00:00Tim and John, first of all, I appreciate having you both in here after the acquisition of Vista
00:04Bank. But Tim, I do want to start with that. NBH creates a regional bank of $12.4 billion in
00:10assets, 100 locations in Texas, several other states. I want to know why you picked Vista.
00:15Well, first, Julie, it's a pleasure to be with you. Thank you for having us. And look,
00:20if you know John Steinmetz and you know the company he built here in Texas, it's absolutely
00:27the kind of company we wanted to be a part of. Our cultures match. We love what's happening in
00:32the state of Texas. We think combining our two companies makes us only stronger together. So
00:38so many powerful reasons for coming together. And John, we've known you for a while. You were
00:43in here talking about a possible IPO at one point. Why this? You know, when you look at an IPO
00:48in all
00:49the different avenues, we basically decided we would either IPO or find the right strategic
00:55partner. And let's face it, the hardest part about us, M&A, is finding that strategic partner.
01:00And when we when Tim and I met four years ago, as we started to explore what options would be
01:05out
01:05there, it made complete sense. We have the growth engine in Texas. We're in the eighth largest economy
01:11in the world. And with a $10 billion balance sheet and a portfolio and arsenal of products and services
01:18that we can better serve our clients. This just made a lot of sense. And it was a great option
01:22for
01:22all of our stakeholders. Tim, a Denver based company, but again, business in several states
01:27in the United States. What will all these regional banks see now? Well, you know, among other things,
01:34I fell in love with the Vista brand and the Vista name. I mean, if you think about how well
01:38it's it
01:39plays not only in English, but in Spanish, if you think about really the definition of Vista,
01:44I think it's so powerful that we're going to change virtually all of our brands to the Vista name.
01:51And I think, you know, the Vista company did a great job of putting people first. And both of our
01:59companies are incredibly focused on entrepreneurs. And what we're really talking about are small and
02:04medium sized businesses. And I think the power of bringing our balance sheets together with the kind
02:08of talent we're bringing together just gives us that much greater ability to serve those small
02:14and medium sized business owners. Now, you said the red tape is done. Everything has been approved.
02:19John, when people come into Vista here in the Dallas Fort Worth area, what are they going to see that's
02:23different? An entirely new arsenal of products and services, but the same people, the same brand,
02:31the same great service. You know, what we have always done at Vista is put our people first.
02:38We've always believed that the greatest risk in banking is not having the right clients. And by
02:45putting our people first, the best clients follow the best bankers. And we have been actively recruiting
02:50those. So the lapel pin in the name doesn't even change in this merger. And to have an opportunity to
02:57partner with somebody like Tim Laney, who's been in the industry, a leader in the industry that has taken
03:02NBH from where it started at zero to where it is around the same amount of time. Julie has been
03:08a tremendous opportunity for our people and our shareholders alike. You touched on a little bit
03:13about doing business in Texas. And again, you're in many other states. Texas business climate has
03:19changed dramatically. I'm sure since you've been here, since I've been here, I'd love to know your
03:25reaction to what you're seeing here. I'm amazed. I mean, I think that sums it up. It's remarkable.
03:31What the government of this state has done in terms of setting a great environment for business.
03:36I'm amazed by the quality of talent that the state has attracted and continues to attract. I'm amazed
03:43by the education system and the kind of talent that the education system is producing. And it feels like
03:49a market that has all of its ducks in a row. John, when you look at the changes you've seen
03:56here,
03:56Texas Stock Exchange is coming here now. Other stock exchanges are certainly making their
04:01presence known as well. Yeah. And let's look. Goldman Sachs moving their second largest
04:07headquarters here. You got J.P. Morgan has more financial services professionals in Texas today
04:14than they do. Dallas in Texas as a whole is becoming a financial hub for the country. And I think
04:20it's,
04:21while it's not what has changed, I think it's what the politicians have not let change like a lot of
04:28the other states that makes Texas so great. So you just talked about headquarters. Bloomberg
04:32reporting that Apollo is considering a second headquarters in either Texas or Florida. You
04:36have business in both. Love to get your reaction to that. I understand why Apollo would be considering
04:41those two great cities. Which one do you think has the lead there?
04:46I have no idea, Julie, but I appreciate the question. Especially since you have business in
04:53both. You know, Bloomberg also reporting that Citibank is weighing buying another bank. Any
04:58interest in that? Both of you are well-versed in M&A. We'd be honored to buy Citibank.
05:05Are you interested, though, in further M&A as you build your profile? You know, we are from day one,
05:11we've believed in optionality, and we'll continue to have conversations. I'll tell you, Julie,
05:16conversations are at an all-time high in our industry, and we're experiencing the same.
05:21And so, you know, you should expect more from us.
05:24I do want to ask before I let you go. You're new to Texas. You're not. What was your biggest
05:29surprise when you started talking about building up a business here?
05:32Well, you know, first of all, what I love is when I visit Texas, people assume I'm from Texas. I
05:39guess I have an accent that sounds like I could be from this part of the world. And I just,
05:43I've
05:43come to appreciate the fact that it's not just a saying when people say everything's bigger in
05:47Texas. What have you noticed the most in terms of the change? You know, obviously, we've seen a
05:54lot of Northeast, West Coast influences come in. But I'll tell you, I think that the business,
06:00the entrepreneurial climate, the desire to win, I think that what's making Texas unique is we still
06:06have a very diverse workforce. You know, you oftentimes hear, well, oil is running. How is
06:13that going to impact, you know, banking? Well, as oil goes up, Texas goes up. But if you look at
06:19the
06:19diversification today that the state has, and the amount of blue-collar and white-collar jobs that
06:26are being created, and just the population growth that we have, I think the future is not only bright
06:30for Texas, but it's bright for the country. And we're really excited to be partnering with NBH as
06:35we move in to participate in what we think is going to be some of the greatest roll-ups and
06:41consolidation bank consolidations in the country.
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