The parent of the bank, Matrix Bancorp Inc., already is headquartered in Denver with its office at 1380 Lawrence St. in Lower Downtown. Among other services, the $1.3 billion in asset bank based in Las Cruces, NM makes commercial real estate loans, including construction and mini-permanent loans for retail and offices. It also invests in land acquisition and development deals.

''As part of my strategic plan for the bank, I am seriously exploring a move of the domicile of the bank to Denver over the next six to nine months,'' Skiba says. ''This move is intended to focus the geography of the Matrix Bancorp organization on the Denver market. The extent to which operations of the bank would be moved, including the number of people I expect to transfer to Denver from Las Cruces and the number of new hires in Denver, has not been finalized. Regardless, I expect the New Mexico market, and particularly Las Cruces, to remain important to Matrix Capital Bank. We intend to expand the presence of the bank in both Colorado and New Mexico."

The establishment of a branch in Denver and any change of domicile are subject to approval by the Office of Thrift Supervision. No applications with the Office of Thrift Supervision have yet been made.