PHOENIX–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Western Alliance Bancorporation (the “Company”, NYSE: WAL) today
announced its Board of Directors authorized the initiation of regular
quarterly dividends, beginning in the third quarter of 2019. At the
board meeting associated with the Company’s Annual Meeting of
Shareholders, the Board approved a 25 cent per share quarterly dividend
to be initially declared at its next meeting on July 30, 2019, with the
record and payment dates expected to occur in August.
“I am pleased to announce the Board’s decision to authorize a quarterly
dividend for our shareholders,” commented Robert Sarver, Executive
Chairman. “The dividend demonstrates our continued confidence in the
Company’s performance outlook, including loan and deposit growth,
interest margin, asset quality, operating efficiency and earnings per
share. Western Alliance will continue to focus on generating quality
loan and deposit growth, reinvesting earnings in our Company to support
our sustained development, and pursuing opportunistic mergers and
acquisitions.”
Kenneth Vecchione, Chief Executive Officer, added, “Given the continued
success of our strategic approach to our business, the Company
consistently creates more capital than needed to support our strong
growth and is building a sound financial capital base which allows us to
remain flexible and agile. Issuing a dividend will be another arrow in
the capital quiver of providing superior total shareholder return
without curtailing growth capital and will reward investors with
recurring cash flow for stock ownership.”
The Company has reported a return on common equity in excess of 20%
compared to its three-year balance sheet growth of approximately 16%. As
a result of capital growth exceeding balance sheet growth, the dividend
should not curtail the Company’s strong growth prospects. Vecchione
further commented, “The Company’s second quarter performance remains
solid and consistent with guidance given during the first quarter 2019
earnings call. At 25 cents per share per quarter, Western Alliance has
the appropriate capital levels to implement CECL, complete the execution
of our share repurchase plan, and maintain a capital buffer to absorb
potential economic volatility. The Company’s tangible common equity
ratio is expected to remain near industry-leading levels, as return on
TCE remains in the top decile of peer institutions.”
At 25 cents, the Company’s dividend would have represented a payout
ratio of 21.6% of the $1.16 earnings per share the Company earned in the
first quarter of 2019, aggregating to $26 million per quarter. At a
share price of $43.70, the yield is 2.3%, slightly above the S&P 500
dividend yield of 2.0%. The Company expects that dividend initiation
will enable income funds to participate in ownership of WAL shares, if
desired.
In addition, the Company continues to return capital to its shareholders
through its share repurchase program. Second quarter to date, the
Company has repurchased 792,688 shares at an average price of $42.82 for
a total of $33.9 million, bringing total repurchases since the third
quarter of 2018 to 2.6 million shares or 2.5% of the then shares
outstanding. As of June 4, 2019, the Company has $142.5 million
remaining of its original $250 million buyback authorization.
About Western Alliance Bancorporation
With more than $20 billion in assets, Western Alliance Bancorporation
(NYSE:WAL) is one of the country’s top-performing banking companies.
Western Alliance is ranked #1 regional bank by S&P Global Market
Intelligence for 2018 and in the top 10 on the Forbes “Best Banks in
America” list for four consecutive years, 2016-2019. Its primary
subsidiary, Western Alliance Bank, Member FDIC, helps business clients
realize their growth ambitions with local teams of experienced bankers
who deliver superior service and a full spectrum of customized loan,
deposit and treasury management capabilities. Business clients also
benefit from a powerful array of specialized financial services that
provide strong expertise and tailored solutions for a wide variety of
industries and sectors. A national presence with a regional footprint,
Western Alliance Bank operates individually branded, full-service
banking divisions and has offices in key markets nationwide. For more
information, visit westernalliancebank.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press 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, and 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,
2018 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission; changes in
general economic conditions, either nationally or locally in the areas
in which we conduct or will conduct our business; 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 press 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 to have 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.
Contacts
MEDIA CONTACT:
Robyn Young
Chief Marketing Officer
(602)
346-7352
INVESTOR CONTACT:
Dale Gibbons
Chief Financial Officer
(602)
952-5476
