Western Alliance Bancorporation Earnings Call Insights: New Loan Originations and Loss Expectations

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE:WAL) recently reported its fourth quarter earnings and discussed the following topics in its earnings conference call.

New Loan Originations

Brad Milsaps – Sandler O’Neil: Nice quarter.

Robert G. Sarver – Chairman and CEO: Thanks.

Brad Milsaps – Sandler O’Neil: Dale, just wanted to follow up on some of the March guidance. Did you say that new loan originations were coming in – I think you said around (455), is that right, I just want to make sure I have that number correct.

Dale M. Gibbons – EVP and CFO: Right; that’s correct. Yeah, they are up from where they were in the third quarter, but they are still below what the prepayments or payments on our existing book are coming off at. So, it should mitigate a decline a little bit, but we still should look for an overall decline in loan yields except for the pops that we see because of Western Liberty which will be sustained.

Dale M. Gibbons – EVP and CFO: To give you kind of a couple specific numbers, Brad, if you went to the fourth quarter, the average rate on loan maturities was 5.28 and the average rate originations was 4.55.

Brad Milsaps – Sandler O’Neil: Is 2013, a heavier year for renewals or if that thing is coming due that you feel like you’re going to have more just down relative to 2012 or is it relatively stable?