Pub. 12 2015 Issue 2

O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S - H E L P I N G N E W M E X I C O R E A L I Z E D R E A M S 6 Banking is at the center of change in cybersecurity, regulation, competition, as well as local and global economies. PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE PAUL DIPAOLA NMBA PRESIDENT U.S. Bank, Albuquerque D uring the business session of the 104th NMBA Annual Convention, Paul DiPaola, US Bank Albuquerque, was elected NMBA President. Paul’s responses to our interview questions provide an insight into his background and his thoughts: How Did You Get Started In Banking? I began college at the University of New Mex- ico and later moved to Eastern New Mexico University to play football as a defensive back. However, my football career did not last many years because what I lacked in size, I didn’t make up for with speed. I graduated from Eastern New Mexico University in 1982 and was hired by a bank in Hobbs. I received the opportunity due to a bank- arranged set of on-campus interviews conducted by a recently retired banker named Andy Morrow. I returned the favor over twen- ty years later by recruiting Andy to work in my bank, where he worked until he retired in 2013. To this day, we remain good friends. I did not grow up expecting to be a banker, but I felt it would be an excellent first job and a way to gain access and knowledge into the world of business. I have spent the last 30 years of my life as a bank- er for various institutions in New Mexico. Most of those years were spent at three institutions: United NewMexico Bank, First State/First Com- munity Bank, and US Bank. Beginning in 1984, I worked in both the Al- buquerque and Rio Rancho markets as a com- mercial and real estate lender. I then joined First Community Bank to start a denovo branch in Rio Rancho and have held several community mar- ket president and New Mexico bank president positions. New Mexico bank president positions. It was an exciting time for me to play a key role in developing and reinventing the bank to handle $100 million per year in organic growth per year. In 2011, I was honored to be given the position as New Mexico's Regional President for US Bank. What Has Been The Best Part Of Being In The Banking Business? Banking provides you the opportunity to tru- ly know and learn from the most talented, am- bitious, caring, and community-minded people of the state. I do not know of any other industry that offers that at quite the same level. What Changes Do You Foresee In The Industry And In New Mexico In The Next Several Years? Banking is at the center of change in cyberse- curity, regulation, competition, as well as local and global economies.