PNC Bank celebrates 20 years in Greater Washington

Business Journals

13-05-2025

It's been 20 years since PNC entered Greater Washington with the acquisition of Riggs National Bank, a storied financial institution that had banked United States presidents and many other notable clients.
With roots in Pittsburgh dating back to 1865 and a long history of doing things right, PNC pledged to offer customers the ability to conduct business with ease and confidence, hire hundreds of employees, double the size of our local branch network, and make a substantial investment in a wide range of efforts to help fuel economic and community development.
We've spent the past two decades delivering on those promises.
Our first major investments came in the way of two of our region's favorite summertime activities: baseball and music. With Major League Baseball making a comeback to the nation's capital, we were delighted to sign on as the official bank of the Washington Nationals. We've been a top partner ever since, including supporting our beloved Nats when they won the 2019 World Series. In Northern Virginia, we are thrilled to be embarking on our 20th year as premier sponsor of Wolf Trap's Summer Season. As America's only National Park for the Performing Arts, Wolf Trap offers a wide range of performances that cater to every taste. There is nothing quite like seeing a show under the stars.
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Community partnerships come in many shapes and sizes, and we're pleased to have established relationships with many civic and nonprofit organizations in town, from the Greater Washington Board of Trade to the Economic Club, Loudoun Chamber, Northern Virginia Chamber, DC Chamber and Montgomery County Chamber. We're also proud to have many PNC leaders serving on nonprofit boards, including the United Way of the National Capital Area, Greater Washington Community Foundation, Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, Leadership Greater Washington and Girl Scout Council of the Nation's Capital.
When PNC engages with nonprofits, our support goes well beyond writing a check. Employees across the DMV have been dedicated to helping our youngest neighbors inspire a love of learning via PNC Grow Up Great, our company's multi-million-dollar investment to help prepare children from birth through age 5 for success in school and life. Over the past 20 years, our local employees have volunteered nearly 30,000 hours with high-quality early learning centers such as Educare DC, Centro Nia, Hopkins House, Northern Virginia Family Service Head Start, and the Judy Center.
Speaking of helping our neighbors, we have done our best these past two decades to bolster economic opportunity for low- to moderate-income individuals and communities. We've made more than $16 billion in economic development loans and investments that support a wide range of initiatives, from affordable housing to workforce development to small business support. Noteworthy projects include the financing of the MLK Gateway in Ward 8 and the Skyland Town Center in Ward 7. MLK Gateway has brought office space, retail and other neighborhood amenities to the corner of Good Hope Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., while Skyland, a retail and residential development complex, has improved access to fresh, quality food while creating job opportunities.
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Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the PNC Center for Entrepreneurship at Howard University and the Small Business Corps at Georgetown University, both of which are providing entrepreneurs with hands-on technical assistance. Those unique programs, coupled with the technical, loan and grant assistance we are supporting with the Greater Washington Community Foundation, Washington Area Community Investment Fund (Wacif) and FSC First are programs that will help accelerate entrepreneurship to the next level.
It has been a privilege these past 20 years to assist thousands of individuals, families, small businesses, corporations and government entities in managing their finances and growing their operations. With a local footprint now extending from Western Maryland to Virginia Beach, thanks in part to the acquisitions of Mercantile and RBC, PNC has experienced stellar growth. We've more than doubled our branch locations and more than quadrupled our client base. None of this would have been possible without the tireless efforts of our dedicated PNC colleagues, who deserve a big round of applause.
PNC made a wise decision in selecting the nation's capital as an expansion market. We appreciate how warmly we have been welcomed and hope we have done right in both making banking easy for our customers and fulfilling our commitment to be a leading corporate citizen in Greater Washington.
PNC CEO Bill Demchak often remarks that the Riggs acquisition gave PNC the experience and the confidence to conduct the subsequent acquisitions that have now made PNC a coast-to-coast bank. We are proud to have served as a model for the rest of the bank and thank our Greater Washington constituents for their patronage.
Cheers to the next 20 years.
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC) is one of the largest diversified financial services institutions in the United States, with assets of $560 billion as of December 31, 2024. PNC is a coast-to-coast franchise with an extensive retail branch network and a presence in all of the country's 30 largest markets. PNC also has strategic international offices in four countries outside the U.S. With roots going back to 1865, PNC provides retail banking, including residential mortgage, corporate and institutional banking, and asset management to individuals, institutions and businesses of all sizes.