Bank7 to Buy Century Bank From Peters Family

Bank7 Corp said Friday it had agreed to buy Santa Fe’s Century Bank, confirming a transaction that follows an auction in which Bank7 was named successful bidder for a 71% controlling stake in Century’s holding company. The Peters family had owned that stake, but their shares were pledged as collateral in a receivership case in Arizona after defaults on loans that had reverberated through the bank’s ownership structure. For investors, the deal is a reminder that debt distress at a privately held real estate operator can spill into regulated financial assets, forcing strategic changes well beyond the original borrower.

The pressure on Peters has broadened across asset classes. Court records show the Plaza Mercado building, a marquee downtown Santa Fe property that houses nightlife, shops and offices, was posted for sale with notices saying it is in foreclosure and receivership. Other downtown assets and Century Plaza on Cerrillos Road are also tied to a $36 million Ladder Capital loan made in 2018 to Santa Fe Portfolio LLC, a Peters family company. Wells Fargo, which acquired the loan, moved to foreclose last year after alleging the borrowers failed to make the fixed monthly payments of more than $584,000.

The bank says the debt, with penalties, interest and legal fees, now stands near $44 million; the borrowers put the figure closer to $35 million. Either way, the numbers show a leverage problem that has outgrown the value of the collateral and left lenders pursuing control rather than repayment. A state judge has already placed the 11 properties securing the loan into receivership, and a ruling appears imminent after closing arguments this week.

That is only one front. The State Employees Credit Union says Peters, his wife and affiliated entities defaulted on about a dozen loans with an original value of roughly $14 million, secured by more than 50 works of art and other assets, including a liquor license at Rio Chama Prime Steakhouse. A receiver was appointed in November to take possession of the art from locations across New Mexico, New Jersey, Wyoming and New York, making the dispute a reminder that affluent borrowers increasingly use hard-to-value art and alternative assets as collateral — and that lenders are willing to seize and liquidate them when repayment fails.

The family is also fighting to protect Cow Creek Ranch, a 934-acre property north of Pecos, from auction over an alleged $15 million debt to AgAmerica Lending and AG REIT. The Peters side says a pending FEMA claim related to the 2022 Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire could generate enough cash to cover the obligation, but that remains uncertain and the sale has only been postponed, not cancelled.

The broader narrative is one of a long-time local power broker whose empire was built on Santa Fe property, hospitality and art gradually shrinking under creditor pressure. Peters once described himself as the city’s largest private employer and said he was selling assets as a natural wind-down. But the court filings suggest something harsher: a forced liquidation marked by missed payments, receiverships and creditor fights that are still working their way through multiple courts.

For investors, the key takeaway is that the damage is not isolated to one balance sheet. Bank7’s move to take Century Bank removes one uncertainty, but it also highlights how collateralized ownership stakes can become impaired when a borrower’s leverage rises across several asset classes. For real estate lenders, the case reinforces the importance of cash-flow coverage over asset prestige. For local markets, the sale of high-profile Santa Fe properties could pressure valuations and leasing sentiment, even as new owners may eventually stabilize them.

The bull case for Peters is that he still has time to monetize assets, settle claims and use potential insurance or government payouts to reduce debt. The bear case is that the litigation web is already too advanced: lenders have receivers, foreclosure actions are in motion and the family’s best-known holdings are being sold or transferred under duress. Either way, the empire that once seemed embedded in Santa Fe’s economy is now being re-priced one asset at a time.