Bank moves headquarters

Bank moves headquarters

Courtesy Chemical Bank

A bank with a large West Michigan presence has moved its headquarters within the state and plans to hire 500 employees.

Chemical Bank, formerly based in Midland, moved its headquarters to an existing office in Detroit, at 333 Fort St., effective today.

In the longer term, the bank plans to move into a 20-story building that will be built at the corner of Woodward Avenue and Elizabeth Street in the city’s downtown.

Chemical plans to add more than 500 employees to the city’s workforce as part of its move into the new building.

Thomas Shafer, president and CEO of Chemical Bank, said the move to Detroit will help position the bank as "a leading financial institution in the Midwest."

“Detroit is the financial hub for advanced manufacturing and mobility, as well as a growing nexus for young entrepreneurs looking to leverage the city’s rich history of innovation and hard work, and Chemical Bank is excited to help them build our economy and invest in Michigan’s future,” Shafer said.

New banking partner

The move comes after the City of Detroit selected Chemical Bank as its new "primary banking partner" for managing the city’s operating deposit accounts, with expected balances of up to $500 million.

Chemical will provide banking services to the city, including a comprehensive suite of payment and deposit offerings, such as lockbox solutions.

Gary Torgow, chairman of the bank’s holding company, Chemical Financial Corporation, said the institution is “excited and pleased” to be chosen as Detroit’s banking partner.

“We are honored to be in a position to bring a bank headquarters back to the city of Detroit and become Detroit’s hometown bank,” Torgow said.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said he welcomes the partnership with Chemical.

“Chemical Bank is a great banking partner for the city’s finances and a great community partner now headquartered in the city of Detroit,” Duggan said.

Midland operations

Chemical Bank plans to retain its current Midland workforce of more than 500 employees, and Midland will continue to house its corporate operations center.

“We are excited about our continued strong ties to Midland and believe our operational infrastructure, which is based there, will continue to benefit from our increased transaction volumes from our growth markets,” Shafer said.

Chemical Bank

Chemical Financial Corporation (Nasdaq: CHFC) operates through its subsidiary, Chemical Bank, which had been headquartered in Midland since its founding in 1917.

The bank has 3,300 employees and 212 banking centers across Michigan, Indiana and Ohio.

As of June 30, 2018, the corporation had total assets of $20.3 billion.