A third-generation banker and West Texas native, Jarod Thomas is dedicated to his family’s legacy of focusing on community relationships and banking.

Following in their footsteps

For nearly all his life, Jarod’s father and grandfather were involved in community banking, serving on bank boards in several West Texas communities. Jarod was raised in Monahans where his parents understood the values one can gain from being part of a small, tight knit community. These ideals remain with Jarod today.

After high school, he made his way to Lubbock to earn a bachelor’s degree in finance from Texas Tech University. Jarod later went on to earn a graduate degree in banking from Southern Methodist University.

“I Immediately entered the industry after graduation and worked for a bank in Lubbock,” said Jarod.

At the same time, his father — a business owner in the oil and gas industry — was serving on the board of the First National Bank of Monahans.

Jarod’s grandparents were from McCamey and the small community bank approached his grandfather to join the board in the late 1940s or early 1950s. His father later became a part of that bank board in the 1990s.

“I had opportunities to go work for different banks at the time,” Jarod explained, “but I really wanted to learn about the bank from the ground up. I viewed this as the chance to go work for the family bank so that in 20 years, I would have gained value, experience and perspective about the bank in every department.”

In choosing to step into community banking Jarod says he worked out a list of pros and cons about working for a family bank.

“The first pro was that it was a family bank and the first con was that it was a family bank,” remembered Jarod.

Working from the ground up, Jarod eventually wanted to focus on lending. In 2004, Jarod became a senior lender in Lubbock.

Ending up back home

While at Tech Jarod met his wife, Paige, who is also from a small West Texas town. In 2007, they moved to Midland where Jarod was a senior lender at Security Bank with a focus on the oil and gas industry.

Jarod said, “I always knew at some point I would end up back in West Texas, but it happened a little quicker than I thought.”

Jarod’s father and grandfather had deep roots in two community banks that became conjoined when his father and grandfather took ownership of Security State Bank.

Headquartered in Midland, the bank’s assets have ranged from $500 million to just under $1 billion and had locations across multiple markets in West Texas and all the way south to San Antonio and Devine.

In 2013, Jarod became the Midland President of Security Bank, and a few years later he became the Chief Lending Officer. Soon after that, he became the President of Security Bank up until the time they chose to sell the bank in 2020.

At the core of community banking

When it came time to sell the bank, Jarod describes arriving at this very difficult conclusion as a third-generation banker.

“We recognize now that we chose to sell for the right reasons. The bank had grown through some very volatile changes, including some significant financial challenges. And the bank was a representation of my family and three generations of bankers,” he said.

American Momentum Bank (AMB) acquired Security Bank in 2020 where Jarod now serves as the West Texas President. He says the bank is very like-minded from a managerial perspective and has been viewed as an extension of Security Bank because of how well the two banks aligned.

“Security Bank was to me a representation of something bigger than a bank. Family banking became the foundation of my career in the banking industry,” said Jarod. “I want to hire good, qualified and experienced people that we can train to do the job. You cannot substitute someone that walks the same path and that I can empower and setup for success while hopefully having a personal impact in their lives.”

First in class, best in class

“If you walked into our bank today, you would see our history displayed. There is a passion for that history and its involvement in the industry from the senior leadership and management,” Jarod proudly stated.

He explains that the bank strives to be partners with the community, recognizing that no one knows their business better than the owner. The bank can help businesses grow and succeed. Jarod noted that there is nothing more rewarding than watching local businesses grow.

Jarod is also personally involved in several groups. AMB’s leadership encourages employees to participate at the community level — so much so that they support employees going through a training program to become board members for non-profits.

“Everything in this area of the state is related to oil and gas. For the bank, we try to cater our programs and products to that industry and the community. We take a lot of pride in being able to offer the same products and services as the larger banks in the area,” said Jarod.

One example is a local financial and business literacy program designed to help small business owners understand what a bank is looking for when applying for a loan and helping them prepare.

The bank also works with local colleges and universities to teach children and adults to learn fundamental money management skills.

The values that guide Jarod’s leadership at the bank are certainly reflected in his personal life. He described how his wife, children, parents and brother have all been a significant influence on him — both professionally and personally.