For the Love of New Mexico By Max Myers Page 4 Hiding Economic Data: For Whom and What Purpose? By Mark Anderson Page 14 Why We Must Regulate and Use Artificial Intelligence Responsibly By John W. Anderson with Mark Anderson Page 6 PUB 22 | ISSUE 4 PUBLISHED BY NEW MEXICO BANKERS ASSOCIATION, FOUNDED IN 1906
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OVER A CENTURY: BUILDING BETTER BANKS — HELPING NEW MEXICO REALIZE DREAMS The mission of the New Mexico Bankers Association (NMBA) is to serve member bank needs by acting as New Mexico banking’s representative to government, the public and the industry; providing resources, education and information to enhance the opportunities for success in banking; promoting unity within the industry on common issues; and seeking to improve the regulatory climate to the end that banks can profitably compete in the providing of financial and related products and services. ©2026 New Mexico Bankers Association (NMBA) | The newsLINK Group LLC. All rights reserved. New Mexico Bankers Digest is published four times per year by The newsLINK Group LLC for NMBA and is the official publication for this association. The information contained in this publication is intended to provide general information for review, consideration and education. The contents do not constitute legal advice and should not be relied on as such. If you need legal advice or assistance, it is strongly recommended that you contact an attorney as to your circumstances. The statements and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of NMBA, its board of directors or the publisher. Likewise, the appearance of advertisements within this publication does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation of any product or service advertised. New Mexico Bankers Digest is a collective work, and as such, some articles are submitted by authors who are independent of NMBA. While a first-print policy is encouraged, in cases where this is not possible, every effort has been made to comply with any known reprint guidelines or restrictions. Content may not be reproduced or reprinted without prior written permission. For further information, please contact the publisher at (855) 747-4003. PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE 4 For the Love of New Mexico By Max Myers, President, New Mexico Bankers Association EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE 6 Why We Must Regulate and Use Artificial Intelligence Responsibly By John W. Anderson, Executive Vice President, New Mexico Bankers Association, with Mark Anderson WASHINGTON UPDATE 8 Opportunities Ahead: The Outlook for Banks in 2026 By Rob Nichols, President and CEO, American Bankers Association 10 SW Graduate School of Banking Announces 2026 Programming 12 Saving Homes, Supporting Communities How Housing New Mexico Is Preserving Affordable Homes By Kristie Garcia, Director of Communications & Marketing, Housing New Mexico 14 Hiding Economic Data: For Whom and What Purpose? By Mark Anderson, Legal and Legislative Assistant, NMBA 18 Regulatory Shakeup for Digital Dollars By Michael A. Johnson, SVP & Southwest Regional Manager, PCBB 20 Choosing a Deposit Network and Maximizing Its Value for Your Bank By Steve Kinner, Senior Managing Director, IntraFi 22 UMB Donates $750,000 to Benefit New Mexico-Based Nonprofits Our Mission CONTENTS 2025-2026 NMBA Board of Directors President Max Myers Century Bank 100 S. Federal Pl. Santa Fe, NM 87501 President-Elect Aaron Emmert Pioneer Bank 3000 N. Main St. Roswell, NM 88201 Secretary-Treasurer Elizabeth Earls Capra Bank 400 Tijeras Ave. NW Albuquerque, NM 87102 Immediate Past President Kyle Beasley Bank of Albuquerque 100 Sun Ave. NW, Ste. 500 Albuquerque, NM 87109 Executive Vice President John Anderson NM Bankers Association 316 Osuna Rd. NM, Ste. 502 Albuquerque, NM 87107 TERMS EXPIRING 2026 Scott Czarniak First National 1870 7300 Jefferson St. NE Albuquerque, NM 87109 J. Chesley Steel Southwest Capital Bank 1410 Central Ave. SW Albuquerque, NM 87104 Sheila Matthews Four Corners Community Bank 500 W. Main St., Ste. 101 Farmington, NM 87401 TERMS EXPIRING 2027 Nicole Noto Wells Fargo Bank N.A. 200 Lomas Blvd. NW, 12th Fl. Albuquerque, NM 87102 Jay Jenkins CNB Bank PO Box 1359 Carlsbad, NM 88220 Jason Wyatt Western Commerce Bank 212 N. Canal St. Carlsbad, NM 88220 TERMS EXPIRING 2028 Paul Mondragon Bank of America 2125 Louisiana Blvd., Ste. 120 Albuquerque, NM 87110 Mark Horn Pinnacle Bank PO Box 1729 Gallup, NM 87305 Ken Clayton Western Bank 320 W. Texas St. Artesia, NM 88210 3
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE FOR THE LOVE OF NEW MEXICO MAX MYERS President, New Mexico Bankers Association I love New Mexico! Sometimes, we tend to forget about all the great scenery in our home state. From the high mountain ranges down to the Chihuahuan desert landscape, New Mexico has so much to offer. Recently, John Anderson and I have been traveling across the state to meet with our fellow bankers, and driving through the countryside was a great reminder of our state’s beauty. We still have some visits left to make, but let me tell you what we have done so far. To start, traveling with John is a joy. Never a dull moment, including getting lost. John used his internal compass to guide me back to the hotel. We started out heading south to Carlsbad. I am amazed at the number of wind turbines that have cropped up along the pathway south. They are almost mesmerizing to watch make those slow circles, and it’s difficult to pay attention to the road sometimes. The Permian Basin continues to drive the economic engine in southeastern New Mexico. Our bankers have been forcefully supporting the industry and its related businesses, especially restaurants and hotels. 4
