Charlotte's grip slips on bank.

• Position: Charlotte

As quickly as it came, Charlotte's claim to being the real headquarters of the nation's 14th-largest bank holding company vanished. When GMAC Inc. named Al de Molina CEO in April 2008, headquarters remained in Detroit, but he stayed in the Queen City, his home for nearly 20 years. Other top executives worked there, too, including the chief risk officer, chief marketing officer and head of human resources (Regional Report, October 2009).

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But the board forced de Molina to resign in November and made board member Michael Carpenter chief executive. Carpenter, who started New York-based Southgate Alternative Investments in 2007 after 12 years in top management at Citigroup Inc., had joined the board in May. The company, officials say, will benefit from his experience in banking, capital markets and turnarounds. It has lost money three straight quarters.

Aside from the CEO post moving to New York, it's business as usual for GMAC in Charlotte, spokeswoman Gina Proia says. "There's no change planned for our corporate center in Charlotte. There are talented people there. Michael has worked in organizations like this before, where there were several different locations in the broader footprint. As long as it works, he has no problem with it."

Keeping high-level people in Charlotte makes sense, says Tony Plath, associate professor of...