Pub. 15 2018 Issue 2

Issue 2 • 2018 15 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 California. I graduated from California State University, San Marcos, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics. I then took a job in Orange County, California, as a mortgage lender. I served clients from San Diego to Santa Barbara, and I worked several years as a mortgage lender before returning home to New Mexico. I am married and have three wonderful children, Christo- pher (10), Clinton (7), and Gabriella (1). My wife, Adriana, and I were married in 2007 and began our lives together in San Diego. At the time, Adriana was a corpsman in the United States Navy stationed at Camp Pendleton and was attached to the Marines. In 2011, after three deployments to Iraq and the birth of our two older sons, we made the tough decision as a family, for her to end her active duty career in the Navy. We returned to New Mexico to raise our children and contribute to the state we call home. Adriana is a graduate of the Univer- sity of New Mexico and works full time as a nurse at Presbyte- rian Hospital in Albuquerque. She still currently serves in the Naval Reserves and has attained the rank of Navy Chief. During my career at FID, I have used every opportunity to continue learning and expanding my educational background. In 2015, I received my MBA from Eastern New Mexico University. That same year, I graduated from the Western States School of Banking. I believe a person should never stop learning and educating themselves. With that being said, in my free time I began taking classes last year at West Texas A & M University, where I am, as time permits, working towards a Masters in Finance and Economics. Are there particular experiences you have had that helped prepare for this position? Prior to working in FID, I spent several years in the private sector as a loan officer. The financial crisis that began in 2008 was a humbling experience that brought on sweeping regu- latory changes that affected all facets of the financial sector. Working through this period and adapting to the changing environment was difficult; however, I believe it gave me the perspective to both understand how the private sector reacts to the regulatory environment, and how regulatory change af- fects private business, both positive and negative. My private sector experience has been a factor in how I approach my du- ties as the Acting Director. Having the ability to understand that all financial institutions are not identical, and that as a regulator, many times we must take a common sense approach to regulation to avoid unintended consequences. What do you see as the Financial Institutions Divi- sion’s most important role with respect to banks? Banks are absolutely critical to the health and stability of our overall economy, and that is especially true for many of our community banks across our state. New Mexico is unique in its make-up. It is a rural state with many diverse economies propped up by small business. Access to credit is fundamental to a small business’ ability to operate. Ensuring that consumers and businesses continue to have access to affordable credit in their communities is critical for the future of our state. FID plays an important role in this aspect. As a regulato- ry agency, the primary function of the FID, as it pertains to banks, is to ensure that our banking sector is safe and sound. We act in a validation capacity for the industry to make sure that our institutions are properly identifying, monitoring, managing, and mitigating risk. It is my belief that at the FID we play a dual role: Primar- ily we serve as the regulator to ensure safety and soundness, but also we must be a partner with our banking industry in order to promote economic development in our communities. Without a sound banking sector in our state, economic devel- opment would be stagnant. As we continue to recover from the latest recession, growth and economic development in our communities is critical. It is my opinion that we, as regula- tors, have the same end goal as the banking community, we are just coming at it from two different sides of the equation. Aside from regulatory state-chartered banks, what are the other entities that you regulate and oversee? Aside from regulating state chartered banks, FID over- sees the regulatory and licensing functions of thirteen other financial industries. Under our supervision are state char - tered credit unions, independent trust companies, endowed care cemeteries, small loan companies, collection agencies, re-possessors, motor vehicle sales finance companies, check cashers, currency exchangers, money transmitters, mortgage companies, mortgage originators, and escrow companies. It is a full plate and covers most of the financial entities that operate in our state. n Christopher Moya Interview continued on page 16