Pub 18 2021 Issue 1

4 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 The best part about being a community banker is the ability to make a difference in the lives of our customers and employees. LONNIE TALBERT NMBA INCOMING PRESIDENT Visit our website at: www.nmbankers.com How did you get started in the banking industry? I graduated from college in 1986 and then took some time off to travel, bartend and work various jobs to pay the rent. As most college students do, I had student loans to pay off. In 1989, about three years after graduation, I started my career in financial services as an account executive at HFC. Believe it or not, I was working on a Saturday at Doc and Eddy’s, and the branch manager and assistant branch manager at the local HFC called in for a lunch order. I took the order and started up a conversation. As they say, “the rest is history.” I was interviewed and hired to work in St Louis, Missouri. It was my first real career job and was an amazing training experience. As you can imagine, in 1989 and early 1990s, interest rates were nowhere near the historic lows we see now, so it was commonplace to make consumer unsecured loans and pay off first mortgages at rates in double digits. It was a lot of fun calling on customers and helping them get their financial lives in order. Our customers were looking for quick decision-making and low payments without the hassle of going into a traditional bank. I was proud of what we did to help our customers. I know the finance company industry was considered second or third to banking, but each time I helped a customer get their financial health in order, there was a lot of satisfaction. Over the next 20 years, I continued to work for both HFC and Citibank learning all about financial services, but not really community banking and its impact on business. I moved to New Mexico while working for Citibank and then landed with First Community Bank in 2007. I was so excited to finally get to work with a true community bank and see the impact of lending to New Mexico businesses and investing in the community. Unfortunately, four years later, we know how this chapter ended. But I learned so much, and even though the outcome was not what any of us wanted, the lessons learned have helped me be the banker I am now, as president and COO for Southwest Capital Bank. What has been the best part of being a banker? The best part about being a community banker is the ability to make a difference in the lives of our customers and employees. As a community banker, you get to make decisions daily, which can immediately be put into action. I have always enjoyed the people aspect of banking, working closely with our employees and customers and giving back to the communities we serve. Being able to help set the strategic course of the bank and then work with our team to execute this vision is extremely rewarding. What changes do you foresee in our industry and in New Mexico in the next five years? I believe, unfortunately, we will continue to see consolidation in the community banking space. Several community banks, which are either family-owned or whose shareholders are looking for an exit strategy, will be forced to merge or sell to satisfy their shareholders. I also think we will see faster payments and a move to a more digitized approach to banking. COVID-19 has changed the game due to banks closing their lobbies to customers for extended periods, numerous workers working from home, and INCOMING PRESIDENT LONNIE TALBERT Q&A