What a wonderful time to be doing business in Las Vegas. Our community has come a long way from the Great Recession. We are achieving record visitor volume, our unemployment rate is near 5 percent and long-awaited commercial developments have been completed and are flourishing. New residential neighborhoods are being developed to support Southern Nevada’s population, which is approaching 2.2 million. Our economy continues to become more diversified, with growth in technology, health care, and sports (welcome Bill Foley and the Vegas Golden Knights!).
As a member of our banking community, I have the privilege of meeting regularly with elected leaders and business owners from various industries. The common theme and my biggest takeaway from these meetings is that our economic growth is sustainable. That word, sustainable, is why I have such a positive outlook for our city. What we are achieving today has a different feel than it had in 2006.
The pre-recession boom our economy took on was fueled by speculative real estate projects. There were countless construction cranes in the sky, too many high-rise condominium projects, and a lack of skilled labor. As a result, we fell harder than the rest of the country and took longer to recover.
Aric Graham
The recession took a major toll on local and national banks operating in our valley. It was hard to find a business owner or management team that didn’t face “bank fatigue” during the recession. The banking industry as a whole became internally focused, shifting resources to deal with nonperforming loans and increasing regulation. This resulted in a fractured relationship with our business community, and trust that needed to be rebuilt.
Fast forward to today. Our homebuilders are producing a level of supply that real estate professionals tell me is appropriate for our market. The number of speculative investors is a fraction of what it once was. Our abundance of availability in retail, office and warehouse space has been absorbed. On the Strip, multibillion-dollar resort projects have shifted focus to building not just more hotel rooms, but attractions and amenities that bring visitors.
The banking community in Las Vegas has enjoyed the recovery of our market and is a vital component to its sustained growth. Additionally, we have seen new banks enter our market, which is a positive sign from the outsiders’ view of our economic potential.
I am proud to be a member of our banking community. I have had the pleasure of working with, competing against and partnering with bankers in our community who persevered through difficult economic times. They have been a part of rebuilding the trust between our industry and our business community. Interest rates remain near all-time lows, and banks are healthy and competing fiercely for your business. So, if you don’t have a close and meaningful relationship with your banker, then I ask: “Why not?”
Aric Graham is senior vice president and regional director at Umpqua Bank.