Western Alliance Bancorporation Reports Second Quarter 2023 Financial Results

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL, Financial):

SECOND QUARTER 2023 FINANCIAL RESULTS

¹ See reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures.

Income Statement

Net interest income totaled $550.3 million in the second quarter 2023, a decrease of $59.6 million, or 9.8%, from $609.9 million in the first quarter 2023, and an increase of $25.3 million, or 4.8%, compared to the second quarter 2022. The decrease in net interest income from the first quarter 2023 is due to an increase in average short-term borrowings, combined with higher interest rates and was partially offset by higher yields on loans. The increase in net interest income from the second quarter 2022 was driven by higher yields on HFI loans, partially offset by an increase in both the balances and rates of borrowings and deposits.

The Company recorded a provision for credit losses of $21.8 million in the second quarter 2023, an increase of $2.4 million from $19.4 million in the first quarter 2023, and a decrease of $5.7 million from $27.5 million in the second quarter 2022. The increase in the provision for credit losses during the second quarter 2023 is primarily due to heightened economic uncertainty, particularly in the commercial real estate market.

The Company’s net interest margin in the second quarter 2023 was 3.42%, a decrease from 3.79% in the first quarter 2023, and a decrease from 3.54% in the second quarter 2022. An increase in short-term borrowings and higher rates on these borrowings and on deposits drove a decrease in net interest margin from the first quarter 2023, with higher yields on loans partially offsetting this decrease. The decrease in net interest margin from the second quarter 2022 was driven by higher average balances and rates on deposits and borrowings.

Non-interest income was $119.0 million for the second quarter 2023, compared to $(58.0) million for the first quarter 2023, and $95.0 million for the second quarter 2022. Non-interest income for the first quarter 2023 was impacted by significant non-operating losses that were incurred in response to actions undertaken by the Company to reposition its balance sheet in light of the disruption in the banking industry caused by recent bank failures. After adjusting for losses on security sales and fair value adjustments primarily related to the transfer of $6.0 billion of held for investment loans to held for sale to further strengthen the Company's capital and liquidity position, adjusted non-interest income¹ was $102.3 million for the first quarter 2023. Total non-operating items for the second quarter 2023 were not significant as losses on security sales of $13.6 million were offset by fair value gain adjustments of $12.7 million. Also contributing to the increase in non-interest income for the quarter was an increase of $30.9 million in net gain on loan origination and sale activities from higher spreads and volume, partially offset by a $17.8 million decrease in net loan servicing revenue due to losses on MSR hedges and lower servicing income. The $24.0 million increase in non-interest income from the second quarter 2022 was driven by a higher net gain on loan origination and sale activities and gains on fair value adjustments compared to a loss in the second quarter of 2022, partially offset by lower net loan servicing revenue and losses from sales of investment securities.

Net revenue totaled $669.3 million for the second quarter 2023, compared to $551.9 million and $620.0 million for the first quarter 2023 and second quarter 2022, respectively. After adjusting for losses on security sales and fair value adjustments, adjusted net revenue¹ was $670.2 million for the second quarter 2023, a decrease of $42.0 million, compared to $712.2 million for the first quarter 2023, and an increase of $40.0 million, or 6.3%, compared to $630.2 million for the second quarter 2022.

Non-interest expense was $387.4 million for the second quarter 2023, compared to $347.9 million for the first quarter 2023, and $268.9 million for the second quarter 2022. After adjusting first quarter 2023 non-interest expense for a net gain on extinguishment of debt from payoff of credit linked notes of $12.7 million, adjusted non-interest expense¹ was $360.6 million. The increase in non-interest expense from the first quarter 2023 is due primarily to higher insurance costs related to elevated insured and brokered deposit levels. The increase in non-interest expense from the second quarter 2022 is attributable to an increase in deposit and insurance costs. The Company’s adjusted efficiency ratio¹ was 50.5% for the second quarter 2023, compared to 43.2% in the first quarter 2023, and 40.4% for the second quarter 2022.

Income tax expense was $44.4 million for the second quarter 2023, compared to $42.4 million for the first quarter 2023, and $63.4 million for the second quarter 2022.

Net income was $215.7 million for the second quarter 2023, an increase of $73.5 million from $142.2 million for the first quarter 2023, and a decrease of $44.5 million from $260.2 million for the second quarter 2022. Earnings per share totaled $1.96 for the second quarter 2023, compared to $1.28 for the first quarter 2023, and $2.39 for the second quarter 2022. After adjusting for the non-operating items noted above, adjusted earnings per share totaled $2.30 for the first quarter 2023.

