WEST BANCORPORATION INC

The Company had total assets of $3,962,692 as of March 31, 2024, compared to total assets of $3,825,758 as of December 31, 2023. Changes in the balance sheet included increases in interest-bearing deposits, loans, premises and equipment and deposits and a decrease in securities available for sale.

Securities

Securities available for sale decreased by $18,184 during the three months ended March 31, 2024. This decrease was due to principal paydowns on securities and the decline in fair value of the securities available for sale resulting from the increase in market interest rates since December 31, 2023. Management concluded the unrealized losses are the result of increases in risk-free market interest rates since the securities were purchased and are not an indication of declining credit quality. Unrealized losses are recorded in accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax. The Company expects the securities portfolio as a percentage of total assets to decrease over time as the proceeds from paydowns and maturities may be used for loan growth or repayment of borrowed funds.

As of March 31, 2024, approximately 61 percent of the available for sale securities portfolio consisted of government agency guaranteed collateralized mortgage obligations and mortgage-backed securities. Management believes these securities have little to no credit risk and provide cash flows for liquidity and repricing opportunities.

Loans and Nonperforming Assets

Loans outstanding increased $52,598 from $2,927,535 as of December 31, 2023 to $2,980,133 as of March 31, 2024. Changes in the loan portfolio during the first three months of 2024 included increases of $51,770 in construction, land and land development loans and $12,699 in commercial loans and a decrease of $14,930 in commercial real estate loans.

In accordance with regulatory guidelines, the Company exercises heightened risk management practices when non-owner occupied commercial real estate lending exceeds 300 percent of total risk-based capital or construction, land development, and other land loans exceed 100 percent of total risk-based capital. Although the commercial real estate portfolio exceeded these regulatory guidelines as of March 31, 2024, they were within the Company's established policy limits and management believes that the Company has appropriate risk management policies and procedures to regularly monitor the commercial real estate portfolio. An analysis of the Company's non-owner occupied commercial real estate portfolio as of December 31, 2023 was presented in the Company's Form 10-K, as amended, filed with the SEC on February 23, 2024, and the Company has not experienced any material changes to that portfolio since December 31, 2023.

The following table sets forth the amount of nonperforming assets held by the Company and common ratio measurements of those assets as of the dates shown.

(1)While loan restructurings made to borrowers experiencing financial difficulty (loan restructurings) are commonly reported by the industry as nonperforming, those not classified in the nonaccrual category are accruing interest due to payment performance. Loan restructurings on nonaccrual status are categorized as nonaccrual. There were no loan restructurings categorized as nonaccrual as of March 31, 2024 or December 31, 2023.

Deposits

Deposits increased $91,251, or 3.1 percent, during the first three months of 2024. Brokered deposits increased to $396,363 at March 31, 2024, from $305,411 at December 31, 2023. Deposit inflows and outflows are influenced by prevailing market interest rates, competition, local and national economic conditions and fluctuations in our business customers' own liquidity needs. In particular, significant competition for deposits driven by high interest rate alternatives for depositors is currently impacting deposit fluctuations and increasing our cost of deposits.

West Bank participates in the IntraFi® ICS and CDARS reciprocal deposit network which enables depositors to receive FDIC insurance coverage on deposits otherwise exceeding the maximum insurable amount. As of March 31, 2024, estimated uninsured deposits, which excludes deposits in the IntraFi® reciprocal network, brokered deposits and public funds protected by state programs, were approximately 27.2 percent of total deposits.

Borrowed Funds

Federal funds purchased and other short-term borrowings increased from $150,270 at December 31, 2023 to $198,500 as of March 31, 2024. The fluctuations in the balances of federal funds purchased and other short-term borrowings is based on customer loan and deposit activity and the Company's balance sheet management objectives, which from time to time may require the Company to draw on the federal funds purchased lines with our correspondent banks, FHLB advances or other liquidity sources.

