U.S. Bank is expanding its retail banking presence to Charlotte with the opening of its first North Carolina branch.

U.S. Bank said Monday it is in the process of filing its application for expansion in North Carolina with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Charlotte is the corporate headquarters for rival Bank of America Corp. and the proposed merger of SunTrust and BB&T.

“Charlotte is an exceptional market and we expect to be a positive economic force there that helps individuals build strong financial futures and business owners reach their financial goals and objectives,” said Tim Welsh, vice chairman of consumer & business banking, in a statement.

The first branch will be located be at 201 S. Tryon Street in the Uptown area of Charlotte, located close to U.S. Bank’s corporate offices. The bank already has roughly 800 employees across several business areas in Charlotte.

North Carolina will be the 26th state where the bank operates a retail banking presence. The Tryon Street branch is expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2019.

U.S. Bank first entered the Charlotte market in 2006. Dee O’Dell, who in 2009 was one of the first Charlotte-based executives hired by U.S. Bank, has been named the company’s consumer and business banking regional executive for the Eastern region of the country and will now be part of the executive team responsible for the Charlotte retail banking presence.

Previously, O’Dell was a group head for the company’s corporate banking unit.

“It’s a proud moment for my fellow Charlotte-based colleagues and me to see our city selected as a growth market for U.S. Bank’s retail bank,” O’Dell said in a statement.

In addition to entering Charlotte, U.S. Bank is launching a re-investment program in its core markets that will result in approximately 60 to 80 new or redesigned branches by the end of 2020.

In addition, U.S. Bank is also exploring future market expansion in states such as Florida, Georgia and Texas, where it has concentrations of employees and customers through its national mortgage, auto and credit card programs.

U.S. Bancorp, the parent company of U.S. Bank, has 74,000 employees and $476 billion in assets as of March 31. It is the fifth-largest commercial bank in the United States.

U.S. Bancorp was trading Monday at $51.43, up 22 cents.