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Gulf Coast bankers say they were better prepared to handle the onslaught of Hurricane Isaac, which slammed into Louisiana on Wednesday. Bankers are better prepared seven years after Katrina battered the Gulf Coast, learning how to run their banks remotely and keeping plenty of cash on hand.
August 29 -
After Hurricane Katrina leveled much of the Gulf Coast, bankers in the hardest-hit areas cited the inability to communicate with key employees as one of the biggest obstacles to getting banks up and running again.
September 23
Raymond James Financial (RJF) said it would relocate its data center from St. Petersburg, Fla., to Denver "to avoid natural disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes."
The 40,000-square-foot facility will primarily house technology hardware but not many employees, the investment firm said in a report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday.
The company hasn't had a specific problem with severe weather. Instead the move is part of its business continuity planning, a Raymond James spokesman said Friday. Much of Pinellas County, where the data center is currently located, is in a hurricane evacuation zone.
Raymond James's operations, IT and other support functions will remain in St. Petersburg, Memphis, Tenn., and Southfield, Mich. The company is in the "process of designing and constructing" the Denver facility, the company said in the regulatory filing.
Severe weather, including the devastating Hurricane Katrina in 2005, has wreaked havoc on financial institutions in the past. After Katrina struck the Gulf Coast,
Several Gulf Coast banks, such as Hancock Holding (HBHC) and MidSouth Bancorp (MSL), have built data centers in other areas like central Alabama and Missouri.
