Wall Street firms are increasing their presence in Dallas, with a notable shift of financial institutions moving operations and acquiring office space in the city. This trend has been highlighted by the recent approval for the Texas Stock Exchange to open, following authorization from the Securities and Exchange Commission. The exchange is temporarily operating at 4550 Travis Street in Uptown Dallas while searching for a permanent headquarters, likely downtown.
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq are also planning regional headquarters in Dallas. NYSE will establish its Texas exchange offices at Harlan Crow’s Old Parkland in Uptown Dallas.
Major companies are showing interest in this growing financial hub. D.R. Horton, the nation’s largest homebuilder based in Arlington, plans to list on the NYSE Texas exchange.
Texas has surpassed New York City in the number of financial services jobs, according to reports. More positions are expected as Goldman Sachs builds a $500 million office in Uptown and Wells Fargo develops a large campus in Irving’s Las Colinas area.
JPMorgan Chase, currently the largest U.S. bank, now employs more people in Texas than at its New York City headquarters. The company has 18,000 employees in Dallas compared to 24,000 in New York City.
Chase CEO Jamie Dimon expressed his support for Texas as a business environment: “It’s hospitable. It’s the infrastructure, it’s the education, it’s the taxes. They want business, they support it,” Dimon told the Dallas Morning News last year. “It’s conducive to helping everybody. That’s how you build a healthy, vibrant society. And so we’re urging them here not to become like Washington, D.C., which does almost everything it can to slow down the growth of companies.”
Concerns have arisen among some New Yorkers about this migration of financial services jobs out of New York City. Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO of Partnership for New York City, said on talk radio recently: “The financial services industry, they’re our biggest taxpayers and major employers — and that industry is shrinking in New York… That’s scary.”
Despite these shifts toward Texas markets such as Dallas-Fort Worth—an area favored by Chase CEO Jamie Dimon—the company is also preparing to open a new 2.5 million-square-foot headquarters on Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.
In addition to job growth and office expansions tied to finance firms’ arrival, Uptown Dallas has become a focal point for commercial real estate activity related to these changes. Notable deals include Bank of America signing a lease for 238,000 square feet at Parkside Uptown under construction by KDC; Union Investment selling an office building at 2000 McKinney Avenue—the largest office transaction this year—to an undisclosed buyer after realizing significant value over its previous purchase price; and Cousins Properties’ acquisition of Link at Uptown for $218 million.
Another major deal involved NorthPark Center owners Nasher-Haemisegger family securing $900 million refinancing from banks including Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs—allowing them to buy out JPMorgan’s stake in their mall property while retiring previous debt obligations.
Eiseman Jewels made a substantial investment into NorthPark Center recently; Neiman Marcus is also expected to invest further into its store there.
Joshua Pack—a co-CEO at Fortress Investment Group who had relocated from Dallas to London—recently passed away at age 51 after two decades with the firm.