Our next stop was Roswell for lunch with the local bankers. We were treated to a fantastic time. Roswell has some oil and gas economic activity and is also part of the 12th-largest dairy-producing county in the United States. Tourism is always great, and they hosted the National Championship Air Races this past year. On to Clovis and lunch at K-Bob’s. Clovis is doing well, with the Air Force base and agriculture strongly supported by the local banks. Interestingly, as some smaller community banks have been on the closure list due to bank acquisitions, Bank of Clovis, headed by Randy Harris, has taken over several of these locations to continue to support the rural communities that rely on banks that are within a reasonable distance to their farms, ranches and businesses. Our lunches in Santa Fe and Albuquerque were also very productive. The impact the state of New Mexico and the federal government have on the economies of both locations is enormous. Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories are in the process of creating a research triangle between Santa Fe, Los Alamos and Albuquerque. There is great optimism about the impact this could have in the next 10 years, with opportunities to bank the needs of the national players while also financing technology spin-offs from the labs. There is more travel to come. My college home of Las Cruces is on the list; maybe after the wind stops in March, we can have a meeting with our friends from Farmington. John continues to do a great job of representing all of us. We are lucky to have him. Our legislators respect and rely on him for advice on banking matters. Also, don’t forget to save the date for our annual convention, June 18-19, in Santa Fe. We have a block of rooms available at La Fonda with special pricing, which you can reserve now. Best wishes to all for a safe and prosperous New Year! 5
WHY WE MUST REGULATE AND USE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE RESPONSIBLY JOHN W. ANDERSON Executive Vice President New Mexico Bankers Association with MARK ANDERSON On November 5, 2025, New York became the first state to require certain safety guardrails for artificial intelligence (AI) companions as its recently passed law officially took effect. The law requires operators of AI companions — AI chatbots that simulate human interaction — to be available to New York residents to detect and address expressions of self-harm or suicidal ideation and remind users they are not communicating with a human. California will follow suit this year, when its recently signed Companion Chatbot law takes effect. While similar to the New York law, it requires additional notifications to known minor users and establishes a reporting procedure to the California Department of Public Health’s Office of Suicide Prevention. Other states, such as Maine, Texas and Utah, have enacted transparency laws requiring AI chatbots to disclose that users are not interacting with a human; however, they have declined to impose special obligations on providers of AI chatbots designed to simulate human relationships. Any form of regulation on AI is a positive step, but these laws intended to rein in its worst excesses tend to be overly narrow in scope and don’t approach the holistic regulation we need. Artificial intelligence, as it’s currently being deployed, poses a threat to practically every facet of human existence. As the state laws mentioned previously are meant to address, AI presents a threat when simulating human interaction and coercing people into extreme actions, but that is only the beginning. AI has the potential to be incredibly destructive economically and socially, yet we’re not even beginning to deal with this burgeoning reality. A recent study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that AI can already replace nearly 12% of the labor force, with the potential to reach up to 30% by 2030. This number is expected to continue increasing over time. Crucially, this will affect vast swaths of the population, some of whom have never experienced the kind of precarity and economic hardship that AI-induced job loss will bring. Typically, wide-scale economic pain and job loss are most acutely felt at the bottom of the economic ladder, which consists of gig economy jobs and low-wage service jobs. These workers are typically treated poorly because they have limited economic leverage and upward mobility, so employers face little risk in making their lives incredibly difficult. However, with the rise of AI, a huge number of white-collar EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE 6
workers in relatively stable job positions may soon see their professional lives upended. To maintain such an unevenly distributed economy, everyone who isn’t at the very top has to share a tiny slice of the pie, so to speak. AI has the potential to make it so that virtually no one, save a select few, gets more than a taste of the pie, which could lead to massive social instability and upheaval. AI could very well make it so that the white-collar worker with multiple degrees, previously unencumbered by economic distress, will now feel more kinship with gig economy workers. Millions of people who never dreamed of facing the financial precarity of a gig economy worker due to their education or work background may well find themselves facing the same economic peril. Aside from the potential for wide-scale economic destruction it could bring, AI is also able to deceive, impersonate and misinform in far more potent ways than ever before. As a September 2025 article from the Northwestern Roberta Buffet Institute for Global Affairs details, AI’s ability to manipulate and deceive the public holds truly frightening implications: “The advance of artificial intelligence is a growing concern for the international community, governments, and the public, with significant implications for national