The Company views its pre-provision net revenue¹ ("PPNR") as a key metric for assessing the Company’s earnings power, which it defines as adjusted net revenue¹ less adjusted non-interest expense¹. For the second quarter 2023, the Company’s PPNR¹ was $282.1 million, down $69.5 million from $351.6 million in the first quarter 2023, and down $79.2 million from $361.3 million in the second quarter 2022.

The Company had 3,336 full-time equivalent employees and 56 offices at June 30, 2023, compared to 3,340 employees and 57 offices at March 31, 2023, and 3,254 employees and 60 offices at June 30, 2022.

¹ See reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures.

Balance Sheet

HFI loans, net of deferred fees totaled $47.9 billion at June 30, 2023, compared to $46.4 billion at March 31, 2023, and $48.6 billion at June 30, 2022. The increase in HFI loans of $1.4 billion from the prior quarter was driven by an increase of $1.2 billion in commercial and industrial and $296 million in CRE non-owner occupied loans, with approximately half of this increase attributable to loan transfers from HFS to HFI. The decrease in HFI loans of $697 million from June 30, 2022 was driven by a $4.1 billion decrease in commercial and industrial loans, resulting from the transfer of a significant portion of HFI loans to HFS in the first quarter 2023 as part of the Company's balance sheet repositioning strategy. This decrease was partially offset by increases in CRE non-owner occupied and construction and land development loans of $2.1 billion and $1.2 billion, respectively. HFS loans totaled $3.2 billion at June 30, 2023, compared to $7.0 billion at March 31, 2023, and $2.8 billion at June 30, 2022. The decrease of $3.9 billion in HFS loans from the prior quarter is primarily related to execution of the Company's balance sheet repositioning strategy, with loan dispositions totaling $3.5 billion during the quarter. The increase of $353 million in HFS loans from June 30, 2022 relates to loans transferred to HFS during the first quarter 2023, partially offset by a decrease in AmeriHome HFS loans.

The Company's allowance for credit losses on HFI loans consists of an allowance for funded HFI loans and an allowance for unfunded loan commitments. At June 30, 2023, the allowance for loan losses to funded HFI loans ratio was 0.67%, compared to 0.66% at March 31, 2023, and 0.56% at June 30, 2022. The allowance for credit losses, which includes the allowance for unfunded loan commitments, to funded HFI loans ratio was 0.76% at June 30, 2023, compared to 0.75% at March 31, 2023, and 0.67% at June 30, 2022. The Company is a party to credit linked note transactions, which effectively transfer a portion of the risk of losses on reference pools of loans to the purchasers of the notes. The Company is protected from first credit losses on reference pools of loans totaling $9.4 billion, $9.8 billion, and $11.1 billion as of June 30, 2023, March 31, 2023, and June 30, 2022, respectively, under these transactions. However, as these note transactions are considered to be free standing credit enhancements, the allowance for credit losses cannot be reduced by the expected credit losses that may be mitigated by these notes. Accordingly, the allowance for loan and credit losses ratios include an allowance of $21.4 million as of June 30, 2023, $20.8 million as of March 31, 2023, and $18.5 million as of June 30, 2022, related to these pools of loans. The allowance for credit losses to funded HFI loans ratio, adjusted to reduce the HFI loan balance by the amount of loans in covered reference pools, was 0.94% at June 30, 2023, 0.95% at March 31, 2023, and 0.87% at June 30, 2022.

Deposits totaled $51.0 billion at June 30, 2023, an increase of $3.5 billion from $47.6 billion at March 31, 2023, and a decrease of $2.7 billion from $53.7 billion at June 30, 2022. By deposit type, the increase from the prior quarter is attributable to increases of $2.0 billion from certificates of deposits, $1.9 billion from interest bearing demand deposits, and $268 million from non-interest bearing demand deposits, partially offset by a $760 million decrease in savings and money market accounts. From June 30, 2022, non-interest bearing demand deposits and savings and money market accounts decreased $7.0 billion and $5.9 billion, respectively. These decreases were partially offset by increases in certificates of deposit and interest-bearing demand deposits of $6.0 billion and $4.3 billion, respectively. Non-interest bearing deposits were $16.7 billion at June 30, 2023, compared to $16.5 billion at March 31, 2023, and $23.7 billion at June 30, 2022.

The table below shows the Company's deposit types as a percentage of total deposits:

The Company’s ratio of HFI loans to deposits was 93.8% at June 30, 2023, compared to 97.6% at March 31, 2023, and 90.4% at June 30, 2022.

