Exhibit 99.1
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information contact:
Doug Gulling, Executive Vice President, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer (515) 222-2309
WEST BANCORPORATION, INC. ANNOUNCES RECORD THIRD QUARTER NET INCOME, DECLARES QUARTERLY DIVIDEND
West Des Moines, IA - West Bancorporation, Inc. (Nasdaq: WTBA; the “Company”), parent company of West Bank, today reported that third quarter 2018 net income was $7.1 million, or $0.43 per diluted common share. This compares to third quarter 2017 net income of $6.4 million, or $0.39 per diluted common share. On October 24, 2018, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.20 per common share. The dividend is payable on November 21, 2018, to stockholders of record on November 7, 2018.
For the first nine months of 2018, net income was $21.3 million, or $1.30 per diluted common share, up from $18.9 million, or $1.16 per diluted common share, for the first nine months of 2017.
“We are pleased to report another solid quarter for our company,” commented Dave Nelson, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. “Year-over-year earnings benefited from the lower corporate tax rate but continued to be tempered by rising interest rates and the resulting increased cost of funds. As West Bank celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2018, we continue to focus on our core strength in commercial banking.”
Brad Winterbottom, West Bank President, said, “We are seeing strong growth opportunities, and the overall economic conditions in our communities remain favorable. Our outstanding loan balances increased $66.4 million, or 4.3 percent, as of September 30, 2018 compared to June 30, 2018. We believe West Bank is well positioned to develop healthy organic loan growth. The current environment, though, is not without its challenges given the flat yield curve and a very competitive lending market.”
Eastern Iowa Market President, Jim Conard, commented, “We believe commercial construction activity in our market remains strong, with financing for several major projects provided by West Bank. Our total loan portfolio in the eastern Iowa market grew 15 percent for the first nine months of 2018, which we believe was supported by our reputation as a leader in commercial real estate lending. Our pipeline of new loans to both new and existing commercial clients continues to expand.”
“Our momentum in Rochester continues to be strong with total loans outstanding of $166 million at September 30, 2018, an increase of 13 percent during the first nine months of 2018, along with record deposits, up 33 percent since the beginning of 2018,” said Mike Zinser, West Bank’s Rochester Market President. “Since we opened our Rochester location in 2013, over 130 businesses have moved their banking relationship to West Bank from other banks, which to us is an endorsement of the way we do business. We believe West Bank is very different from any other bank in Rochester, and we are encouraged by the community’s enthusiasm for how we do business.” Zinser concluded, “We continue to see expansion of our exclusive personal banking program, which is a high service, concierge-type banking model similar to how we do business banking. We are providing these customers with an old-fashioned, relationship-based banking experience, which helps drive the increase in the number of loyal customers.”
The Company filed its report on Form 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission today. Please refer to that document for a more in-depth discussion of our financial results. The Form 10-Q is available on the Investor Relations section of West Bank’s website at www.westbankstrong.com.
The Company will discuss its financial results on a conference call scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Central Time tomorrow, Friday, October 26, 2018. The telephone number for the conference call is 888-339-0814. A recording of the call will be available until November 9, 2018, by dialing 877-344-7529. The replay passcode is 10115038.
The following information was filed by West Bancorporation Inc (WTBA) on Thursday, October 25, 2018 as an 8K 2.02 statement, which is an earnings press release pertaining to results of operations and financial condition. It may be helpful to assess the quality of management by comparing the information in the press release to the information in the accompanying 10-Q Quarterly Report statement of earnings and operation as management may choose to highlight particular information in the press release.