Pittsburgh Finance + Business Services

Many American cities lost their large bank presence in the 1980s. Pittsburgh, in contrast, boasts a steadfast financial services sector that began with the region's emergence as an industrial center in the mid-1800s and has been thriving ever since. Today, approximately 68,000 people are employed in Pittsburgh's financial services sector. From BNY Mellon to PNC to Federated Investors, Pittsburgh's history in this industry is as unique as its relative stability in today's turbulent economic climate.

Pittsburgh was home to one of the nation's first venture capitalists. Andrew Mellon - along with his father, Thomas Mellon, and his brother, Richard Mellon - founded Mellon National Bank in 1869. It would become one of the world's largest money management firms and a driving force behind founding the modern aluminum, oil, consumer electronics and financial industries. Mellon Financial Corporation merged with the Bank of New York to become The Bank of New York Mellon in 2007. Today, BNY Mellon is expanding in Pittsburgh, one of its primary global operations centers, and plans to add more than 1,000 jobs here in the coming years.

Headquartered in its hometown of Pittsburgh, The PNC Financial Services Group traces its history to the Pittsburgh Trust and Savings Company, founded here in 1852. PNC Bank - a subsidiary of the PNC Financial Services Group - offers consumer and corporate services in approximately 2,600 branches in 14 states and the District of Colombia. Its recent acquisition of Cleveland-based National City Bank makes PNC the nation's fifth largest bank. In addition to banking services, PNC provides specialized financial businesses to companies and government entities, as well as leading asset management and processing for mortgage lenders.

Pittsburgh enjoys a mortgage foreclosure rate that is below the national average and declining, while both BNY Mellon and PNC have been at the forefront of efforts to ease the financial crisis in the United States and beyond.
Pittsburgh's Federated Investors, Inc., one of the nation's largest investment managers, created the first institutional-only money market mutual fund and one of the first municipal bond funds in 1976. Federated Investors' stability in the money markets is another asset amidst the global financial crisis.

In addition to being a hub for the more visible aspects of banking and asset management, Pittsburgh is considered the birthplace of the title appraisal and vendor management (TAVM) industry and is home to its national association. Our critical mass of TAVM firms is built upon the synergy of two key regional strengths - financial savvy and information and communications technology (ICT).

Pittsburgh's historic connection to banking and access to a wealth of ICT talent from its universities, allow companies like ServiceLink, for example, headquartered in Pittsburgh's western suburbs, to become one of the nation's leading and most experienced mortgage services providers. ServiceLink is licensed to operate in all 50 states and services eight of the country's top 10 lenders.