On December 16, the Texas Finance Commission appointed Hector Retta the new commissioner of the Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending, effective February 1, 2022.
Retta, who lives in El Paso, will serve as the 10th commissioner of the department. He previously served as president, CEO and vice chairman of Capital Bank SSB in El Paso from 2010 to 2017. He was executive vice president and regional president of Wells Fargo in Orange County, California, from 2009 to 2010, and senior vice president and regional president of Wells Fargo border banking from 2005 to 2009. Prior to his association with Wells Fargo, Retta served as managing director/private client services with JPMorgan Chase. A native of Dallas, he earned a BBA degree and an MS degree in economics from Baylor University.
The Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending has two key areas of regulatory responsibility: the chartering, regulation and supervision of the state’s thrift industry; and the licensing/registration and regulation of the state’s mortgage industry. These two areas of responsibility cover the vast majority of residential mortgage lending in Texas. As of October 2021, the department regulates state-chartered savings banks with combined assets of more than $414 billion, regulates more than 44,000 residential mortgage loan originators throughout Texas, regulates more than 2,700 mortgage-related entities and investigates and resolves consumer complaints related to mortgage origination.
