Pub. 15 2018 Issue 1

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 Issue 1 • 2018 21 BANKERS ON THE MOVE BANK NEWS Former Chase Bank El Paso President Snow Builds a New Chapter with New Mexico’s Western Heritage New Mexico-based Western Heritage Bank recently announced that Robert A. “Bob” Snow has been named vice chairman of the board of directors, as well as execu - tive vice president of New Mexico First Financial Inc., the holding company of Western Heritage Bank. Snow retired from Chase Bank in 2017 after more than three decades of leadership in El Paso. He began his banking career with Broadway National Bank in San Antonio, then moved home to El Paso in 1985 to work for Chase Bank, formerly Texas Commerce Bank, where he managed retail and international divisions, was responsible for commercial and all cross-border maquila businesses for Chase Bank in Arizona and Texas. He served as president of Chase Bank in El Paso from 1995 to 2017. Snow served or has served as a member and/or board chair of the following organizations: El Paso Child Crisis Center, Hospice of El Paso, Project Arriba, Accion El Paso, Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce Foundation, UTEP Development, El Paso Community College Foundation, TMCA, United Way of El Paso County and the Internation - al Folk Art Alliance. “Bob has been a part of the banking backbone in our region for more than 30 years,” says Jim Volk, CEO and Chairman. “Our hiring him furthers the commitment we have to serving the Borderplex region.”Western Heritage Bank is a New Mexico state bank and is a wholly owned subsidiary of New Mexico First Financial Inc. It operates locations in Las Cruces and Deming, New Mexico as well as El Paso, Texas. n Roach Named New Regional Senior Vice President at United Business Bank With many years of experience working for commercial lending banks and in commercial real estate development, Mike Roach has been selected by California-based United Business Bank to be the company’s regional senior vice president in Albuquerque. He was hired by United in No - vember to work on real estate and industrial commercial lending for the bank and began overseeing operations at the start of the new year. According to a recent profile in the Albuquerque Busi - ness Journal, in his new role at United Business Bank, Roach hopes to nurture a balance of offering a more custom fit for his clients while having the resources of a growing commercial bank. Roach joined the New Mexico banking industry in 1984 and worked for a variety of banks over the years, including positions at Wells Fargo and First National Bank of Santa Fe. Following his employment at First National, he took a hiatus from banking to pursue real estate in commercial development management. Eventually, he returned to his banking career roots, working for BBVA Compass’ Global Management Division . n Raton International Bank Acquired by FFP Group FFP Group Inc. and Raton Capital Corp. have jointly announced the signing of an agreement and plan of merger under which FFP Group will acquire Raton Capital and its subsidiary, International Bank. Closing of the acquisition is expected to occur in the second quarter of 2018. International Bank was established in 1918 and operates six offices in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado and one office in the Denver metroplex. As of September 30, 2017, International Bank had $321 million in assets, $152 million in loans and $275 million in deposits. n Pioneer Bank to Sell El Paso Operations to Western Heritage Bank Roswell-based Pioneer Bank has announced that it has entered into an Agreement with Western Heritage Bank (WHB) to sell the three branch locations in El Paso, Texas, including all loans, the residential mortgage lending opera - tion, and the deposits of the El Paso branches. As part of the agreement, Pioneer and Western Heritage will participate in certain lending in El Paso County. Pioneer Bank will continue to provide banking services to its El Paso customers until the transaction is completed. Upon regulatory approval, Pioneer Bank customers will be