Charlotte, North Carolina

===21st century===
The city's modern-day banking industry achieved prominence in the 1970s and 1980s, largely under the leadership of [[financier]] [[Hugh McColl]]. McColl transformed [[North Carolina National Bank]] (NCNB) into a formidable national bank that through aggressive acquisitions eventually merged with BankAmerica to become [[Bank of America]]. [[First Union]], later [[Wachovia]] in 2001, experienced similar growth before it was acquired by [[San Francisco]]-based [[Wells Fargo]] in 2008. Measured by control of assets, Charlotte became the second largest banking headquarters in the United States after [[New York City]].<ref name="Story13">{{cite web | url=http://www.cmstory.org/content/1991-nationsbank-soars | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518112416/http://www.cmstory.org/content/1991-nationsbank-soars | archive-date= May 18, 2015 | title= The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Story: History Timeline: NationsBank Soars | work = cmstory.org Web Site | publisher=Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County | access-date=September 25, 2015}}</ref>

On September 22, 1989, the city was hit by [[Hurricane Hugo]]. With sustained winds of {{convert|69|mph|abbr=on}} and gusts of {{convert|87|mph|abbr=on}},<ref>[http://www.hurricanedisasterslive.com/HURRICANE-HUGO-1989.html Hurricanedisasterslive.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090824203024/http://www.hurricanedisasterslive.com/HURRICANE-HUGO-1989.html |date=August 24, 2009 }}, Retrieved on July 30, 2009</ref> Hugo caused massive property damage, destroyed 80,000 trees, and knocked out electrical power to most of the population. Residents were without power for weeks, schools were closed for a week or more, and the cleanup took months. The city was caught unprepared; Charlotte is {{convert|200|mi|km}} inland, and residents from coastal areas in both Carolinas often wait out hurricanes in Charlotte.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article235229007.html|title=Hurricane Hugo left Charlotte in the dark; the electric grid is smarter now|last=Henderson|first=Bruce|date=September 20, 2019|website=[[Charlotte Observer]]|access-date=September 20, 2019}}</ref>

In December 2002, Charlotte and much of central North Carolina were hit by an [[North Carolina ice storm of 2002|ice storm]] that resulted in more than 1.3&nbsp;million people losing power.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ice Storm Knocks Out Power Across North Carolina |url=http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1089860/ |publisher=[[WRAL-TV]] |location=Raleigh, NC |date=December 5, 2002 |access-date=May 18, 2015}}</ref> During an abnormally cold December, many were without power for weeks. Many of the city's [[Bradford pear]] trees split apart under the weight of the ice.

In August 2015 and September 2016, the city experienced several days of protests related to the [[List of killings by law enforcement officers in the United States|police shootings]] of [[Shooting of Jonathan Ferrell|Jonathan Ferrell]] and [[Shooting of Keith Lamont Scott|Keith Scott]].<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=August 22, 2015 |title=Two arrested during Kerrick trial protests in Charlotte |url=http://abc11.com/news/protests-in-charlotte-after-kerrick-mistrial/951156/ |publisher=[[WTVD]] |location=Durham, NC |access-date=September 25, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first1=Rick |last1=Rothacker |first2=Mark |last2=Washburn |first3=Adam |last3=Bell |title=Staggered by protests, city regains its footing |date=September 23, 2016 |newspaper=The Charlotte Observer |url=http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/crime/article103629427.html |access-date=September 25, 2016}}</ref>