Bankruptcy INK

The economical forecast for residents of Detroit and the Midwest continues to look gloomy as Comerica Bank is moving their headquarters away from the Motor City down to the Big D of Dallas.

“Today, a significant percentage of Comerica’s earnings is generated in the Texas, Arizona, California and Florida markets. Moving our corporate headquarters to Dallas will give us greater proximity to all of our markets, and the additional resources in these markets will lead to accelerated growth for Comerica,” said Ralph W. Babb Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of Comerica. “In addition, the vibrant and diversified economies of Dallas, Houston and Austin will be particularly helpful to Comerica as we seek to continue attracting and retaining talented employees."

Comerica, the Freep.com reports, is Michigan’s “biggest homegrown banking institution” and a major business employing more than 7,500 employees throughout the state. The CEO says only a few hundred jobs are so will be affected by the relocation, going down in the third quarter of this year.

The move will no doubt be devastating as the Michigan economy, particularly a bank that has called Detroit home base for more than 150 years, decides to pack up and leave for more stimulated economies. But Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm sees the relocation as an opportunity.

“I wish it were not happening. It’s not good news for us,” she said. “But on the flip side of it, it’s an opportunity to attract banks who want to headquarter here. We have a tremendous moment here to support community banks, which are investing in cities across the state,” Granholm said from the capitol of Lansing. “It also speaks to the importance of diversifying this economy, to continue to invest.”

The Freep.com also published some U.S. Census Bureau projections: “about two-thirds of all Americans will live in the southern and western parts of the country by the year 2030. About 30% of those people will be in California, Florida and Texas.”

All this could lead to even more home foreclosures in an area that already leads the nation with that stat.