When Hill Country residents and small-business owners deposit money at national banks, those funds are not recycled into local loans but instead flow to large markets like New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, according to John Wells, Market President for Texas Regional Bank in Fredericksburg. Wells made the argument in a wide-ranging interview on the latest episode of The Building Texas Show, hosted by Justin McKenzie. The episode, titled Why Your Money Might Be Leaving Texas (And Where It Goes), lands October 21, 2026 and examines where community deposits actually end up.
Wells, who began his career on the frontline at Chase before stints at the former Compass Bank and five years building Texas Regional Bank’s Fredericksburg market, drew a sharp line between national and community institutions. “Nothing against the big banks, the big national banks, but all that money, all the deposits that are going into those banks are going straight to New York,” he said. “They are going to these giant loans in Chicago and New York and L.A., and they’re not being reinvested here in the community.” He contrasted that with community lenders like Texas Regional Bank and Security State Bank, which he said put earnings back to work locally.
The implications extend beyond banking philosophy. Wells credits Dan Kemp and David Pedragon of Security State Bank as servant leaders who helped fund the Fredericksburg High School incubator, an example of local reinvestment that supports workforce development. He also points to Little League jerseys stamped with hometown bank logos as a visible test of which institutions actually back the community. For small-business owners, the distinction matters when it comes to access to capital and relationship banking. Wells and McKenzie discuss why the best operators keep an attorney, a CPA, and a banker on speed dial, and how relationship banking differs from rate shopping.
The conversation also tracks Fredericksburg’s rapid evolution into a national destination without losing its Texas identity. Topic threads include the arrival of the Waldorf Astoria and what it says about tourism-led growth beyond peaches, antiques, and German heritage; the influx of remote executives from Austin and San Francisco; and the housing-affordability gap that still constrains young families. Wells, incoming chair of the Fredericksburg Chamber of Commerce, also previews student pitches heading to the Texas Venture Fest in Mason and discusses Fredericksburg ISD’s incubator and CTE programs, the Chamber’s role under Jim McCulla, and the fight against Hill Country brain drain.
For Texas savers and small-business owners, the episode frames a timely question: when community money flows into national banks, does any of it come back home? Wells’ answer suggests that the choice of where to bank can shape whether local capital supports local loans, civic projects, and the next generation of Hill Country entrepreneurs.
