Wall Street's Texas Pivot: Morgan Stanley, Goldman Build Dallas Hubs

Morgan Stanley's plan to open a permanent Dallas hub by 2031 is the latest sign of a broader shift in American finance. The firm will invest just over $587 million in a 708,000-square-foot building that should house around 3,800 employees by the end of 2035, according to a resolution filed with the city council in July 2026.

The building is part of a wave of expansion into Texas, where banks are drawn by lower taxes, lighter regulation, and cheaper real estate. The state now hosts a who's who of financial services, from JPMorgan Chase's Plano campus to the new Texas Stock Exchange, which began trading in July as it vies for business with the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq.

Goldman Sachs is spending $500 million on its own Dallas campus, the site of its largest US workforce outside New York City. More than 5,000 employees are expected to work from the 800,000-square-foot office, which is scheduled to open in 2028. The building will include fitness and wellness facilities, childcare services, and rooftop gardens.

Bank of America is moving to a new tower, Bank of America Tower at Parkside, in the third quarter of 2027. Around 1,000 employees are expected to work in the building, which will use nine of the structure's 30 floors. As of July 2025, 19,000 Bank of America employees worked in Texas, with 14,480 of them in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

JPMorgan Chase has more than 12,500 employees at its Plano campus, a number that has doubled since the complex opened in 2017. The campus sits on 50 acres and includes four buildings across 1.5 million square feet of office space. Dallas is one of the bank's key global tech centers, with more than 5,000 technologists working locally.

The New York Stock Exchange announced in 2025 that it would relocate its Chicago outpost to Dallas. The exchange signed a lease at the Old Parkland campus and appointed Bryan Daniel as NYSE Texas President. "As the state with the largest number of NYSE listings, representing over $3.7 trillion in market value for our community, Texas is a market leader in fostering a pro-business atmosphere," NYSE Group president Lynn Martin said in a statement.

Charles Schwab opened its global headquarters in Westlake, Texas, in late 2019. The campus includes seven buildings on 70 acres, with more than 6,000 employees in the broader Dallas-Fort Worth area and almost 10,000 across the state. Nasdaq Texas launched in March with a new regional headquarters in Dallas, allowing companies like SpaceX to dual-list.

Citi has eight offices throughout the state, with its biggest in Irving, a Dallas suburb. Approximately 11,000 employees work at the Irving campus, which the company bought in 2000. The fintech company Wise opened an office in Austin in 2021 and announced in September 2025 that it is significantly expanding its footprint there.

The movement of financial institutions to Texas reflects a broader trend of companies seeking lower costs and more business-friendly environments. The state's growing financial sector is attracting both established banks and new entrants, positioning Dallas as a significant financial hub alongside traditional centers like New York.