Credit Suisse First Boston, an international investment banking firm, will bring its new $100 million global business center to the Wake County portion of Research Triangle Park next fall, adding 400 new jobs to the area, the company and state officials announced last week.
This move could increase the role of RTP in financial and investment services around the world, a responsibility the state is welcoming with open arms.
“This landmark announcement is a perfect fit for the state,” said Gov. Mike Easley in an Oct. 21 press release. “The decision by Credit Suisse First Boston to locate in North Carolina builds on our already strong financial service and our well-established information technology industry clusters here in the Triangle. To have a key Wall Street firm locate in RTP is a real win for North Carolina.”
CSFB plans to hire a large majority of its new employees in North Carolina. Average salaries for new positions will be nearly $72,000 a year.
“The blending of business and education is unparalleled,” said Eileen Murray, CSFB’s head of global technology, operations and product control, in a press release. “We are looking forward to being part of one of the fastest-growing and most vibrant parts of the country.”
The state Economic Investment Committee will supply a 10-year, $3 million job development investment grant for the company.
The N.C. Department of Commerce calculates that bringing in CSFB will increase the gross state product value by $2.4 billion and the net state revenue by $83.7 million over the next 10 years. It will also add nearly $2.9 million to North Carolina’s Industrial Development Fund to help with infrastructure improvements in the rural areas of the state.
Each year that CSFB meets these goals, the state will provide a grant equaling 70 percent of the state personal income withholding taxes. Over the next 10 years, the company could see benefits of $8.9 million from the state.
Job development investment grants are awarded to a maximum of 25 new or expanding businesses each year. The total for all of the grants is limited to $25 million per year. According to the governor’s press release, these grants have brought $1.1 billion in investment and 6,670 jobs to the state.
The company’s search, which surveyed 400 prospective locations, awarded RTP with the investment because of the area’s connections to local universities and a healthy partnership between business and the state.
The N.C. Department of Commerce, the N.C. Community College System, the Employment Security Commission of N.C., state and local Workforce Development Commissions, Wake County, the Research Triangle Foundation and Duke Energy donated to this project.
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