed in US Air Flight 1016, which crashed at Charlotte in 1994. The new overlook is scheduled to open in late spring or summer of 2024. (WFAE)
Affordable housing in Ballantyne: The City Council approved $3.1M for low-income housing off Johnson Road near Ballantyne, an area that traditionally has had little city-supported affordable housing. It was part of $24M approved for eight housing projects throughout the city. (WFAE)
Office tower owner relinquishes it to lender: The First Citizens Bank Plaza uptown is being turned over to its lender by owner The Delwig Cos., after WeWork defaulted on its lease. The 23-story tower is 42% full, and Delwig owes $120M on a loan after buying the building for $79M in 2017. (Biz Journal, subscriber-only)
New ABC Board chair: Monifa Drayton was sworn in last week as chair of the Mecklenburg County Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board. She is the first Black woman to hold the position. She first joined the board as a member in 2018 and succeeds former chair, Earl Leake. (QCity Metro)
New DNA lab to quickly solve sexual assault cases: StarMed Healthcare launched a private forensic DNA lab to solve sexual assault cases faster and end the backlog of sexual assault kits. StarMed will work with local and state agencies throughout the country. North Carolina has 16,000 sexual assault kits that are still untested, according to the state Department of Justice. (WSOC)
Quail Hollow Club to close for upgrades: Next week, the PGA Tour returns to Charlotte’s Quail Hollow Club for the Wells Fargo Championship, but soon after, the golf club will close for a $3M upgrade. Club President Johnny Harris said the club is in shape for next week’s tournament but needs some upgrades for future events — like the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship and the PGA Championship in 2025. (Biz Journal, subscriber-only)
American Airlines extends Madrid route: The American Airlines flight from CLT to Madrid, Spain, has been extended year-round, according to a press release. It will fly once daily. (Biz Journal, subscriber-only)
First concert announced at Ballantyne’s The Amp: Northwood Office announced Tuesday that punk rock bands All Time Low and Gym Class Heroes, along with Grayscale and Lauran Hibberd, will perform live at The Amp Ballantyne on Sept. 26. It will be the first performance at The Amp and the second performance of Northwood’s 2023 fall concert series. Tickets will be available for purchase on April 28 at 10 a.m.
Programming note: Ledger editor Tony Mecia appears as a guest on 90.7 WFAE at 6:40 a.m. and 8:40 a.m. on Thursdays for a discussion of the week’s local business news in the station’s “BizWorthy” segment. Audio and transcripts are also available online.
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Staff writer: Lindsey Banks; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Contributing photographer/videographer: Kevin Young, The 5 and 2 Project