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 8 T he 104th annua l NMBA convent ion was a huge success. A special thanks to al l who at tended the event which was held at the beautiful Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. The convention opened with a “Hooray for Hollywood” vendor event recognizing the impor tance of the f i lm industry to New Mexico. I want to personal ly thank our great vendors for their suppor t and generosit y. The education sessions were very informa- tive. Dorothy Savarese, Vice Chairperson of the ABA and CEO of the Cape Cod Mutual Compa- ny, a $2.6 billion Massachusetts state-char- tered savings bank, discussed the legislative and regulatory climate in the nation’s capital. She noted that it is up to bankers to see that Congress understands that when a communi- ty bank no longer offers small business loans or home mortgages because of the prohibitive cost of compliance, it is their constituents that suffer. She feels that the mortgage operations at her bank has become a compliance shop that does a few loans on the side. Banks now have quality control and a system of checks and bal- ances for compliance. Many banks also have internal checkers who check the checkers. And then they frequently have multiple layers of consultants to check people who are checking the initial checking. Who loses in this scenar- io? Our customers and our communities. She felt that reform should include: • Remove impediments to serving custom- ers • Level the competitive playing field and offer charter choice • Protect the payments system • Enhance on-line security and data breach resolution • Tailor regulations to banks’ size and business models Tom Siems, Senior Economist for the Fed- eral Reserve of Dallas and Roberto Coronado, Assistant Vice President in charge of the Fed- eral Reserve of Dallas, El Paso branch, gave excellent overviews of both national and New Mexico economies. In the past 5 years, growth in New Mexico has trailed the overall national economic growth in most sectors. Federal gov- ernment budget cuts pose a significant risk to the state. The housing market has been slow to recover due to reduced investment from out of state and tightened local lending restrictions. The growth from 2014 has picked up from the very weak 2013 as the government and health care sectors have improved. In 2015, lower oil prices and the strong dollar are pulling down commodity production and exports. Weakness EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE JOHN W. ANDERSON, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT New Mexico Bankers Association 2015 Convention Recap/Special Session Update Weakness in construction and slow growth in government will continue to be a drag on the state economy. On the positive side, the healthcare sector is likely to be a source of strength going forward.