Business

PNC may be adding to its Baltimore-area branch network after years of cutting back its physical footprint in the region. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: PNC) said Wednesday that it is investing about $1 billion to open more than 100 new branches nationwide and renovate over 1,200 existing locations through 2028. That initiative will impact the bank’s presence in Greater Baltimore, although details on exactly what it means for the region are scarce.

CFG Bank’s longtime CEO Bill Wiedel is no longer with the company, and the chief executive of the bank’s holding company, Capital Funding Bancorp, Inc., is now also the CEO of the bank. Jack Dwyer, who founded Capital Funding Bancorp in 2009, was announced as CFG Bank’s new CEO on Tuesday. The company’s press release did not mention Wiedel, who had been CEO since 2018.

Houston-based Group 1 Automotive Inc. has acquired an auto group with a number of dealerships and collision centers in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., area. The acquisition of College Park-based RRR Automotive Group adds Toyota, Honda, Hyundai and Kia new vehicle dealerships; one Toyota Certified pre-owned center; and three collision centers to Group 1’s (NYSE: GPI) portfolio.

The Hagerstown Flying Boxcars hope to be a hit with the community when they begin their inaugural season in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball this year. Meritus Health has joined in the effort, hoping to help make it a grand slam. During a press conference and private event at Seven Ten in Hagerstown on Tuesday evening, Blackie Bowen, of the Flying Boxcars ownership group, announced the team’s naming-rights partnership with Meritus.

Advocates pushing for a higher minimum wage for tipped workers announced Tuesday that they will press to take the question directly to Maryland voters in November after lawmakers scrapped a bill that would have raised the pay floor. The shift follows a tepid bill hearing in the state Senate on Feb. 1, where skeptical lawmakers questioned how much local support the effort had after few Maryland restaurant workers showed up to testify in favor of the legislation.

Bethesda-based hospitality giant Marriott International Inc. on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter earnings of $848 million. On a per-share basis, the company said it had profit of $2.87. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were $3.57 per share. The results topped Wall Street expectations.

Just over 1,700 people applied for a cannabis license in Maryland’s first round designed to foster social equity, which lawmakers championed as an argument for legalizing recreational marijuana in the state. Only 179 of those admitted to a state-run lottery will ultimately receive a coveted license or micro-license in this round.

A lifelong Baltimore resident is ready to continue the growth of one of the city’s largest accounting firms. Dominic DuBois recently took over as Baltimore office head for RSM US LLP, the third-largest accounting firm in Greater Baltimore with 216 local employees as of early February. DuBois succeeds Marty Brunk, who led the Baltimore office for Chicago-based RSM for 18 years. DuBois wants to build off the momentum that Brunk built and plans to focus on adding new and young talent even as the accounting industry is facing a shortage of new grads entering the field.