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8-K - 8-K - WEST BANCORPORATION INCwtba-2016128form8xk.htm


Exhibit 99.1



Press Release


January 28, 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information contact:
Doug Gulling, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (515) 222-2309

WEST BANCORPORATION, INC. ANNOUNCES RECORD NET INCOME, DECLARES QUARTERLY DIVIDEND.

West Des Moines, IA - West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ: WTBA), parent company of West Bank, is pleased to report that fourth quarter 2015 net income was $5.9 million, or $0.37 per diluted common share. This was the highest net income recorded by the Company for the fourth quarter of any year. Fourth quarter 2014 net income was $5.8 million, or $0.36 per diluted common share. On January 27, 2016, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.16 per common share. The dividend is payable on February 24, 2016, to shareholders of record on February 10, 2016.

Net income for 2015 was $21.7 million, or $1.35 per diluted common share, up from $20.0 million, or $1.25 per diluted common share, for 2014. Annual 2015 earnings represented an all-time record within the 122-year history of the Company.

There was one nonrecurring item in the fourth quarter of 2015. West Bank has had an ownership interest in SmartyPig, LLC for several years. On November 30, 2015, SmartyPig, LLC was sold. As a result of the sale, West Bank recognized an after-tax gain of approximately $0.5 million.

“This is the sixth quarter in a row we have had record earnings for each respective quarter,” commented Dave Nelson, President and Chief Executive Officer of West Bancorporation, Inc. “Earnings for 2015 were also a record high. Results like these are due to exemplary customer service, which can only be performed by great employees.”

Brad Winterbottom, West Bank President, said, “The average balance of our loan portfolio was 14.1 percent higher for 2015 than the average for 2014. Our average deposit balance for 2015 was 12.5 percent higher than the previous year. It is gratifying to see such balanced growth. It shows our bankers are focused on providing solutions for our customers' entire banking needs.”

Eastern Iowa Market President, Jim Conard, commented, “Our value-added approach to banking has strengthened our brand in eastern Iowa with healthy growth in both loans and deposits. In addition, two of West Bank’s eastern Iowa executives were included among the Corridor Business Journal’s 'Corridor's Most Influential 2015.'  Our reputation as leaders in the communities we serve, our experience in financing local projects, and our strong loan and deposit pipelines have positioned us to continue the expansion of our market share in 2016.”

“Our Rochester office generated strong results in 2015, and we look forward to carrying that momentum into our fourth year of operations,” said Mike Zinser, Rochester Market President.  “Our year-end outstanding loans exceeded $87 million, which is an increase of over nine percent from September 30, 2015.  We doubled the number of business clients in 2015 compared to year end 2014. This resulted in businesses moving their deposit accounts to West Bank and led to strong deposit growth for 2015.”  Zinser concluded, “We have a very experienced business banking team in Rochester and are enjoying being part of a traditional, relationship-based bank that is having significant success in our community.”

The Company will file its annual report on Form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission on or about March 3, 2016. At that time, it will be available on the Investor Relations section of West Bank's website at www.westbankstrong.com. Please refer to that document, when it is available, for a more in-depth discussion of our results.






The Company will discuss its results in a conference call scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Central Time tomorrow, Friday, January 29, 2016. The telephone number for the conference call is 888-339-0814. A recording of the call will be available until February 12, 2016, by dialing 877-344-7529. The replay passcode is 10077814.


About West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ: WTBA)
West Bancorporation, Inc. is headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa. Serving Iowans since 1893, West Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of West Bancorporation, Inc., is a community bank that focuses on lending, deposit services, and trust services for consumers and small- to medium-sized businesses. West Bank has eight offices in the Des Moines metropolitan area, one office in Iowa City, Iowa, one office in Coralville, Iowa and one office in Rochester, Minnesota.


