GOED partners with UCFS to boost local financial industry

By Brice Wallace 

Utah state government and a research center have announced a partnership to expand and strengthen the financial services industry in the state.

The Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) and the Utah Center for Financial Services (UCFS) said the partnership will seek opportunities for existing and new financial services businesses in Utah, strengthen the state’s financial service cluster, develop online resources about the advantages of locating to Utah and collaborate with stakeholders.{mprestriction ids="1,3"} Stakeholders include financial service trade associations, federal and state banking regulators, the Economic Development Corporation of Utah (EDCUtah), investors and other industry professionals.

UCFS is an independent research center that partners with the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute and the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah. The center’s research focuses on the dual-banking system and the role of state-chartered banks in the U.S. UCFS also develops targeted banking curriculum, provides guidance for financial service-related projects, and offers networking opportunities for industry leaders and those interested in the sector.

“The Utah Center of Financial Services’ knowledge and experience will be a great asset to Utah and will strengthen our state’s financial industry,” said Val Hale, GOED’s executive director. “We welcome this long-term partnership and collaboration to support this key industry cluster that is critical to the state’s economy.”

Financial services is one of six industry clusters that GOED supports. It encompasses commercial and industrial banks, credit unions, fintech businesses, insurance organizations and other financial service enterprises. Most businesses are state- and federally regulated.

As of last year, Utah’s financial services industry accounted for 6,101 establishments and nearly 75,000 employees, according to the GOED website. EDCUtah said last year the industry experienced employment growth of more than 23 percent over the previous five years.

The Utah Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) website says the department regulates 23 banks, 35 credit unions, 15 industrial banks and two trust companies. Utah also has nine national banks, four out-of-state state banks, 34 federal credit unions and one federal savings association. DFI says that as of June 30, 2017, Utah depository institutions had total assets of $619.5 billion. Of that total, $327.4 billion was in banks, $24.7 billion was in credit unions, $143.9 billion was in industrial banks and $123.5 billion was in savings associations. DFI also says approximately 1,085 consumer lenders have notified the department they are conducting business in Utah.

Utah is ranked eighth among states for state-charted bank assets as of March 2018, according to an FIDC Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income report.

EDCUtah last November cited figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that indicated that Salt Lake City led the nation with 20.89 percent growth in the financial services industry since 2007. It also led the nation in the number of industrial banks by being one of only seven states that can charter such banks.

State officials have attributed much of the industry’s recent growth to the expansion of Goldman Sachs’ operations in the state — lending cachet and pulling in other financial institutions to do business in Utah. Goldman Sachs’ original Utah office opened in 2000 with 100 employees but as of last year that figure had ballooned to 2,350. The Salt Lake City office is the company’s second-largest in the U.S. and fourth-largest worldwide.{/mprestriction}