Texas Bankers CEO Touts Depth and Growth of State Banking Sector

"This is no longer Texas becoming America's financial services capital. You're seeing it happen right before our eyes."

(AUSTIN) - Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's declaration that Texas is "America's Financial Capital" underscores the rapid growth and unmatched depth of Texas's financial services industry, Texas Bankers Association (TBA) President and CEO Chris Furlow said in a recent interview.

"Here in Texas we have the ability to sustain our financial services sector, because the pie is getting bigger," Furlow told News Talk WBAP. "We're not fighting over redistribution of the crumbs."

Texas now surpasses New York in financial services employment (excluding insurance and real estate), and over the past decade the sector has grown faster in Texas than in New York.

Furlow emphasized that the number of banks in Texas, the most in the country, and diversity of the state's banks is a source of strength for the Texas economy.

"Regardless of what your need may be-whether you're a large corporation and you prefer to have a large institution, or you're a small business and you want that relationship with your community banker here in Texas- because we have this diverse system of large, midsize, and community banks, you know it's going to help sustain our economy, because a business can find precisely the type of financial institution that they're looking for," Furlow said.

"This is no longer Texas becoming America's financial services capital," he said. "You're seeing it happen right before our eyes."

Furlow's comments came after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on May 21 declared Texas as "America's Financial Capital" at TBA's annual convention in Dallas.

"Texas would not be what it is today without our banks and other financial institutions," Abbott said.

Listen to Furlow's full interview here.

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About Texas Bankers Association

Founded in 1885, the Texas Bankers Association is the largest state-based banking association in the US. TBA advocates for nearly 400 member banks in Austin and Washington, trains more than 20,000 bankers annually, provides nationally recognized community bank services, and invests in Texas communities through financial literacy, scholarship, and charitable activities.