Blair Oden, Head of Markets & Business Development, Texas Capital

Invest: met with Blair Oden, head of markets and business development at Texas Capital, to discuss the firm’s recent milestones, transformation initiatives, and key developments over the past year, including the firm’s strategic growth, community involvement, talent acquisition, and insights into the financial services landscape in Texas.

Could you highlight the key milestones and significant achievements for Texas Capital in the last 12 months?

It’s worth mentioning that Texas Capital embarked on an enterprise-wide transformation in September of 2021, which has served as the cornerstone of everything we’ve done over the past year. We’ve been continuing this transformation, which started with a complete restructuring of our balance sheet. This allowed us to invest in and expand our service offerings to our clients. Our strategy has been to build a financially resilient, full-service financial institution based in Texas—the only one of its kind. This vision has guided us throughout 2024.

In order to best serve our clients, we rebuilt our treasury offering, and now all of our products and services are supported by a brand-new technology platform. Over the past year, we’ve focused on adding to our product offerings as well. For instance, we’ve built out our energy platform within our corporate and investment bank. In 2023, we brought on Marc Graham to lead our energy corporate and investment banking platform, which now comprises dedicated industry professionals specializing in corporate banking, investment banking, M&A advisory, research, and analysis in the energy sector.

We’ve also launched a first-of-its-kind exchange traded fund (ETF) platform based on Texas businesses, offering investors an opportunity to take advantage of the strong Texas economy. In May, we launched our public finance business, which allows us to provide municipal underwriting services to governments, nonprofits, and institutions across Texas.

In August, we launched a direct lending platform, which enables us to offer non-bank financing to Texas companies. While we’ve provided such services before, this new platform is proprietary, offering more flexibility when traditional bank debt might not be the right solution.

In addition, we’ve been deeply involved in giving back to the communities we serve. The success we have experienced offers the opportunity to invest our time, resources and capital through the Texas Capital Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Texas Capital, to benefit Texas charities and our communities. Recently, Texas Capital announced a $1 million grant to Southern Gateway Park, and we are proud to be a partner of the new National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington. This year, we also helped Dr. Opal Lee, the grandmother of Juneteenth, rebuild her home in Fort Worth in partnership with Trinity Habitat for Humanity and HistoryMaker Homes.  

What growth opportunities do you see in the market, and what trends should we be paying attention to?

The banking industry has witnessed its fair share of challenges, but Texas Capital is in a position of strength. Capital and liquidity have been critical, and banks with overexposure to specific segments like real estate have experienced significant stress. The industry is seeing banks raising capital, consolidation, and engagement in activities you don’t often see in stable times.

Texas Capital, however, has stayed on the offense after restructuring its balance sheet two years ago. Our strategy is focused on maintaining financial resilience so we can continue serving our clients regardless of market conditions. This approach has allowed us to grow our client base and provide additional services when other firms may have struggled to do the same. 

As we enter a declining rate environment, we see other banks re-entering the market, but we believe our platform and service offerings will continue to help us gain market share. North Texas and the Texas economy are incredibly strong. Texas is the 8th largest economy in the world. We expect it to continue growing, and our strategy to serve Texas businesses will continue to resonate.

Due to the strength of the Texas market, major financial institutions are growing their presence in the state. This increase in competition will create pressure on attracting and retaining financial talent, making it critical that we be known as an employer of choice. We believe the culture we’ve built at Texas Capital will continue to attract top talent.

How would you assess the current staffing situation, and what strategies is Texas Capital using to attract, retain, and develop talent?

Although I didn’t begin my career in the banking sector, but rather commercial real estate, the same principles apply across both industries. Talented professionals want to work on platforms that enable them to serve their clients effectively. In every business, including financial services, the best people are drawn to strong, capable platforms.

At Texas Capital, we’ve built a platform focused on serving Texas businesses, and that resonates across the state. We’re the only full-service financial institution built by Texans for Texans, and that’s a powerful message. It’s surprising how many highly talented professionals from places like New York are eager to move to Texas and work with us. 

Of course, we must invest not just in our platform but also in our people. For instance, we’ve embarked on a complete transformation of our corporate real estate portfolio, which is important to me given my background. We recognize that people want to work in collaborative, team-oriented environments. This, in turn, improves the client experience because it fosters better collaboration and teamwork. We work together in person, and that’s key to our success.

What products and services do you expect to drive growth for Texas Capital moving forward?

Our firm is built to be diverse and to provide results for our stakeholders in any environment. To do that, we can’t rely on just one or two lines of business. Of course, there are times when the real estate market or energy sector might be booming, but these sectors have their own cycles. Because of this, the firm is structured to serve the entire Texas business population across all market conditions.

We’re particularly excited about our public finance business, which we’ve recently entered. For example, large school districts used to have to work with firms based in New York or San Francisco to issue bonds. Now, they can work with a Texas-based institution with the capabilities of a major bank. We see a big opportunity there, but that’s just one aspect of our business.

What are the primary challenges facing the banking and financial services industry right now, and how is Texas Capital addressing or adapting to these challenges?

The biggest challenge for most financial institutions is managing their balance sheets in an environment where credit is tight. Many banks are under stress because their loan and credit books are stretched, and they lack the capital to continue growing or to withstand difficult conditions.

Many banks have grown through mergers and acquisitions, which can lead to challenges with integrating different technology platforms. This can disrupt client service as firms work to bring different systems together.

Our balance sheet is built to be resilient, and we’ve developed our technology platform organically. It’s a single, integrated system built around our clients’ needs, which has been a competitive advantage for us.

Can you elaborate on how this platform has been made more efficient in enhancing the customer experience?

We have focused on technology, operations and logistics. These are areas where Texas Capital has made significant improvements. By digitizing our systems, we’ve reduced risk, improved scalability, and streamlined services, allowing us to be more efficient and serve our clients more effectively. Everything is integrated into one platform, built from the ground up to meet the needs of our clients. This single platform enables us to deliver services quickly and adapt as our clients grow, which has been key to improving their overall experience.

Texas Capital is the collective brand name for Texas Capital Bank (“TCB”) and its separate, non-bank affiliates and wholly owned subsidiaries. TCB is a wholly owned subsidiary of Texas Capital Bancshares, Inc. We are headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and work with clients across the country. All services are subject to applicable laws, regulations and service terms. For deposit products, Member FDIC.