Deposits from Fredericksburg and the surrounding Hill Country are funding large loans in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles rather than being reinvested locally, according to John Wells, Market President for Texas Regional Bank. Wells makes the case in the latest episode of The Building Texas Show, hosted by Justin McKenzie, which examines where Hill Country money actually goes and why it matters for Texas savers and small-business owners.
“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,” Wells says in the episode, titled Why Your Money Might Be Leaving Texas (And Where It Goes). “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.” Wells contrasts that with community lenders such as Texas Regional Bank and Security State Bank, which he says put earnings back to work locally. The distinction matters for small-business owners and families who assume their deposits circulate in the local economy.
Wells draws on a career that began on the frontline at Chase, included stops at the former Compass Bank, and a five-year run building Texas Regional Bank’s Fredericksburg market. He credits Dan Kemp and David Pedragon of Security State Bank as servant leaders who helped fund the Fredericksburg High School incubator, and he points to Little League jerseys stamped with hometown bank logos as a visible test of who backs the community. That local reinvestment shows up in education and civic life, not just balance sheets.
The conversation also tracks Fredericksburg’s rapid evolution into a national destination without losing its Texas identity. Topics include the arrival of the Waldorf Astoria and what it signals about tourism-led growth beyond peaches, antiques, and German heritage; relationship banking versus rate shopping; and the importance of keeping an attorney, a CPA, and a banker on speed dial. Wells and McKenzie discuss Fredericksburg ISD’s incubator and career and technical education programs, the Chamber’s role under Jim McCulla, and the fight against Hill Country brain drain. Wells, incoming chair of the Fredericksburg Chamber of Commerce, previews student pitches heading to the Texas Venture Fest in Mason. They also discuss the influx of remote executives from Austin and San Francisco and the housing-affordability gap that still constrains young families.
The episode lands October 21, 2026, and is available on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and major podcast platforms. For Hill Country residents and business owners, the takeaway is practical: where deposits sit can determine whether local capital returns as small-business loans, school programs, and community sponsorships, or flows to large out-of-state loans. As Fredericksburg grows, that choice could shape which local institutions can finance the next generation of operators and families.
