Hello fellow bankers, well wishes for a joyous and prosperous New Year. As we close out 2021 and embark upon 2022, it is always important to look back and take inventory of all the things we have to be grateful for and look ahead with optimism to the new year.

The year 2021 was another strange one for most of us. A COVID-19 vaccine was developed and rolled out to help combat the deadly virus, so there was hope we would put this global pandemic behind us. We quickly found out that COVID was not going away so easily and it would take much longer than anticipated to win the battle. In New Mexico, we saw some return to normal, mask mandates lifted for a while and health orders relaxed. Airline travel increased and restaurants reopened. Small gatherings, summer vacations and BBQs, Halloween and Thanksgiving with friends and family all occurred again. However, as bankers, we continued to deal with the fallout of an economy full of stimulus cash, shortage of employees, low demand for loan products, and the continued threat of government overreach. We must stay optimistic and believe we will persevere through these challenges and be stronger and better-equipped to crush 2022.

In other news, our team of top NMBA bankers took a trip up north to Sante Fe and met with the Legislative Finance Authority Oversight Committee regarding the yearly public bank discussion. I am happy to report the committee did not endorse the proposed public bank. Great news and a win for the good guys. In addition, the State of New Mexico reported receiving 1,500 applications for adult-use cannabis licenses. I do not believe the state will approve anywhere near this number of licenses; however, it is important to understand the demand created by this newly legalized industry.

Finally, cybersecurity continues to be a hot topic for banks and one we must all be diligent about all the time. If you have not already done so, schedule an I.T. audit in 2022 and have them review your cybersecurity insurance policy, attempt to hack into your system, contact penetration testing, phishing with your employees and overall I.T. system health. New FFIEC guidance has been issued along with the ensuring use of the Cybersecurity Assessment Tool to help with assessing system threats.

I look forward to hopefully seeing you in person in 2022 and want to thank our NMBA board of directors along with John, Debbie, and Mark for their great service to our member banks. Be safe, healthy, and stay frosty.