The Company had $315,000 of FHLB advances outstanding at March 31, 2024, $295,000 of which are one-month rolling advances hedged with long-term interest rate swaps. The interest rate swaps that hedge the interest rates on these FHLB advances have maturity dates ranging from August 2024 through June 2029 and fixed rates ranging from 1.69 percent to 4.65 percent. Additionally, the Company has one interest rate swap with a total notional amount of $20,000 that is a forward-starting interest rate swap with a starting date of August 2024. This strategy of hedging short-term rolling funding effectively provides fixed cost wholesale funding through the maturity dates of the various interest rate swaps.

Liquidity

The objectives of liquidity management are to ensure the availability of sufficient cash flows to meet all financial commitments and to capitalize on opportunities for profitable business expansion. The Company's principal source of funds is deposits. Other sources include loan principal repayments, proceeds from the maturity and sale of securities, principal payments on amortizing securities, federal funds purchased, advances from the FHLB, other wholesale funding and funds provided by operations. Liquidity management is conducted on both a daily and a long-term basis. Investments in liquid assets are adjusted based on expected loan demand, projected loan and securities maturities and payments, expected deposit flows and the objectives set by the Company's asset-liability management policy. The Company had liquid assets (cash and cash equivalents) of $148,017 as of March 31, 2024 compared with $65,357 as of December 31, 2023.

Our deposit growth strategy emphasizes core deposit growth. Deposit inflows and outflows can vary widely and are influenced by prevailing market interest rates, competition, local and national economic conditions and fluctuations in our business customers' own liquidity needs. The Company utilizes brokered deposits and other wholesale funding to supplement core deposit fluctuations and loan growth. Brokered deposits are obtained through various programs administered by IntraFi®, including IntraFi® Network Deposits and IntraFi® Funding, and through other third party brokers. At March 31, 2024, the Company had $396,363 in brokered deposits, which included fixed-rate deposits with terms through February 2029 and variable-rate deposits with terms through February 2025.

As of March 31, 2024, West Bank had additional borrowing capacity available from the FHLB of approximately $479,000, as well as approximately $73,000 through the Federal Reserve discount window and $75,000 through unsecured federal funds lines of credit with correspondent banks. No funds were borrowed from the Federal Reserve discount window during the three months ended March 31, 2024. Net cash from operating activities contributed $6,121 to liquidity for the three months ended March 31, 2024. Management believed that the combination of high levels of potentially liquid assets, unencumbered securities, cash flows from operations, and additional borrowing capacity are sufficient to meet our liquidity and capital needs.

The Company had remaining commitments to invest in qualified affordable housing projects totaling $1,525 and $1,649 as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively.

Capital

The Company's total stockholders' equity decreased to $223,756 at March 31, 2024 from $225,043 at December 31, 2023. The decrease was primarily the result of the increase in accumulated other comprehensive loss, which was primarily the result of the negative effect that rising interest rates have had on the unrealized market value adjustment of our available for sale investment portfolio. While accumulated other comprehensive losses reduce tangible common equity, they have no impact on regulatory capital. At March 31, 2024, the Company's tangible common equity as a percent of tangible assets was 5.65 percent compared to 5.88 percent as of December 31, 2023.

The Company and West Bank are subject to various regulatory capital requirements administered by federal and state banking agencies. Failure to meet minimum capital requirements (as shown in the following table) can result in certain mandatory and possibly additional discretionary actions by regulators, which, if undertaken, could have a direct material effect on the Company's consolidated financial statements. Under capital adequacy guidelines and the regulatory framework for prompt corrective action, the Company and West Bank must meet specific capital guidelines that involve quantitative measures of their assets, liabilities and certain off-balance sheet items as calculated under regulatory accounting practices. The Company's and West Bank's capital amounts and classifications are also subject to qualitative judgments by the regulators about components, risk weightings and other factors. Management believed the Company and West Bank met all capital adequacy requirements to which they were subject as of March 31, 2024.

The Company's and West Bank's capital amounts and ratios are presented in the following table.

The Company and West Bank are subject to a 2.5 percent capital conservation buffer that is added to the minimum requirements for capital adequacy purposes. A banking organization with a capital conservation buffer of less than the required amount will be subject to limitations on capital distributions, including dividend payments, and certain discretionary bonus payments to executive officers. At March 31, 2024, the capital ratios for the Company and West Bank were sufficient to meet the conservation buffer.