security and cybersecurity. It also raises ethical questions related to surveillance and transparency. In a world with widespread misinformation, AI provides ever-more sophisticated means of convincing people of the veracity of false information. “Deepfakes — media content created by AI technologies that are generally meant to be deceptive — are a particularly significant and growing tool for misinformation and digital impersonation. Deepfakes are generated by machine-learning algorithms that can create realistic digital likenesses of individuals without permission. When execution is excellent, the result can be an extremely believable — but totally fabricated — text, video or audio clip of a person doing or saying something that they did not.” Deepfakes pose a range of potential issues, from national security concerns to personal financial risks. The need to regulate its potential hazards, along with AI’s other possible problems, is obvious. It seems incredibly short-sighted to enter the era of AI without any federal regulatory framework in place. Instead of encouraging sensible regulation, there has been talk in Congress of preventing states from regulating AI altogether. The federal government should be working with states to develop common-sense regulations and safeguards, which hasn’t been happening at all. Frighteningly, the United States is quickly becoming so reliant on the development of this technology that it has created a “too big to fail” mindset around AI. However, we’ve created a double-edged sword no one seems eager to think about. If AI fails, the economy appears poised to collapse along with it; if AI succeeds, it may be wildly destructive. 7
OPPORTUNITIES AHEAD: THE OUTLOOK FOR BANKS IN 2026 WASHINGTON UPDATE ROB NICHOLS President and CEO American Bankers Association It’s been a truly remarkable year for America’s banks. After spending the past several years grappling with a tsunami of regulation, the tide has finally turned. With new leadership in Washington, our industry has seen a busy and very productive 12 months of regulatory rightsizing. We’ve secured significant rewrites of several rules that stand to significantly affect the way banks do business, and succeeded in getting several of ABA’s legislative priorities over the finish line, including key tax provisions, a bill banning “trigger leads,” an overturn of the 8
CFPB’s controversial overdraft rule and, for the first time ever, a version of the Access to Credit for our Rural Economy (ACRE) Act. As 2026 gets underway, bankers are energized and ready to seize the opportunities before us and work constructively to address the novel challenges that face our sector. After years of playing defense on numerous issues, we now have new opportunities to work alongside policymakers with whom we share a strong alignment on the need for well-tailored and sensible regulations governing the banking sector. With the continued support and engagement of bankers like you, we will leverage these constructive working relationships to bring about positive changes, not just for our sector, but for businesses, families, women and men all across America. We’ll do this using the same formula that has guided our policy work for decades: by working with anyone and everyone who shares our goal of a thriving American economy and a vibrant, competitive banking sector. As the leading voice of the nation’s banks, ABA will continue to seek consensus on critical issues — working with other trade groups, our partners in the State Association Alliance and policymakers from both parties in Washington. While the regulatory tides have certainly turned, we also recognize that it won’t be all smooth sailing ahead. At this moment, we have more battles with other industrial sectors on the horizon than we have had in recent memory, and it will take our entire industry speaking up to draw attention to some of these important issues. With interest in cryptocurrencies and digital assets intensifying, ABA is standing up to crypto firms that look to undermine traditional financial service providers without having to meet the same rules and requirements. As 2025 drew to a close, we were hard at work urging policymakers to close a loophole in stablecoin legislation that could lead to deposit flight and a decline in bank lending and economic activity. Elsewhere, we face challenges from credit unions that have grown far beyond their intended scope and scale; telecom companies that are failing to do their part to stop illegal spoofing and scams on their platforms putting millions of American at risk of fraud; and big-box retailers attempting to ram through misguided policies like the so-called Credit Card Competition Act (essentially the Durbin Amendment for credit cards). Rest assured, ABA and our members will do everything possible in 2026 to safeguard the integrity of the traditional banking system and protect our customers from these threats. But we need your help. With so many opportunities — and no shortage of challenges — on the horizon, we need your help to tell our industry’s positive story. We need you to be engaged in advocacy at the local, state and federal levels to help lawmakers understand the vital role banks play in their communities. I encourage you all to mark your calendars to attend ABA’s Washington Summit in March. It will be a valuable opportunity to make your voice heard by the people who have direct say over the laws and regulations governing our sector. We can move the industry forward in 2026 to an even brighter future, but we will need to work together. Email Rob at nichols@aba.com. 9
