'Wall Street of the South'

As Hurricane Sandy headed for New York, Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. transferred its core operations from Manhattan to a place far removed from the storm: Tampa.

The Highwoods Preserve office off Bruce B. Downs Boulevard in New Tampa began processing much of DTCC's core operations. And that's no simple task.

DTCC, owned by Wall Street firms, clears most U.S. securities trades, valued at more than $1.6 quadrillion annually. The firm automates, centralizes and standardizes the post-trade processing for financial institutions.

“It put a lot of pressure on the Tampa office, as well as the Dallas office and international offices to pick up the slack,” says Eric Miller, managing director of DTCC in Tampa.

DTCC moved to the area in 2005 as part of its plan to decentralize operations following 9/11.

Last October's storm reinforced the importance of that move. DTCC's corporate headquarters at 55 Water St. in lower Manhattan were closed for about 10 days by floodwaters from Sandy.

To strengthen its business continuity plan, DTCC is expanding its Tampa presence.

The company is investing about $4.8 million to build office space and add 200 employees to its 600 employee-plus roster.

“It's really exciting times,” says Miller. “We've started hiring and relocating certain roles.”

In late July, construction crews with general contractor CSI began converting 30,000 square feet on DTCC's first floor into 250 office cubes. The work is expected to be complete in October.

The additional jobs are especially welcome in Tampa. DTCC employees earn about twice the region's average salary of $46,000.

And local business leaders have previously touted DTCC's presence as part of a long-range plan to turn Tampa into the “Wall Street of the South.”

While all departments at DTCC have a presence in Tampa, some are better represented than others. For example, more than half of DTCC's technology risk management staff is now in Florida. Only 5% to 10% of that department was locally based a few years ago.

The company works with MacDill Air Force Base to recruit veterans who are retiring or leaving the military.

DTCC has received about $4 million in state and local incentives, including $1.23 million from the state's Quick Action Closing Fund and $1.79 million through the Qualified Targeted Industry program.

Now Miller is working to help recruit others to the area. In addition to his role at DTCC, he serves as chairman of the financial services/shared services task force of the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp.

In June, Miller and other Tampa Hillsborough EDC members visited New York City. In addition to Miller, the group included Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, Temple Terrace Mayor Frank Chillura, Hillsborough County Commission Chairman Ken Hagan, Tampa Hillsborough EDC CEO Rick Homans, Chairman David Pizzo and Vice Chairman Allen Brinkman.

They visited financial services companies with a Tampa presence, including DTCC, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Citi, and UBS.

“We went up there to say, 'Thank you,'” Miller says. “We didn't go with our hands out.”

Such visits foster goodwill, says Miller, who says he has received positive feedback from DTCC executives.

“Word is getting out that Tampa is a great place to be,” he says. “We think the environment is so pro-business.”

In addition to Bristol-Myers Squibb's recent announcement to open a 70,000-square-foot facility in Hillsborough that will employ nearly 600 people who will earn an average of $65,000 annually, other large deals are pending, he says, declining to provide specifics.

“We're all working together for the common good,” Miller says.