Friends, family, colleagues, and community leaders gathered Saturday, January 8th, to pay tribute to the life and legacy of Fred W. Rusteberg. The former IBC Bank President and CEO passed away in July 2020 at a time when the pandemic was at its peak. The family requested IBC delay the bank's plan to memorialize their beloved leader until this time. 

Fred Rusteberg lived by the moniker of "Mr. Brownsville."  He was passionate about his family, his community, and the bank he built, IBC Bank Brownsville. Friends shared their sentiments with testimonials on Rusteberg's long history of advocating for the city and community he loved. Among those who spoke at the ceremony were Ygnacio Garza, Senior Chairman of IBC Bank Brownsville, Chad Hainley, Rusteberg's son-in-law, Dr. Julieta Garcia, Dennis E. Nixon, International Bancshares Chairman and CEO, and IBC Bank Brownsville CEO, Al Villarreal. 

The event culminated with the naming of IBC Brownsville's main bank office located at 1600 Ruben Torres Blvd. as the Fred W. Rusteberg Building followed by the unveiling of his legacy wall chronicling his life.   

The Brownsville native founded the first IBC Bank in Cameron County in 1984, serving as the bank's President and CEO for 32 years until his retirement in 2016. Rusteberg took IBC Brownsville from a single downtown location to a high-performing institution with 12 branches and more than $1 billion in assets. "Fred was an outstanding citizen, family man, leader and a solid example of IBC Bank's ‘We Do More' mantra," said Dennis E. Nixon. "When we hired Fred, we hired a team. Fred and his wife, Frances, always worked together for the betterment of their community," he added. 

During his 40 plus years in banking, Rusteberg helped raise millions of dollars for education and chaired many successful school bond issues.

"Fred not only cared about education, he put his whole heart and efforts into making higher education accessible to anyone who wanted to achieve their educational goals," said Al Villarreal. Rusteberg served as Chairman of the University of Texas at Brownsville/ Rio Grande Valley Development Board and was a member of the Chancellor's Advisory Council for UT Austin. In addition, his family established the first endowed scholarship for what is now UTRGV.  

At the event, Rusteberg's legacy of investment in education was celebrated with a $20,000 donation to Episcopal Day School from IBC Bank. Proceeds from the donation will be used to fund the Fred W. Rusteberg Leadership and Service Program with an aim to develop our community's next generation of leaders through a service and volunteer curriculum.

Fred Rusteberg died on July 19, 2020, at the age of 74, but his legacy will live on forever in his family and work for the community of South Texas.