Certain statements in this press release, other than purely historical information, including estimates, projections, statements relating to our business plans, objectives and expected operating results, and the assumptions upon which those statements are based, are “forward-looking statements” within the meanings of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements may appear throughout this press release. These forward-looking statements are generally identified by the words “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “projects,” “future,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “strategy,” “plan,” “opportunity,” “will be,” “will likely result,” “will continue,” or similar references, or references to estimates, predictions or future events. Such forward-looking statements are based upon certain underlying assumptions, risks and uncertainties. Because of the possibility that the underlying assumptions are incorrect or do not materialize as expected in the future, actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties that may affect future results include: interest rate risk; competitive pressures; pricing pressures on loans and deposits; changes in credit and other risks posed by the Company's loan and investment portfolios, including declines in commercial or residential real estate values or changes in the allowance for loan losses dictated by new market conditions or regulatory requirements; actions of bank and non-bank competitors; changes in local and national economic conditions; changes in regulatory requirements, limitations and costs; changes in customers' acceptance of the Company's products and services; cyber-attacks; and any other risks described in the “Risk Factors” sections of reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update such forward-looking statements to reflect current or future events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.






WEST BANCORPORATION, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY
 
 
 
 
Financial Information (unaudited)
 
 
 
 
(in thousands)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
 
December 31, 2015
 
December 31, 2014
Assets
 
 
 
 
Cash and due from banks
 
$
57,329

 
$
27,936

Federal funds sold
 
15,322

 
11,845

Investment securities available for sale, at fair value
 
320,714

 
272,790

Investment securities held to maturity, at amortized cost
 
51,259

 
51,343

Federal Home Loan Bank stock, at cost
 
12,447

 
15,075

Loans
 
1,246,688

 
1,184,045

Allowance for loan losses
 
(14,967
)
 
(13,607
)
Loans, net
 
1,231,721

 
1,170,438

Premises and equipment, net
 
11,562

 
9,988

Bank-owned life insurance
 
32,834

 
32,107

Other assets
 
15,452

 
24,311

Total assets
 
$
1,748,640

 
$
1,615,833

 
 
 
 
 
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity
 
 
 
 
Deposits:
 
 
 
 
Noninterest-bearing
 
$
486,707

 
$
362,827

Interest-bearing:
 
 
 
 
Demand
 
267,824

 
241,722

Savings
 
570,391

 
527,277

Time of $250,000 or more
 
14,749

 
18,985

Other time
 
101,058

 
119,651

Total deposits
 
1,440,729

 
1,270,462

Short-term borrowings
 
21,760

 
68,975

Long-term borrowings
 
127,419

 
130,183

Other liabilities
 
6,355

 
6,038

Stockholders' equity
 
152,377

 
140,175

Total liabilities and stockholders' equity
 
$
1,748,640

 
$
1,615,833








Financial Information (continued) (unaudited)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(in thousands)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Three Months Ended December 31,
 
Years Ended December 31,
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
 
2015
 
2014
 
2015
 
2014
Interest income
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Loans, including fees
 
$
13,622

 
$
12,504

 
$
52,556

 
$
47,440

Investment securities
 
2,017

 
1,928

 
7,510

 
7,816

Other
 
21

 
2

 
81

 
45

Total interest income
 
15,660

 
14,434

 
60,147

 
55,301

Interest expense
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Deposits
 
563

 
575

 
2,185

 
2,426

Short-term borrowings
 
8

 
28

 
46

 
51

Long-term borrowings
 
958

 
899

 
3,762

 
3,679

Total interest expense
 
1,529

 
1,502

 
5,993

 
6,156

Net interest income
 
14,131

 
12,932

 
54,154

 
49,145

Provision for loan losses
 
450

 
500

 
850

 
750

Net interest income after provision for loan losses
 
13,681

 
12,432

 
53,304

 
48,395

Noninterest income
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Service charges on deposit accounts
 
675

 
684

 
2,609

 
2,790

Debit card usage fees
 
463

 
458

 
1,830

 
1,764

Trust services
 
342

 
314

 
1,286

 
1,327

Revenue from residential mortgage banking
 
31

 
335

 
163

 
1,394

Increase in cash value of bank-owned life insurance
 
177

 
197

 
727

 
731

Gain (loss) on disposal of premises and equipment
 
(2
)
 
