Pub. 11 2014 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 Spring • 2014 15 The NMBA’s Annual Lenders Conference was recently held in Albuquerque with an audience of nearly 100 participants. Lee Reynis, PH.D., Director of the University of NewMexico’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research, briefed the audi- ence with an overview of the state of the New Mexico economy; improving in sectors but slowly. Thomas Siems, Senior Economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas gave an overview of our national economic con- dition and discussed risks and possibilities of future growth prospects. He noted that unfortunately, GOP growth is generally declining, unemployment remains elevated, the recovery has beenweak, the nature of the workforce has changed, government debt has exploded and consumer confidence continues to wane. The good news is that fortunately, inflation is low and stable, jobs are slowly returning, monetary policymakers are optimistic and we still have time to address our national economic problems. Scott Edwards, Edward, Thrash &Associates and Toby Aliets, Eide Bailly, discussed expectations of acceptable underwriting including: • Trends in underwriting consistency-is the analysis per- formed by the Relationship Manager or Credit Analyst? • Global cash flow for repayment analysis-when is it appro - priate and when is it not? • Approval process trends–loan committees vs. one up’s vs. independent credit approvers. • Risk rating drivers – who in the approval process is re- sponsible for final risk rating. A panel consisting of Gordon Little, Of Counsel, Miller Strat- vert, P.A., John Sanchez, Century Bank, and Bob Trash, Edward Thrash &Associates, discussed how the loan officer canmonitor loans to identify developing problems, work with borrowers, if early warning signs point to deteriorating credits and how to avoid a performing loan turning into a workout. SheilaMathews, Four Corners Community Bank, SteveWells, Los Alamos National Bank, and Jay Jenkins, Carlsbad National Bank, participated on a career development round table to dis- cuss what they look for in employing and promoting bankers in their organizations. In house training, bank school education opportunities, and bank committee participation were also recommended. n Materials discussed during the conference can be found on the NMBA website: www.nmbankers.com . NMBA’s 2014 Lenders Conference 2014 Lenders Conference attendees