Century Bank names board vice chair as interim CEO during sale

Century Bank put board vice chair Max Myers in the interim president and CEO role as the Santa Fe lender moved through a pending sale that could reshape one of New Mexico’s oldest community banks. The change took effect July 24, 2026, replacing John Brichetto and giving customers and employees a new point of contact during the transition.

Anna Maggiore, Century’s vice president, confirmed the leadership change. Century has said it is “not for sale,” even as outside reporting described Bank7 Corp.’s effort to buy a controlling stake in the bank’s holding company. One report said Bank7 agreed to buy 71% of Century for $68 million in cash.

The timing matters in Santa Fe because Century has long marketed itself as a local institution with decisions made here. The bank says it has served New Mexico since 1887, when Mutual Building and Loan Association was founded in Santa Fe with $500. It describes itself as a state-chartered, locally owned, full-service community bank, and its materials say decision-making is done in Santa Fe. Its branch footprint includes Santa Fe, Española, Albuquerque and Las Cruces.

For local customers, the practical questions are immediate: will branch operations stay the same, will lending decisions remain local, and will the bank keep the same customer service and community sponsorships if control shifts to a new owner? That matters to small businesses that rely on relationship banking, to homeowners seeking mortgages and to depositors who want a steady hand during a sale.

Century’s move also echoes what Santa Fe residents have seen in earlier waves of bank consolidation. Federal Reserve and other banking research has linked consolidation with branch reductions and tighter access to nearby financial services, and one industry review noted that the number of bank branches fell 7% across all counties between 2012 and 2017. In a market like Santa Fe, where community banks play a large role in small-business lending and daily banking, even a temporary leadership shift can signal whether the next phase will preserve local control or bring a more centralized model.

Century is a sizable institution, described in one account as a $1.4 billion-asset bank. Myers now inherits the job of keeping that business steady while the ownership question is resolved and Santa Fe waits to see how much of Century Bank’s local identity survives the deal.