Deposits Skyrocket at Eagle Ford-Area Banks

Houston Chronicle --  "South Texas landowners getting fat checks from energy companies for drilling on their land have been a boon to banks based in the Eagle Ford Shale. Deposits at most of those banks have surged. The influx of deposits has left the Eagle Ford-area banks with something of a challenge: how to deploy that money.

For example, Karnes County National Bank's deposits rocketed 110 percent to almost $168 million from the end of 2009 through the first quarter of this year. Eleven other institutions registered jumps in deposits that ranged from 46.8 percent to 82.7 percent. By comparison, domestic deposits at U.S. banks increased 14.7 percent during that time.

 

"It's a problem, but it's a good problem," said H.B. "Trip" Ruckman III, president and chairman of the Karnes County National Bank in Karnes City. Its deposits rose by $88 million from the end of 2009 to March 31, while its loans rose by $19 million.

"We have had depositors come in with more than a million dollars at a whack. So it is a challenge to keep the money invested, he added."

HT: Stephen Taylor