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Robert Barnes is an established leader in the Texas banking industry with more than 30 years of experience. As president and CEO of IBC Austin, Barnes oversees and directs the bank’s activities throughout the entire Austin region. He also serves as president of IBC First Equity, IBC’s mortgage division, which specializes in home equity lending and second lien mortgages. In the summer of 2004, Barnes led IBC’s official entry into the Austin market, which was marked by the opening of the bank’s regional headquarters downtown at 816 Congress. (In 2001, IBC acquired Austin-based First Equity and made its initial footprint in the Austin market.) As part of his leadership role, Barnes is spearheading IBC’s expansion in the greater Austin area organically through new branch construction and community reinvestment. International Bancshares Corporation, the parent of IBC Bank, is one of the largest banks headquartered in Texas. Currently, IBC operates more than 200 locations and 300 ATMs throughout South Texas and Oklahoma, and as a holding company, IBC has more than $10 billion in assets. As IBC continues to expand northward along the strategic I-35 NAFTA trade corridor, Austin and Central Texas will continue to serve as key growth markets. Prior to accepting this leadership position, Barnes worked for IBC-Houston for three years as a senior vice president and commercial lender. During this time, Barnes honed his expertise in the areas of interim construction lending, mortgage banking and private banking. Before joining IBC, Barnes served in upper management with some of the Southwest’s most competitive financial institutions, including Compass Bank Houston and Weslayan Bank. At Compass Bank, Barnes was an executive vice president and helped lead the bank’s residential and interim construction lending activity. He served as president of Weslayan Bank for six years until the financial institution was purchased by Compass Bank. An active member of the Austin community committed to IBC’s We Do More philosophy, Barnes serves as a board member of the University of Texas’ McCombs School of Business, the Long Center Corporate Council and Opportunity Austin, an initiative implemented by the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Development Council. Barnes earned a master’s of business administration degree from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia. He is married to Laura Barnes and has three children, Katie, Adrienne and Harrison. He is also an avid cyclist. | 