Borrowings were $9.6 billion at June 30, 2023, $15.9 billion at March 31, 2023, and $5.2 billion at June 30, 2022. Borrowings decreased from March 31, 2023 due primarily to a decrease in short-term borrowings of $6.0 billion and payoffs of credit linked notes of $266 million. The increase in borrowings from June 30, 2022 is due to an increase in short-term borrowings of $3.8 billion, partially offset by payoffs of credit linked notes in the first half of 2023.

Qualifying debt totaled $888 million at June 30, 2023, compared to $895 million at March 31, 2023, and $891 million at June 30, 2022.

Stockholders’ equity was $5.7 billion at June 30, 2023, compared to $5.5 billion at March 31, 2023 and $5.0 billion at June 30, 2022. The increase in stockholders’ equity quarter over quarter was due to net income, partially offset by dividends to shareholders and unrealized fair value losses of $24 million on the Company's available for sale securities, which are recorded in other comprehensive loss, net of tax. Cash dividends of $39.4 million ($0.36 per common share) and $3.2 million ($0.27 per depository share) were paid to shareholders during the second quarter 2023. The increase in stockholders' equity from June 30, 2022 is primarily a function of net income and sales of common stock under the Company's ATM program, partially offset by dividends to shareholders and an increase in unrealized fair value losses on available for sale securities.

At June 30, 2023, tangible common equity, net of tax¹, was 7.0% of tangible assets¹ and total capital was 13.0% of risk-weighted assets. The Company’s tangible book value per share¹ was $43.09 at June 30, 2023, an increase of 3.7% from $41.56 at March 31, 2023, and up 17.5% from $36.67 at June 30, 2022. The increase in tangible book value per share from March 31, 2023 is attributable to net income.

Total assets decreased 4.1% to $68.2 billion at June 30, 2023, from $71.0 billion at March 31, 2023, and increased 3.2% from $66.1 billion at June 30, 2022. The decrease in total assets from March 31, 2023 was driven by a decrease in HFS loans and cash, partially offset by an increase in HFI loans. The increase in total assets from June 30, 2022 was driven by an increase in investments and HFS loans, partially offset by a decrease in HFI loans.

¹ See reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures.

Asset Quality

Provision for credit losses totaled $21.8 million for the second quarter 2023, compared to $19.4 million for the first quarter 2023, and $27.5 million for the second quarter 2022. Net loan charge-offs in the second quarter 2023 were $7.4 million, or 0.06% of average loans (annualized), compared to $6.0 million, or 0.05%, in the first quarter 2023, and $1.4 million, or 0.01%, in the second quarter 2022.

Nonaccrual loans increased $149 million to $256 million during the quarter and increased $171 million from June 30, 2022. Loans past due 90 days and still accruing interest were zero, compared to $1 million at March 31, 2023, and zero at June 30, 2022 (excluding government guaranteed loans of $481 million, $494 million, and $555 million, respectively). Loans past due 30-89 days and still accruing interest totaled $121 million at June 30, 2023, an increase from $58 million at March 31, 2023, and an increase from $117 million at June 30, 2022 (excluding government guaranteed loans of $289 million, $281 million, and $161 million, respectively).

Repossessed assets totaled $11 million at June 30, 2023, flat from March 31, 2023, and a $1 million decrease from $12 million at June 30, 2022. Classified assets totaled $604 million at June 30, 2023, an increase of $145 million from $459 million at March 31, 2023, and an increase of $258 million from $346 million at June 30, 2022.

The ratio of classified assets to Tier 1 capital plus the allowance for credit losses, a common regulatory measure of asset quality, was 10.0% at June 30, 2023, compared to 7.8% at March 31, 2023, and 6.7% at June 30, 2022.

¹ See reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures.

Segment Highlights

The Company's reportable segments are aggregated with a focus on products and services offered and consist of three reportable segments:

Key management metrics for evaluating the performance of the Company's Commercial and Consumer Related segments include loan and deposit growth, asset quality, and pre-tax income.

The Commercial segment reported an HFI loan balance of $28.1 billion at June 30, 2023, an increase of $857 million during the quarter, and a decrease of $1.3 billion during the last twelve months. The Commercial segment also has loans held for sale of $1.0 billion at June 30, 2023, a decrease of $3.7 billion during the quarter. Deposits for the Commercial segment totaled $21.5 billion at June 30, 2023, a decrease of $531 million during the quarter, and a decrease of $8.0 billion during the last twelve months.

