U.S. Bank has opened a new commercial banking office in Dallas office as part an ongoing expansion in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, which has emerged as one of the nation's leading hubs for middle market business investment.

U.S. Bank has built a significant presence in the region in recent years, and now counts some 550 employees there -- primarily in national corporate banking, commercial real estate, payments services, corporate trust and operations roles. The bank has increased its headcount in Dallas-Fort Worth by more than 50% since 2014, it said.

In conjunction with the new office, U.S. Bank hired veteran Texas bankers Chris Angarola and Susan Jenull as Commercial Banking relationship managers. This new commercial banking office will serve middle market companies and will provide a broad range of services, including lending, deposits, payments, capital markets and loan syndications, and interest rate and foreign exchange hedging.

Analysts have called Dallas "an island of economic strength," and this year the city replaced San Francisco on Forbes list of the best city in the U.S. for jobs.

“Dallas-Fort Worth has never really stopped growing since the recession,” Jim Gaines, chief economist at Texas A&M University’s Real Estate Center, told the Dallas Morning News earlier this year. “It’s still going and blowing.”

“We continue to grow and expand our Commercial Banking organization,” said Elliot Jaffee, executive vice president and head of Commercial Banking at U.S. Bank. “Over the past few years, we’ve developed many new relationships with commercial clients in Texas and can better serve this growing client base from a local office. The new team and office will also provide the basis for continued growth in the area.”
 
Angarola joins U.S. Bank with 20 years of banking and financial services experience in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, most recently serving as vice president and relationship manager, Middle Market Banking, at Wells Fargo. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas at Austin and Master of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University. Angarola is a leader in the community and serves as alumni class representative for Leadership Dallas and as treasurer of the Friends for Long organization.

Jenull, a native Texan, comes to U.S. Bank with nearly 20 years of banking experience in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. She most recently held the role of senior vice president, Commercial Middle Market Banking with Comerica. She is a CPA and earned her Bachelor of Business Administration and Master in Professional Accounting from University of Texas at Austin and Master of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University. Jenull’s community activities include serving as a board member for Dallas Summer Musicals and as advisory board member for Southern Methodist University.