Executive joins Ozona Bank

Ozona—Meet James Oliver; he is not a new face to Ozona or West Texas. James has joined the Ozona Bank team as Executive V.P., Senior Commercial Lender.

James is married to Katy Cameron Oliver, and they have two sons, Will, a recent Texas A&M graduate, and Warren, who is in his second year at Aggieland. Katy’s connection to Ozona Bank goes as far back as its inception, with her great-great-grandfather serving as a founding board member. Her uncle, George Louis Bunger, Jr., served as Chairman of the Board until his death; and Katie’s father, Thomas C. Cameron, first cousin, George Louis Bunger, III, and his son, “G. L.” Bunger currently serve on the bank’s Board of Directors.

James was elected to the bank’s Board of Directors in 2010. For the past two years, he served as Chairman of the Board, until October 2023. He also worked at Texas Ag Land Trust as the Community Engagement Director for several years and recently accepted the position to serve on its Board of Directors.

James grew up in the agricultural world. He attended both Texas Tech University and Texas A & M and graduated from the maroon-bleeding university with an Agricultural Economics degree in 1993. Upon graduating from college, he began his career on a ranch in Oklahoma. When the ranch sold, he moved to Texas in 1995, to take a position with National Financial Corporation as a Credit Analyst, and in 1998, he went to work at First State Bank of Uvalde, as Asst. V.P., primarily as an agricultural lender. Over his career, he has worked for Bank One (which was later acquired by J.P. Morgan Chase), as an agricultural lending officer for ten years. His loan portfolio covered customers from South Texas to North Dakota. He has been part of the operations of his wife’s family’s ranch in Crockett County for many years.

He has learned over his career that relationships and sustaining them are of utmost importance in his personal and professional life.

With James' experiences, professionalism, and desire to take care of people and their needs, filling the position of an agricultural and commercial lender makes him the perfect fit for Ozona Bank and the communities it serves.

James’ goal is to not only serve Ozona customers but also customers all over the state. He has an excellent work ethic, high moral values, and a passion to develop and sustain lasting relationships. As an additional convenience, James will be offering his customers an option to utilize DocuSign, a remote signing service, as an additional convenience. Customers’ financial needs will be met with versatile options and terms to fit the situation.

“I look forward to carrying on Ozona Bank’s 119-year history of serving the business needs of the communities we serve, as well as ensuring the organization remains strong,” James said.