1,067

 
(6
)
 
1,069

Realized investment securities gains, net
 

 
(493
)
 
47

 
223

Other income
 
800

 
241

 
1,547

 
998

Total noninterest income
 
2,486

 
2,803

 
8,203

 
10,296

Noninterest expense
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Salaries and employee benefits
 
4,014

 
4,027

 
16,065

 
16,086

Occupancy
 
1,015

 
1,058

 
4,105

 
4,165

Data processing
 
591

 
615

 
2,329

 
2,241

FDIC insurance expense
 
219

 
196

 
839

 
757

Other real estate owned expense
 
10

 
1,467

 
10

 
1,865

Other expenses
 
1,781

 
1,887

 
6,720

 
6,888

Total noninterest expense
 
7,630

 
9,250

 
30,068

 
32,002

Income before income taxes
 
8,537

 
5,985

 
31,439

 
26,689

Income taxes
 
2,596

 
147

 
9,697

 
6,649

Net income
 
$
5,941

 
$
5,838

 
$
21,742

 
$
20,040







Financial Information (continued) (unaudited)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
PER COMMON SHARE
 
MARKET INFORMATION (1)
 
 
Net Income
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Basic
 
Diluted
 
Dividends
 
High
 
Low
2015
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4th Quarter
 
$0.37
 
$0.37
 
$0.16
 
$21.09
 
$17.74
3rd Quarter
 
0.34
 
0.34
 
0.16
 
20.99
 
17.67
2nd Quarter
 
0.33
 
0.33
 
0.16
 
20.46
 
17.98
1st Quarter
 
0.32
 
0.32
 
0.14
 
19.94
 
16.00
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2014
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4th Quarter
 
$0.36
 
$0.36
 
$0.14
 
$17.05
 
$14.00
3rd Quarter
 
0.32
 
0.32
 
0.12
 
15.68
 
14.01
2nd Quarter
 
0.30
 
0.30
 
0.12
 
16.45
 
13.53
1st Quarter
 
0.28
 
0.27
 
0.11
 
15.98
 
13.64
(1) The prices shown are the high and low sale prices for the Company's common stock, which trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, under the symbol WTBA. The market quotations, reported by Nasdaq, do not include retail markup, markdown or commissions.
 
 
Three Months Ended December 31,
 
Years Ended December 31,
SELECTED FINANCIAL MEASURES
 
2015
 
2014
 
2015
 
2014
Return on average assets
 
1.35
%
 
1.47
%
 
1.30
%
 
1.32
%
Return on average equity
 
15.64
%
 
16.81
%
 
14.88
%
 
15.19
%
Net interest margin
 
3.57
%
 
3.62
%
 
3.59
%
 
3.59
%
Efficiency ratio*
 
44.04
%
 
49.28
%
 
46.30
%
 
49.93
%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
As of December 31,
 
 
 
 
 
 
2015
 
2014
Texas ratio*
 
 
 
 
 
0.87
%
 
2.71
%
Allowance for loan losses ratio
 
 
 
 
 
1.20
%
 
1.15
%
Tangible common equity ratio
 
 
 
 
 
8.71
%
 
8.68
%
* A lower ratio is more desirable.

Definitions of ratios:
Return on average assets - annualized net income divided by average assets.
Return on average equity - annualized net income divided by average stockholders' equity.
Net interest margin - annualized tax-equivalent net interest income divided by average interest-earning assets.
Efficiency ratio - noninterest expense (excluding other real estate owned expense) divided by noninterest income (excluding net securities gains and gains/losses on disposition of premises and equipment) plus tax-equivalent net interest income.
Texas ratio - total nonperforming assets divided by tangible common equity plus the allowance for loan losses.
Allowance for loan losses ratio - allowance for loan losses divided by total loans.
Tangible common equity ratio - common equity less intangible assets divided by tangible assets.