SW GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BANKING ANNOUNCES 2026 PROGRAMMING Since 1957, the SW Graduate School of Banking (SWGSB) at SMU Cox has been a trusted leader in developing banking talent nationwide. A member of the New Mexico Bankers Association, SWGSB is known for its rigorous curriculum and powerful professional network. SWGSB delivers immersive learning experiences that prepare financial services professionals to lead with confidence and impact in an evolving industry. “We have exciting plans for SWGSB in 2026,” said William T. Chittenden, Ph.D., president and CEO of SWGSB. “From our flagship graduate banking school that develops banking leaders over three consecutive summer sessions to our Commercial Lending School in partnership with Texas Bankers Association, as well as our bank director programs that take place on the SMU campus and at exciting venues across the country, SWGSB programs strengthen careers, organizations and communities.” 2026 Programs Assemblies for Bank Directors SWGSB Assemblies for Bank Directors empower aspiring, new and experienced bank directors, as well as those in a financial institution’s C-suite, with knowledge and relationships to execute board duties with confidence. The following assembly is scheduled for later this year: Sept. 3-6, 2026 Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort and Spa Beaver Creek, Colorado Commercial Lending School The SWGSB Commercial Lending School, in partnership with the Texas Bankers Association, is a transformative program designed for both new and seasoned lending professionals that equips them with the knowledge and skills to successfully compete in the commercial lending space. The next session is set for April 26-May 1, 2026, at SMU Cox. Graduate Banking School The SWGSB graduate banking school prepares future banking leaders for greater responsibility with a cutting-edge curriculum, exceptional student-faculty ratio, networking, team building and unique hands-on learning. The program is completed over three consecutive summer sessions and includes intersession assignments after Year 1 and Year 2. SWGSB’s next session is May 26-June 5, 2026, at SMU Cox. National Certified Community Bank Director’s Program SWGSB’s National Certified Community Bank Director’s (NCCBD) Program is a comprehensive curriculum offered on the SMU Cox campus for aspiring, new and experienced bank directors. The program covers the foundations of bank directorship, including duties and responsibilities, as well as board structures and processes. NCCBD certification focuses on what makes boards and directors effective, as well as on what is expected of them by regulators, examiners and shareholders. Upon completion of the requirements, participants receive a certificate and may use the NCCBD designation. The next NCCBD three-day session will take place Oct. 19-21, 2026, at SMU Cox. Learn more and register for programs at swgsb.org or call (214) 768-2991. 10
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SAVING HOMES, SUPPORTING COMMUNITIES How Housing New Mexico Is Preserving Affordable Homes By Kristie Garcia, Director of Communications & Marketing, Housing New Mexico Finding an affordable home can be a significant challenge for many families, both in New Mexico and across the country. Housing New Mexico is working diligently to make affordable housing more accessible, offering various programs and services to achieve its vision of providing all New Mexicans with quality, affordable housing opportunities. One of Housing New Mexico’s programs, Restoring Our Communities (ROC), specifically aims to provide affordable single-family homes while helping communities reduce the number of vacant and abandoned properties. Launched in 2023, the program provides funding for the acquisition, rehabilitation and resale of single-family properties that will be sold to New Mexicans from low- to moderate-income households. “This program not only provides more affordable housing, but it helps communities maintain their property values,” said Housing New Mexico Chief Housing Officer Donna Maestas-De Vries. “Ultimately, one of the goals of Restoring Our Communities is to increase homeownership opportunities in our state. By collaborating with dedicated partners to administer this program, we can help strengthen communities across the state while making homeownership a reality for many families.” Photos courtesy of Homewise and Housing New Mexico 12
While individual homebuyers are not eligible to apply for funding, Housing New Mexico administers the program working alongside eligible agencies, such as: • Public and private non-profit organizations • For-profit organizations • Governmental housing agencies, authorities, entities or instrumentalities • Regional/public housing authorities • Tribal housing authorities, agencies or governments • Developers, builders, corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships, joint ventures, syndicates or associations • Other entities as specified in the Notice of Funding Availability Homewise, one of Housing New Mexico’s partners for the Restoring Our Communities program, has recently acquired and rehabilitated homes. “The ROC program lets us take deeply distressed, often abandoned homes and bring them back to life,” said Homewise Real Estate Development Project Manager J.T. Mitchell. “These neglected properties hinder our neighborhoods, and our partnership with Housing New Mexico allows us to turn them into safe and affordable homes. Once complete, these homes are designated for everyday New Mexicans, giving more families a chance at homeownership.” Homewise Real Estate Development Project Director Eugene Chavez added, “It’s been a great collaboration with Housing New Mexico and Homewise to turn these problem projects into works of art for future clients.” The Housing New Mexico Board of Directors allocated approximately $3.5 million in funding for the ROC initiative from the New Mexico Housing Trust Fund in 2023. Four restoration projects have already been completed, and eight more are currently in progress. For more information or to view the program’s Notice of Funding Availability, please scan the QR code. https://housingnm.org/programs/restoring-ourcommunities-program 13