Pre-tax income for the Commercial segment was $221.4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023, an increase of $62.0 million from the three months ended March 31, 2023, and a decrease of $18.5 million from the three months ended June 30, 2022. For the six months ended June 30, 2023, the Commercial segment reported total pre-tax income of $380.9 million, a decrease of $95.7 million compared to the six months ended June 30, 2022.

The Consumer Related segment reported an HFI loan balance of $19.7 billion at June 30, 2023, an increase of $583 million during the quarter, and an increase of $612 million during the last twelve months. The Consumer Related segment also has loans held for sale of $2.1 billion at June 30, 2023, a decrease of $183 million during the quarter, and a decrease of $696 million during the last twelve months. Deposits for the Consumer Related segment totaled $22.4 billion, an increase of $2.4 billion during the quarter and an increase of $2.7 billion during the last twelve months.

Pre-tax income for the Consumer Related segment was $56.7 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023, a decrease of $0.1 million from the three months ended March 31, 2023, and a decrease of $103.4 million from the three months ended June 30, 2022. Pre-tax income for the Consumer Related segment for the six months ended June 30, 2023 totaled $113.3 million, a decrease of $173.8 million compared to the six months ended June 30, 2022.

Conference Call and Webcast

Western Alliance Bancorporation will host a conference call and live webcast to discuss its second quarter 2023 financial results at 12:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, July 19, 2023. Participants may access the call by dialing 1-833-470-1428 and using access code 389791 or via live audio webcast using the website link https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/147801611. The webcast is also available via the Company’s website at www.westernalliancebancorporation.com. Participants should log in at least 15 minutes early to receive instructions. The call will be recorded and made available for replay after 3:00 p.m. ET July 19th through 11:00 p.m. ET August 19th by dialing 1-866-813-9403, using access code 616595.

Reclassifications

Certain amounts in the Consolidated Income Statements for the prior periods have been reclassified to conform to the current presentation. The reclassifications have no effect on net income or stockholders’ equity as previously reported.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

This press release contains both financial measures based on GAAP and non-GAAP based financial measures, which are used where management believes them to be helpful in understanding the Company’s results of operations or financial position. Where non-GAAP financial measures are used, the comparable GAAP financial measure, as well as the reconciliation to the comparable GAAP financial measure, can be found in this press release. These disclosures should not be viewed as a substitute for operating results determined in accordance with GAAP, nor are they necessarily comparable to non-GAAP performance measures that may be presented by other companies.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements that relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements we make regarding our expectations with regard to our business, financial and operating results, future economic performance and dividends. The forward-looking statements contained herein reflect our current views about future events and financial performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions and changes in circumstances that may cause our actual results to differ significantly from historical results and those expressed in any forward-looking statement. Some factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical or expected results include, among others: the risk factors discussed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 and the Company's subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, each as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission; adverse developments in the financial services industry generally such as the recent bank failures and any related impact on depositor behavior; risks related to the sufficiency of liquidity; the potential adverse effects of unusual and infrequently occurring events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and any governmental or societal responses thereto; changes in general economic conditions, either nationally or locally in the areas in which we conduct or will conduct our business; the impact on financial markets from geopolitical conflicts such as the war between Russia and Ukraine; inflation, interest rate, market and monetary fluctuations; increases in competitive pressures among financial institutions and businesses offering similar products and services; higher defaults on our loan portfolio than we expect; changes in management’s estimate of the adequacy of the allowance for credit losses; legislative or regulatory changes or changes in accounting principles, policies or guidelines; supervisory actions by regulatory agencies which may limit our ability to pursue certain growth opportunities, including expansion through acquisitions; additional regulatory requirements resulting from our continued growth; management’s estimates and projections of interest rates and interest rate policy; the execution of our business plan; and other factors affecting the financial services industry generally or the banking industry in particular.

Any forward-looking statement made by us in this release is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We do not intend and disclaim any duty or obligation to update or revise any industry information or forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, set forth in this press release to reflect new information, future events or otherwise.

About Western Alliance Bancorporation

With more than $65 billion in assets, Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL, Financial) is one of the country’s top-performing banking companies. Through its primary subsidiary, Western Alliance Bank, Member FDIC, business clients benefit from a full spectrum of tailored banking solutions and outstanding service delivered by industry experts who put customers first. Major accolades include #2 best-performing of the 50 largest public U.S. banks in the S&P Global Market Intelligence listing for 2021, and #1 Best Emerging Regional Bank for 2022 by Bank Director. Serving clients across the country wherever business happens, Western Alliance Bank operates individual, full-service banking and financial brands with offices in key markets nationwide. For more information, visit westernalliancebank.com.