OREANDA-NEWS. West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA), parent company of West Bank, is pleased to report that second quarter 2016 net income was $5.5 million, or $0.34 per diluted common share.  This is the highest net income ever recorded by the Company for the second quarter of any year.  This compares to second quarter 2015 net income of $5.3 million, or $0.33 per diluted common share.  On July 27, 2016, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.17 per common share.  The dividend is payable on August 24, 2016 to shareholders of record on August 10, 2016.

For the first six months of 2016, net income was $11.2 million, or $0.69 per diluted common share, up from $10.4 million, or $0.65 per diluted common share, for the first six months of 2015.

The increase in net income for the second quarter and first half of 2016 was primarily the result of higher net interest income, which was due to strong loan growth.  Loan growth usually results in a higher balance in the allowance for loan losses, which was achieved by an increase in the provision for loan losses.

“We are very pleased with the second quarter of 2016,” commented Dave Nelson, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company.  “This is the eighth consecutive quarter we have had record earnings for each respective quarter.”

Mr. Nelson added, “Our bankers were very successful booking new business in the second quarter of 2016.  We added $106 million to our loan portfolio and added $65 million in deposits.”

Brad Winterbottom, West Bank President, said, “We had exceptional loan growth in the second quarter.  While our pipeline of potential new business continues to be strong, we do not expect this kind of growth every quarter.   At June 30, 2016, our loans were 13 percent higher than a year ago, and our deposits were 11 percent higher than a year ago.”

Eastern Iowa Market President, Jim Conard, commented, “The loan portfolio of the Eastern Iowa market grew by 10 percent in the second quarter as our lending team assisted a number of business owners and developers with their financing needs.  We believe our consistent loan growth over the past several months is a reflection of our strong reputation in our market.”

“Our momentum in the Rochester market continued through the second quarter with total loans outstanding exceeding $108 million as of June 30, 2016, which is an increase of almost 8 percent from the end of the first quarter,” said Mike Zinser, Rochester Market President.  “Our growth in 2016 has been generated from new customers moving their business from other banks as well as our existing customers expanding their businesses in this strong local economy.  We are pleased with the loan growth and strong credit quality of our Rochester office, and encouraged by the robust outlook our business customers are reporting to our bankers,” Zinser added.

The Company filed its report on Form 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission this morning.  Please refer to that document for a more in-depth discussion of our results.  The Form 10-Q document is available on the Investor Relations section of West Bank's website at www.westbankstrong.com. 

The Company will discuss its results in a conference call scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Central Time tomorrow, Friday, July 29, 2016.  The telephone number for the conference call is 888-339-0814.  A recording of the call will be available until August 12, 2016, by dialing 877-344-7529.  The replay passcode is 10077822.

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.

         
WEST BANCORPORATION, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY        
Financial Information (unaudited)        
(in thousands)        
         
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS   June 30, 2016   June 30, 2015
Assets        
Cash and due from banks   $ 42,688     $ 61,682  
Federal funds sold   5,456     20,386  
Investment securities available for sale, at fair value   291,939     245,201  
Investment securities held to maturity, at amortized cost   48,963     51,302  
Federal Home Loan Bank stock, at cost   12,439     12,168  
Loans   1,380,841     1,217,378  
Allowance for loan losses   (15,829 )   (14,364 )
Loans, net   1,365,012     1,203,014  
Premises and equipment, net   18,719     10,921  
Bank-owned life insurance   32,797     32,474  
Other assets   13,672     17,057  
Total assets   $ 1,831,685     $ 1,654,205  
         
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity        
Deposits:        
Noninterest-bearing   $ 458,197     $ 424,558  
Interest-bearing:        
Demand   264,241     225,442  
Savings   677,497     593,369  
Time of $250,000 or more   12,870     14,179  
Other time   97,457     109,062  
Total deposits   1,510,262     1,366,610  
Short-term borrowings   27,240     6,910  
Long-term borrowings   126,302     129,040  
Other liabilities   6,902     6,254  
Stockholders' equity   160,979     145,391  
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity   $ 1,831,685     $ 1,654,205  
                 
Financial Information (continued) (unaudited)                
(in thousands)                
                 
    Three Months Ended June 30,   Six Months Ended June 30,
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME   2016   2015   2016   2015
Interest income                
Loans, including fees   $ 14,303     $ 12,999     $ 27,769     $ 25,621  
Investment securities   1,895     1,798     3,933     3,687  
Other   11     22     31     32  
Total interest income   16,209     14,819     31,733     29,340  
Interest expense                
Deposits   824     551     1,529     1,122  
Short-term borrowings   18     3     34     31  
Long-term borrowings   1,094     911     2,198     1,870  
Total interest expense   1,936     1,465     3,761     3,023  
Net interest income   14,273     13,354     27,972     26,317  
Provision for loan losses   500     200     700     200  
Net interest income after provision for loan losses   13,773     13,154     27,272     26,117  
Noninterest income                
Service charges on deposit accounts   619     651     1,215     1,271  
Debit card usage fees   475     469     922     904  
Trust services   294     317     591     642  
Increase in cash value of bank-owned life insurance   164     178     332     367  
Gain from bank-owned life insurance   —     —     443     —  
Realized investment securities gains, net   60     36     60     47  
Other income   291     271     570     551  
Total noninterest income   1,903     1,922     4,133     3,782  
Noninterest expense                
Salaries and employee benefits   4,234     4,005     8,490     7,995  
Occupancy   983     1,010     1,934     2,059  
Data processing   627     569     1,206     1,143  
FDIC insurance expense   224     209     442     411  
Other expenses   1,751     1,650     3,546     3,281  
Total noninterest expense   7,819     7,443     15,618     14,889  
Income before income taxes   7,857     7,633     15,787     15,010  
Income taxes   2,381     2,361     4,615     4,635  
Net income   $ 5,476     $ 5,272     $ 11,172     $ 10,375  
                 
Financial Information (continued) (unaudited)                
             
    PER COMMON SHARE   MARKET INFORMATION (1)
    Net Income            
    Basic   Diluted   Dividends   High   Low
2016                    
2nd Quarter   $ 0.34     $ 0.34     $ 0.17     $ 19.65     $ 17.33  
1st Quarter   $ 0.35     $ 0.35     $ 0.16     $ 19.58     $ 16.04  
                     
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  
                                         

(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 June 30,   Six Months Ended June 30,
SELECTED FINANCIAL MEASURES   2016   2015   2016   2015
Return on average assets   1.22 %   1.28 %   1.27 %   1.28 %
Return on average equity   13.90 %   14.64 %   14.33 %   14.61 %
Net interest margin   3.52 %   3.59 %   3.52 %   3.59 %
Efficiency ratio*   46.62 %   46.88 %   46.76 %   47.55 %
                 
        As of June 30,
            2016   2015
Texas ratio*           0.60 %   3.43 %
Allowance for loan losses ratio           1.15 %   1.18 %
Tangible common equity ratio           8.79 %   8.79 %