HIDING ECONOMIC DATA: FOR WHOM AND WHAT PURPOSE? By Mark Anderson, Legal and Legislative Assistant, NMBA Over the past year, in my view, there has been a strange and concerning trend happening within our federal government. Federal statistical agencies (FSAs), once the gold standard for information, have seen unprecedented attacks on their independence and capacity, creating questions around whether they can be relied upon to report on problems within the U.S. economy. Since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term, there have been a series of choices that lead one to conclude that the federal government is deliberately trying to hide economic data from the American public. That begs the question: Why are they trying to hide it, and what do they think this will achieve? Early in the second Trump administration, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick disbanded the Federal Economic Statistics Advisory Committee (FESAC), a crucial body that worked under the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis to ensure that the federal government produces accurate data on economic indicators. Then, the Trump administration gutted the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Technical Advisory Committee, which advises the Department of Labor on the impact of economic changes on data collection. Next, in August, the President terminated 14
Personalized Financial Consulting for Your Business Growth Small Business Commercial Real Estate Government Fiscal Analysis & Legislative Advocacy Interested in working together? Visit www.ponderosaeconomics.com or call (505) 699-1841. Financial & Management Consulting Firm BLS Commissioner Erica McEntarfer, falsely accusing her of manipulating economic data to hurt him politically by releasing an accurate jobs report showing weak employment growth. Trump proceeded to nominate EJ Antoni, described by various media outlets as a “partisan bomb thrower,” to replace McEntarfer. Antoni suggested eliminating federal monthly jobs reports, stunning economists. Under pressure, his nomination was later withdrawn. Additionally, the current administration has fired numerous independent agency leaders, required every federal agency to have a White House liaison and required supposedly independent agencies to submit draft regulations to the Office of Management and Budget — headed by administration official Russell Vought — for review before publication. They have made a farce of economic data from the federal government, leading independent organizations and think tanks, armed with far less resources, to pick up the slack and attempt to publish accurate economic figures. Again, this raises the question: What is there to be gained from obscuring economic data from the public? Particularly when people are acutely aware of their monthly financial plights. Deceiving the public certainly isn’t a viable long-term strategy. The current administration doesn’t seem to have any long-term strategy when it comes to hiding economic data, but they are more or less hoping that they can create an alternate reality consisting of only positive economic news. The problem is that the economy is a tangible, lived experience for people. Unlike other political issues, it is impossible to abstract your economic plight. Also, the current economic reality for the vast majority of Americans is extremely difficult, so there is further incentive for the Trump administration to obscure the actual data. However, on an issue like the economy, telling people that what they’re experiencing isn’t actually real is a recipe for severe backlash. Another emerging economic trend that is being largely ignored by both the media and political classes is the complete 15
decoupling of top-line economic indicators such as stock market growth, unemployment rate and GDP from the real economy that most Americans experience day-to-day. In this current paradigm, it doesn’t serve politicians particularly well to cite top-line economic numbers when they are so thoroughly disconnected from the everyday lives of their constituents. As both the Biden and Trump administrations have found out, citing impressive top-line economic numbers has the dual effect of both inoculating those in power from real economic despair as well as further alienating and angering everyday people, who often feel like those who control the economy live in an alternate reality. Given this current dynamic and the current administration’s open attempts to suppress economic information, genuine questions arise about how the economy is evaluated on a fundamental level. If top-line economic indicators aren’t particularly useful to the vast majority of people, then perhaps they should be discussed differently from everyday economic indicators. For instance, in baseball, wins were long the main stat used to evaluate starting pitchers. However, over time, evaluators realized that wins can often be a team-dependent statistic for a starting pitcher. As a result, baseball organizations now use a variety of more in-depth statistics, including walks and hits per innings pitched (WHIP) and strikeouts per 9 innings, to give a more accurate evaluation of a starting pitcher’s performance. Perhaps a similar approach should be taken with the economy. Top-line economic statistics can certainly still be used, but should be supplemented with far more in-depth economic indicators. At a time when there are more questions than ever about the fundamentals of the economy, suppressing or altering economic data is the absolute last approach that should be taken. In