TRB’s Scaief and IBC’s Schwebel discuss financial services and nearshoring at AEM summit

DALLAS, Texas – Senior executives from two border-based banks were on a panel that discussed nearshoring.

Michael Scaief, chairman of the board and CEO of Texas Regional Bank, and Gerald ‘Gerry’ Schwebel, executive vice president of IBC Bank, spoke at the Texas-Mexico Business Forum in Dallas.

It was hosted by the Dallas chapter of the Asociación de Empresarios Mexicanos (AEM). The title of the panel was “Shaping the Future. Financial Services and Nearshoring Insights.”

Also on the panel was Rodolfo Hernandez Sada, executive director of international trade and agribusiness for Santander Mexico Bank. The moderator was Fernando Sepulveda, founder and CEO of Emtech and chairman of AEM.

In his remarks, Scaief spoke about disruption and risk. He also spoke about China getting a “foothold” in the North American economy thanks to manufacturing companies moving their operations to that country. But now, he said, some of those companies are coming back.

“What we’re seeing today is a disruption event that is allowing the opportunity for Mexico and the U.S. to benefit. The question is, how long will it last? And what is the risk of us losing that down the road? What do we have to do today to preserve that long term? So those are the types of things that I’m thinking about when I think about cross border trade,” Scaief said.

“There’s a lot of nuances that go into making it successful and those are the guys that can do it.”

Scaief was referring to the bankers in his team.

“I am not the banker. Those are the bankers over there. Those are the guys that do it all. I’m the strategist. So, I can’t give you a lot of insight on how we do it in Mexico. What I reflect on is history and how history is repeating itself over time,” Scaief said.

Scaief added: “What we’re interested about are two things. Well, three things: disruption, risk, and certainty.”

In his remarks, IBC’s Schwebel spoke about his four decades in the business. He said much of the first 20 years was spent helping U.S. companies enter the Mexican market. He said much of the last 20 years has been helping Mexican companies establish themselves in the U.S.

Schwebel said he was more interested in doing business that resulted in long term relationships, rather than one-off deals. He said he sends those deals to other banks.

“In my 40 years plus of work, and I’ve seen a lot of changes. There has been a lot of changes, and it’s all been for the good because at the end, as I said last night, it’s (about) the people, our customers, our employees. It’s that relationship that really builds and allows us to grow together and be part of that economic development and vitality.”

Schwebel said he would like those in the audience to leave with a particular thought.

“I would like for us to leave today with thinking that, in the competitive world that we’re in, we’re North American. We’re thinking North American. And we need to understand that together as three countries we can compete and work together and compete globally, rather than competing against each other,” Schwebel said.

“So instead of saying, I’m from Mexico, how about saying we’re from North America and I’m creating jobs in North America, with companies in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. And vice versa, US companies thinking that I’m North American working with with Mexico and creating economic vitality with the whole North American region.”

After the event had concluded and with the moderator asking for a round of applause for the panelists, Schwebel said he wanted to add something. He wanted to praise TRB’s Scaief for allowing one of his executives at the bank, Alex Meade, the time to become a Texas transportation commissioner.”

Editor’s Note: Here is an audio recording of the panel discussion:

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