7 PUB. 12 2022 ISSUE 1 When I became Director in the summer of 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 health crisis, the uncertainty facing the banking sector was palpable. I heard the same trepidation from bankers, regulators, and consumers alike — the COVID economy was the most serious test facing banks since the financial crisis in 2008. Thankfully, the banking system proved resilient, and though the health crisis remains with us almost two years later, the hunkered down “doom and gloom” sentiment of 2020 seems a little more optimistic in early 2022. Optimism for 2022 is particularly apparent in Arizona, where the state’s financial services sector is growing and thriving. Just this past month, Arizona chartered its first de novo bank in more than a decade, with potentially more to follow in the coming months. These additions to Arizona’s banking community are timely. Although the state is in the top 10 for population growth according to the 2020 census and had a top-10 economy in the United States for GDP growth in 2021, Arizona ranks in the bottom 10 for the number of state-chartered banks actively serving the state. Needless to say, the opportunity abounds to provide banking services to our growing state. Opportunity also exists to further strengthen the relationship between regulators and bankers. What our industry stakeholders knew for many years as “DFI” (Department of Financial Institutions) added another “I” in 2020 to become the Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions (“DIFI” — think “Wi-Fi” with a “d”). Merging two agencies with distinct identities (in the middle of a pandemic, no less) was challenging. We still have much to do to remain a responsive and efficient regulator. But those goals remain achievable if we prove capable of adapting to change effectively. We share many challenges facing our industry stakeholders: adjusting to altered expectations about performing work, hiring and
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