fact, this is the time to have an incredibly serious, sober look at how to make the economy work for more Americans. An economy’s true test is not how it functions for the wealthiest among us, but how it functions for more economically precarious people. And, in that regard, the U.S. economy is failing. In recent weeks, there has been a spate of concerning, lesser-publicized news stories that highlight how unmanageable basic costs and necessities are becoming for the majority of Americans. In late December, Redfin released a report indicating that, “There were an estimated 37.2% more home sellers than buyers in the U.S. housing market in November 2025 (or 529,770 more, in numerical terms) — the largest gap in records dating back to 2013 aside from this summer. That’s up from 35.6% a month earlier and 17% a year earlier. The gap has been hovering above 35% since April.” The report further details, “We define a market where there are over 10% more sellers than buyers as a buyer’s market and a market where there are over 10% fewer sellers than buyers as a seller’s market. A market where the gap is plus or minus 10% is considered a balanced market. By this definition, it has been a buyer’s market since May 2024. When sellers outnumber buyers, buyers typically hold the negotiating power because they have a lot of options to choose from. That’s why a market with a lot more sellers than buyers is considered a buyer’s market. Of course, it’s only a buyer’s market for those who can afford to buy — many Americans have been priced out of the housing market as affordability has eroded.” Also, according to the New York Federal Reserve, outstanding credit card balances jumped to $1.23 trillion in the third quarter, up 6% over the same time last year and an all-time high. And this data was released prior to the Christmas season, when the majority of Americans incur more debt during their holiday shopping and other activities. Typically, people use the new year to pay some of their debt down, but with rising consumer costs in practically every sector, many people don’t have time to do that. Then follows the inevitable cycle of deepening credit card debt, which is now being exacerbated by buy now, pay later programs used by many consumers. Chi Chi Wu, attorney with the National Consumer Law Center, said the rise of buy now, pay later lending adds extra risk. “We see consumers sometimes get into trouble when they think, ‘Oh, well I can deal with this payment for this one buy now, pay later loan to buy this item,’” she said. “Next thing they know, they’re juggling multiple ‘pay-in-four’ installment plans for their whole shopping list and their plane ticket home.” Numbers like these illustrate that we don’t have a balanced economy nor a particularly multi-dimensional economy. We have an economy that succeeds in getting a small group of people obscenely wealthy, leading to cascading social and political problems. We don’t have an economy that makes basic necessities affordable, that respects or rewards labor commensurate to its value, or is manageable for the vast majority of the population. Factors like soaring medical and credit card debt, plummeting homeownership rates and rising homelessness indicate an economy that doesn’t have its fundamentals taken care of nor its priorities in line. Hiding and falsifying economic data out in the open is the final admission by those in power that they don’t have anything encouraging to show you outside of their usual tricks, so please stop asking. 16
In its 50-year history, Housing New Mexico has helped 72,668 families become homeowners through its first mortgage and down payment assistance programs. Ready to become a homeowner? Scan the QR code or visit: housingnm.org/programs/homebuyers to get started! Where Homeownership Begins housingnm.org
REGULATORY SHAKEUP FOR DIGITAL DOLLARS By Michael A. Johnson, SVP & Southwest Regional Manager, PCBB After years of uncertainty surrounding digital assets, the GENIUS Act finally provides banks with a clear, regulated path to use stablecoins safely. For community banks, this means the conversation can shift from “if” to “how.” The law requires all dollar-backed stablecoins to be fully collateralized with U.S. currency or Treasuries, subject to monthly reserve audits and supervised at the state or federal level. Marketing stablecoins as legal tender or as government-insured products is now strictly prohibited. Oversight under the GENIUS Act is shared; certain permitted issuers fall under the OCC or state-level regulatory regimes, depending on their structure and whether they elect to be supervised by a federal or state authority. Issuers must also meet federal requirements regarding anti-money laundering compliance, consumer protection and financial stability. For community banks, this framework provides greater clarity in evaluating the integration of stablecoins into payments, settlement and liquidity functions within defined regulatory guardrails. Large institutions are already adapting. Stripe’s subsidiary, Bridge, along with Circle, Ripple and Paxos, has applied for national trust bank status, signaling that stablecoin issuers are moving toward federally supervised models. U.S. Bank has formed a “Digital Assets and Money Movement” division to manage tokenized payments and custody functions. While community banks aren’t expected to launch divisions of their own, these moves set the stage for future partnerships — giving community institutions new, compliant ways to connect to these rails. Risk Management: A Familiar Discipline Adopting stablecoins is not risk-free, especially for traditional lenders and deposit-takers. However, many of the safeguards that financial institutions already use — such as vendor 18
