Texas Border Business
By Roberto Hugo González / Texas Border Business
McALLEN, Texas — Texas National Bank CEO Saul Ortega used the opening of the bank’s new McAllen headquarters on Oct. 1, 2026, to trace a story spanning generations, from his father’s arrival in South Texas to the institution Ortega now describes as firmly rooted in the Rio Grande Valley.
Ortega told guests that his father, José Platon Ortega, was born in Nuevo León, Mexico, in 1902, came to the United States in 1920, and eventually settled in Mercedes, Texas. He worked as a farmworker and later purchased land and became a farmer, Ortega said.
As a child, Ortega accompanied his father to the bank in Mercedes. He recalled that employees knew his father and that the experience helped shape his decision to enter banking.
“That’s where I decided what I wanted to do,” Ortega said. “I wanted to be a banker, and I wanted to be a lender.”
Ortega said he began his banking career 43 years ago as a part-time teller at Texas Commerce Bank. He became involved with Texas National Bank in 2008, when, according to his remarks, the institution had about $60 million in total assets and a few million dollars in capital.
“Today we’re a $1.4 billion bank,” Ortega said.
Ortega dedicated the new headquarters to his parents and spent part of his remarks recognizing his wife, daughters, grandchildren, board members, employees, friends, and others who supported him and the institution.
He also spoke about the sacrifices his daughters experienced as the family pursued its business goals.
“They’re the ones who went through this ride with me,” Ortega said. “My daughters made a lot of sacrifices along the way.”
Ortega said the bank’s priorities now include efforts beyond its banking operations. He discussed work to build homes for people who might otherwise have difficulty obtaining one and described the bank foundation’s scholarship activities. He said 28 scholarships have been awarded and described a goal of generating about $1 million annually to provide approximately 50 scholarships.
The remarks followed comments from Texas National Bank President Joe Quiroga, who focused on the people who helped the institution develop from its earlier years.
“You didn’t believe in the bank, you believed in the individuals behind the bank,” Quiroga told longtime customers who supported the institution in its early stages. “And I know for a fact that you all just trusted us and trusted that this would happen.”
Ortega closed his remarks by describing the culture he wants the institution to maintain as it grows.
“We want to be friendly, we want to be kind, and we want to be family,” Ortega said.
He then delivered his strongest statement about the bank’s geographic identity.
“Texas National Bank, we are McAllen, Texas, we are the Rio Grande Valley, and we are South Texas,” Ortega said. “Make no mistake. We are the Valley’s bank.”
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