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View detailsFrom Motor City to Big D: the bank that relocated
Comerica was founded in Detroit in 1849 as the Detroit Savings Fund Institute. For over 150 years it was synonymous with Michigan banking — its name is still stamped on the Detroit Tigers' home stadium. Then in 2007, Comerica moved its corporate headquarters to Dallas, Texas, citing the need to be closer to its growing Sun Belt customer base. The decision was controversial enough to prompt a Michigan state senator to introduce a bill banning the use of taxpayer-funded stadiums by companies that leave the state.
Despite the move, Comerica kept the bulk of its operations, employees, and banking infrastructure in Michigan. The routing number 072000096 — with its 072 prefix assigned by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's Detroit branch — remains the primary routing number, a numerical artifact of where the institution actually grew up.
Why the routing number still says Detroit
Routing numbers are assigned based on where a bank's charter is registered and which Federal Reserve district processes its transactions. Even though Comerica's CEO sits in Dallas, the bank's primary charter and the majority of its deposit accounts remain rooted in Michigan. Changing the routing number would require re-registering every existing ACH relationship and direct deposit — a logistical nightmare for a bank with millions of accounts.
Comerica does maintain a separate Texas routing number — 111000753 — for accounts opened in that state, and 121137027 for California accounts. But 072000096 is the one most customers encounter and the one tied to the bank's historical identity.
Routing numbers and transfers
For ACH transfers and direct deposit, use 072000096 for Michigan accounts, 111000753 for Texas, and 121137027 for California. Comerica's domestic wire routing number is 072000096 regardless of state. The SWIFT code for incoming international wires is MNBDUS33. Standard business account wire fees are $25 for domestic outgoing and $45 for international. Comerica's treasury management platform, Comerica Connect, supports batch ACH origination and same-day ACH for business customers.
Auto industry payroll and commercial DNA
Comerica's growth was inseparable from Detroit's auto industry — for decades it served as a primary lender and payroll processor for auto parts suppliers, dealership networks, and the manufacturing companies that orbit the Big Three. That commercial DNA still defines the bank. Roughly 70% of Comerica's revenue comes from business banking — commercial lending, treasury management, and trade finance — with growing specialization in technology and life sciences through offices in Silicon Valley and North Carolina's Research Triangle.
Business banking that doesn't straddle three states
Comerica's story illustrates a tension in American banking: a company can move its headquarters a thousand miles, but its banking infrastructure stays rooted in place. For businesses operating across state lines, that creates confusion about which routing number to use and which branch network to rely on. Slash eliminates that friction — one account, one set of payment details, accessible from anywhere with built-in spend management and accounting integrations. Where Comerica straddles two states and three routing numbers, Slash gives growing businesses a single platform that works the same whether your team is in Detroit, Dallas, or anywhere else.