oversight, liquidity monitoring and ALCO reporting — can be adapted to manage these exposures. Recent industry guidance recommends that community banks: • Establish exposure limits and clear board-approved policies for any digital-asset activity. • Verify that stablecoin partners maintain one-to-one reserve backing and transparent proof-of-reserves. • Include redemption processes and stress-testing for temporary peg breaks or liquidity delays. TRM Labs notes that the most successful institutions treat stablecoin oversight as part of their enterprise-wide risk management, integrating it into existing frameworks for liquidity, credit and third-party risk. This includes establishing escalation paths for peg deviations, conducting independent reserve reviews and maintaining contingency playbooks for temporary redemption halts. For banks, this means folding stablecoin exposure into current governance processes — not reinventing them. The same principles that guide vendor management, correspondent relationships and funds availability policies apply here as well. The firm’s blueprint also highlights the importance of governance discipline. Banks should document risk ownership and assign executive accountability for digital-asset exposure, with quarterly reporting to the board. Monitoring tools for wallet flows and blockchain analytics can enhance visibility into transaction patterns and facilitate early warning detection of suspicious activity or liquidity stress. Navigating Uncertainty: Practical Next Steps As stablecoins transition from experimental pilots to mainstream payment rails, the challenge for banks is striking a balance between innovation and safety. Larger institutions are already demonstrating use cases for programmable payments and nearinstant settlement — developments worth monitoring as regulatory clarity improves under the GENIUS Act. Community banks don’t need to issue or hold stablecoins directly to prepare for this shift. A practical first step is simply assessing the exposure points within their own operations — identifying where counterparties or payment processors are beginning to use tokenized settlement, understanding transaction flows and ensuring oversight processes remain sound. Resilience begins with preparation. Banks should regularly test how potential disruptions, such as blockchain outages, counterparty issues or redemption delays, could affect liquidity or customer access. Scenario testing, already familiar from ALCO and business continuity planning, can readily extend to new payment environments. Equally important is staff readiness. Employees should be trained on redemption procedures, reporting requirements and customer communication during periods of stress or market volatility. Clear policy reviews and tabletop exercises help frontline teams understand where stablecoins may intersect with liquidity and payments, ensuring readiness without direct exposure. Regulatory Edge: Why This Matters Now • Federal guardrails. The GENIUS Act provides banks with clear boundaries for what stablecoin activity is permitted, helping to avoid regulatory pitfalls. • Risk management required. Ongoing reserve audits, conservative exposure limits and stress tests protect deposit bases and reputations. Strong governance and contingency plans further strengthen resilience. • Payments upgrade. New standards allow financial institutions to credibly offer faster, programmable and cross-border payments for clients through trusted partners. • Competitive positioning. Early movers can differentiate by integrating digital-asset capabilities under a well-defined compliance umbrella. Recent applications for federal charters suggest that this competitive landscape is expanding rapidly — opening doors for community banks to collaborate with regulated issuers and established financial institutions that are already investing in digital-asset operations. The Bottom Line Stablecoins are moving from headlines to infrastructure — and regulation is catching up. For community banks, the GENIUS Act doesn’t mean launching crypto products. It means they can now explore modern payment capabilities with clearer guardrails and less risk. Banks that extend their existing governance, vendor risk and liquidity practices to digital payments will be best positioned to participate confidently. Innovation doesn’t have to come at the expense of safety, and with regulatory clarity, community banks can finally compete on both. To continue this discussion, or for more information, please contact me at mjohnson@pcbb.com. Michael A. Johnson is senior vice president and Southwest regional manager at PCBB. Dedicated to serving the needs of community banks, PCBB’s comprehensive and robust set of solutions includes cash management services such as Settlement and Liquidity for the FedNow Service, international services, lending solutions and risk management advisory services. 19
In a market where deposit competition is fierce and industry turmoil has placed an increased emphasis on safety, one of the best ways to proactively reassure your most valued customers could be joining a reciprocal deposit network. Per IntraFi’s quarterly survey of bank executives, as of the second quarter of 2025, 87% of institutions reported that deposit competition had worsened or stayed the same compared to the past 12 months, with 93% expecting this trend to continue over the next year. Given this competition, access to millions of dollars of aggregate FDIC insurance across network banks in a reciprocal deposit network can be a valuable tool to any bank. What Do Bank Customers Say About Reciprocal Deposit Networks? Reciprocal deposits (i.e., deposits a bank receives through a deposit network in return for placing a matching amount of deposits at other network banks in increments under the FDIC insurance limit of $250,000) can delight large depositors and bankers alike. Cindy Thomas, a depositor who handles millions of dollars flowing through a property management company in Silver Spring, Maryland, found significant value in the reciprocal deposit products offered by her bank. “[My bank] does all the work for me,” said Cindy. “I’m getting a good rate of return, and it is so easy for me. I can see all the CHOOSING A DEPOSIT NETWORK AND MAXIMIZING ITS VALUE FOR YOUR BANK By Steve Kinner, Senior Managing Director, IntraFi 20
