For more than two decades, Delaware has been world renowned for it's banking, financial services and insurance industry. Delaware has partnered with many innovative and dynamic financial companies around the globe, thereby establishing the State as the place for international financial institutions looking to enter U.S. markets. Delaware's pro-business legal and regulatory environment, strategic positioning, and landmark legislation, such as the Financial Center Development Act, have paved the way for the financial services industry to become a key component of Delaware's economic strength and growth.

This cluster is comprised of a large, interconnected community of credit card banks, commercial banks, non-banking financial entities, investment advisors, insurance companies, trust entities, and service providers. In all, this cluster representsmore than 1,000 employers and nearly 40,000 employees in Delaware.

The Financial Services Cluster remains strong in our state. Several of world's largest banks are either headquartered or have a presence in Delaware, including Bank of America, Citibank, Commerce Bank, JPMorgan Chase, and HSBC. Niche organizations include trust companies, ING Direct, AIG Federal Savings Bank, and GMAC Bank. New companies continue to expand Delaware's financial services industry, including Swift Financial, focusing on small business banking, and Credit One Financial Solutions, a prime-credit market consumer lender.

BlackRock, Inc, one of the world's largest publicly traded investment management firms, plans to further expand its services in Wilmington with the addition of at least 300 jobs by 2010.