Pub. 17 2020 Issue 2

Issue 2 • 2020 3 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 Advisors’ Trust Company ® Zia Trust, Inc. 505.881.3338 www.ziatrust.com 6301 Indian School Rd. NE Suite 800, Albuquerque, NM 87110 We work alongside your customers’ investment advisors f New Mexico bankers retain their important customers while Zia Trust serves solely as trustee, personal representative, or financial power of attorney. f Zia Trust provides a corporate trustee solution to ensure family legacy is protected. f Accepting all types of assets, from investment portfolios, real property, ranch and farmland, specialty vehicles, closely held businesses, oil and gas interests, and more. f Offices in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Las Cruces. We Manage Unique Assets How can Zia Trust assist New Mexico Bankers? unemployment rate. Third, federal government employment significantly outpaces private sector employment in our state. In my opinion, it was a combination of all of these factors that likely explain the reason we had the lowest utilization rate. Because of the unique times in which we are currently living, the vast majority of meetings, banquets, seminars, etc. are now being held virtually. If you are like me, you find this very frus- trating and informal at times. Although it is nice not to have to leave the comfort of your office, for the most part, we are social beings who enjoy face to face interactions. Although a lot can be accomplished virtually, there is just something about meeting in person that seems right. In contrast, virtual meetings do have some advantages. Many organizations can sign up very high-qualified speakers and presenters for these meetings that otherwise would not have been available or affordable. Without the expenses of travel, hotel, food and time, there are many opportunities to hear from experts who otherwise may not have been available to us in the past. Also, you can have many more of your employees listen to the lectures and presentations who may not have had the opportunity to do so in the past. I believe that in the future, we should combine both the face to face meetings and virtual speakers to get the best of both worlds. Following the trend, the NMBA recently held our “virtual” board meeting on June 11, 2020. Multiple subjects and issues were discussed at the meeting. The Executive Committee recommended that the current officers and board members of the organization remain in place for the ensuing year due to the unforeseen circumstances we have encountered and the unfin- ished business and projects that remain to be completed. The motion passed unanimously. We also discussed the ongoing success of our internship program at UNM and the future plans to expand the program to NMSU and other institutions. John Anderson presented the somewhat discouraging New Mexico legislative report. Many of our longtime allies and advocates in the Legislature lost their primary elections. It will take a great deal of time and hard work to get to know the newly elected officials and hopefully educate them on the issues that face banking in a way that they, too, will support our organization and industry. We discussed the cancellation of the Annual Convention and Lender’s Conference. At this time, we plan on postponing the Lender’s Conference until February 2021; how- ever, a decision on the date and location of the Annual Conven- tion in 2021 has not been made due to the uncertainty that still remains. Once we are confident that things appear to be getting back to “normal,” we will begin discussing the convention at that time. Although a great deal of uncertainty still surrounds the future, I have complete faith in the American people and our ability to endure and persevere through any problem or enemy that we face, only to emerge on the other side stronger and better than ever before. I hope everyone had an outstanding 4th of July! n