The Advisors’ Trust Company® Zia Trust, Inc. Independent Corporate trustee 6301 Indian School Rd NE Suite 800 Albuquerque, NM 87110 Albuquerque • SAntA Fe • lAS CruCeS • Phoenix • tuCSon details in one place. I would think that anyone who is doing my type of job would want to use these products.” Erik Burgdorf, the business manager at Immanuel Lutheran, a 175-year-old church and school in St. Charles, Missouri, also uses products available via a deposit network. “When we looked at this product, we said yes, absolutely, this is something we need to jump on. It was a no-brainer,” Burgdorf said. “With the [deposit network] product, our funds are protected, we earn a competitive rate and it does not cost us the significant time and effort required if we were to do this ourselves.” What Should You Look for in a Deposit Network? Not every deposit network is created equal. Consider these questions before signing up: • Does the provider compete with banks for deposits? Some networks may double-dip and pursue depositors, creating a potential conflict of interest. • Does the provider offer multiple deposit product options for placement of funds? The more options, the more flexibility your bank can offer. • Does the provider ever have possession of customer funds? Preferred networks will use highly reputable, established banks for settlement, keeping your depositor’s funds at arm’s length. • Is the bank allowed to set the interest rate? A network that lets your bank set the interest rate enables you to control your profit margin and create customized offerings to retain valued depositors. • Does the provider have relationships with many banks? Larger networks typically mean higher deposit balances can be placed, providing more flexibility for your bank. With the right reciprocal deposit network, your bank can build stronger customer relationships, fund more loans and seamlessly manage liquidity. IntraFi® is a trusted partner chosen by more than 3,000 financial institutions nationwide. IntraFi’s network — the largest of its kind — brings scale, giving each participant access to tens of billions of dollars in funding, the highest per-depositor and per-bank capacity, and the peace of mind that comes with making large-dollar placements. Contact IntraFi at (866) 776-6426 or contactus@intrafi.com to learn how your bank can join our network of financial institutions and benefit from The Power of Many. 21
UMB DONATES $750,000 TO BENEFIT NEW MEXICO-BASED NONPROFITS UMB Bank recently announced a total donation of $750,000 to support five nonprofit organizations serving New Mexico and the Albuquerque region. This is part of UMB’s annual corporate charitable donations, which support a range of nonprofit organizations across its footprint, totaling $6.4 million in 2025. “We are thrilled to be able to give back to the New Mexico community and support the important services each of these organizations provides,” said Melanie Velasquez, New Mexico market president at UMB Bank. “The selected nonprofit organizations provide critical resources to community development, youth enrichment, learning opportunities, essential services and more, and we’re proud to be able to help further their efforts in serving our community.” Recipient nonprofit organizations were selected based on their need, potential for collaboration and alignment with UMB’s approach to serving its area communities, including a focus on arts, agriculture, financial education and self-sufficiency. The selected organizations include: • Albuquerque Public Schools Education Foundation: A nonprofit that partners with the community to raise funds and provide grants supporting educational resources for students and teachers across Albuquerque Public Schools. • Junior Achievement of New Mexico: A statewide nonprofit that prepares K-12 students for economic success by offering hands-on programs in financial literacy, entrepreneurship and workforce readiness. • Prestamos Community Development Financial Institution LLC (a division of Chicanos Por La Causa): A community development institution that provides affordable loans and financial services to support small businesses and economic growth in underserved communities. • Mandy’s Farm: A nonprofit that supports individuals with developmental disabilities through programs that build job skills, promote sustainable farming experiences, and foster community engagement and independence. • United Way of Eastern New Mexico: A regional organization that operates a free community helpline (2-1-1), awards grants to agencies providing vital services, and offers programs promoting children’s wellbeing and youth education and success. 22
See fhlb.com/sbb for more information | Call 844.345.2265 or email us at sbb@fhlb.com CONTACT US Small Business Boost With the Small Business Boost (SBB) program, offered by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas), participating members can help give small businesses a boost. More loans for members means more funds for small businesses Maximum Loan Size: $125,000 Low-cost, recoverable assistance program Delayed repayment terms for businesses helps improve cash flow Funds are provided as a secondary, unsecured loan that fills a financial gap when there is a lack of equity or collateral shortfall Funding is first-come, first-served until exhausted
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