PHOENIX – Western Alliance (NYSE:) Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) reported a modest surpass in earnings for the first quarter of 2024, with an adjusted EPS of $1.72, which was $0.08 higher than analyst expectations of $1.64. Despite the earnings beat, the company’s stock experienced a slight decline of 0.6%, indicating a tempered response from investors.
The bank’s net interest income (NII) was highlighted as a key driver of the quarter’s financial performance. Compared to the same quarter last year, Western Alliance saw its net income rise to $177.4 million, a 24.8% increase from $142.2 million. Earnings per share similarly increased by 25.0% to $1.60, up from $1.28 YoY. The bank’s net revenue also saw a significant YoY increase of 32.1%, reaching $728.8 million.
Kenneth A. Vecchione, President and CEO of Western Alliance, commented on the results, stating, “Western Alliance delivered strong first quarter results with continued robust business and deposit momentum that allowed us to largely complete our balance sheet repositioning efforts, while maintaining stable asset quality.” He also noted the substantial quarterly deposit growth of $6.9 billion, which enhanced the bank’s liquidity profile and supported the repayment of $1.0 billion of borrowings.
The bank’s net interest margin for the quarter was 3.60%, a decrease from 3.79% in the first quarter of the previous year. The provision for credit losses was $15.2 million, down from $19.4 million YoY, reflecting loan growth and a stable economic outlook.
Non-interest income for the quarter stood at $129.9 million, a stark contrast to the negative $58.0 million reported for the same period last year. This turnaround was primarily due to the absence of fair value loss adjustments that had impacted the previous year’s first quarter due to the bank’s balance sheet repositioning efforts.
The efficiency ratio for the quarter, adjusted for deposit costs, was 54.4%, showing an improvement from the 55.1% reported in the first quarter of the previous year. The bank’s tangible book value per share increased by 13.8% YoY to $47.30.
As the market digested these results, the slight downward movement in the stock price post-earnings release suggests that, while the earnings beat was positive, investors may have had higher expectations or concerns about other aspects of the bank’s performance or future outlook.
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