West Bancorporation, Inc. Announces Fourth Quarter 2025 Financial Results and Declares Quarterly Dividend

West Bancorporation, Inc. (Nasdaq: WTBA; the “Company”), parent company of West Bank, today reported 2025 net income of $32.6 million, or $1.92 per diluted common share, compared to 2024 net income of $24.1 million, or $1.42 per diluted common share. Net income for the fourth quarter 2025 was $7.4 million, or $0.43 per diluted common share, compared to third quarter 2025 net income of $9.3 million, or $0.55 per diluted common share, and fourth quarter 2024 net income of $7.1 million, or $0.42 per diluted common share. On January 28, 2026, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.25 per common share. The dividend is payable on February 25, 2026, to stockholders of record on February 11, 2026. David Nelson, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, commented, “We have had continuous improvement in earnings and key performance metrics throughout 2025 and finished the year very strong. Through proactive and strategic balance sheet management, we see opportunities for further improvements in 2026. West Bank remains focused on relationship building and outstanding service and support. Our customer base continues to grow in all of our markets.” David Nelson added, “We had no loans on nonaccrual status and no loans past due greater than 30 days at December 31, 2025. Our pristine credit quality is the result of our disciplined underwriting standards and steadfast approach to risk, which is consistently executed regardless of the economic or interest rate environment.” Fourth Quarter 2025 Compared to Third Quarter 2025 Overview Loans decreased $7.2 million, or 0.2 percent, in the fourth quarter of 2025. No credit loss expense on loans was recorded in either the fourth or third quarter of 2025. The allowance for credit losses to total loans was 1.02 percent at December 31, 2025, compared to 1.01 percent at September 30, 2025. There were no nonaccrual loans at December 31, 2025 or September 30, 2025. Watch list loans increased from $38.7 million as of September 30, 2025 to $52.2 million as of December 31, 2025. This increase was primarily due to one commercial real estate loan which we believe, as of December 31, 2025, was adequately collateralized. Deposits increased $162.0 million, or 4.9 percent, in the fourth quarter of 2025. Brokered deposits totaled $154.6 million at December 31, 2025, compared to $204.8 million at September 30, 2025, a decrease of $50.2 million. Excluding brokered deposits, deposits increased $212.2 million, or 6.8 percent, during the fourth quarter of 2025. As of December 31, 2025, estimated uninsured deposits, which exclude deposits in a reciprocal deposit network, brokered deposits and public funds protected by state programs, accounted for approximately 28.4 percent of total deposits. Net interest margin, on a fully tax-equivalent basis (a non-GAAP measure), was 2.47 percent for the fourth quarter of 2025, compared to 2.36 percent for the third quarter of 2025. Net interest income for the fourth quarter of 2025 was $24.2 million, compared to $22.5 million for the third quarter of 2025. These improvements primarily resulted from growth in and changes in the mix of interest earning-assets and reductions to deposit interest rates in response to reductions in the federal funds rate, partially offset by a reduction in rates on variable-rate loans and growth in deposits. The efficiency ratio (a non-GAAP measure) was 50.21 percent for the fourth quarter of 2025, compared to 54.06 percent for the third quarter of 2025. The improvement in the efficiency ratio was primarily due to the increase in net interest income. In November 2025, the Company sold $63.7 million of securities available for sale and realized a pre-tax net loss of $4.0 million. The securities sold had a weighted average yield of 2.90 percent. We believe this transaction improves the flexibility of our balance sheet. Proceeds may be used for strategic improvement in our long-term earnings profile through redeployment into higher-earning assets or repayment of higher-costing borrowings. The tangible common equity ratio was 6.42 percent as of December 31, 2025, compared to 6.40 percent as of September 30, 2025. Fourth Quarter 2025 Compared to Fourth Quarter 2024 Overview Loans decreased $3.2 million at December 31, 2025, or 0.1 percent, compared to December 31, 2024. Deposits increased $110.9 million, or 3.3 percent, at December 31, 2025, compared to December 31, 2024. Included in deposits were brokered deposits totaling $154.6 million at December 31, 2025, compared to $266.4 million at December 31, 2024. Excluding brokered deposits, deposits increased $222.7 million, or 7.2 percent, as of December 31, 2025, compared to December 31, 2024. Net interest margin, on a fully tax-equivalent basis (a non-GAAP measure), was 2.47 percent for the fourth quarter of 2025, compared to 1.98 percent for the fourth quarter of 2024. Net interest income for the fourth quarter of 2025 was $24.2 million, compared to $19.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2024. The increase in net interest margin and net interest income was primarily due to the decrease in interest expense on deposits and borrowed funds. The cost of deposits decreased by 64 basis points in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared to the fourth quarter of 2024. Also contributing to the improvement was a decrease in average balances in borrowed funds of $39.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared to the fourth quarter of 2024.The efficiency ratio (a non-GAAP measure) was 50.21 percent for the fourth quarter of 2025, compared to 60.79 percent for the fourth quarter of 2024. The improvement in the efficiency ratio in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared to the fourth quarter of 2024 was primarily due to the increase in net interest income. The tangible common equity ratio was 6.42 percent as of December 31, 2025, compared to 5.68 percent as of December 31, 2024. The increase in the tangible common equity ratio was due to growth in retained earnings and a decrease in accumulated other comprehensive loss. Year Ended 2025 Compared to Year Ended 2024 Overview The Company recorded no credit loss expense in 2025, compared to a credit loss expense of $1.0 million in 2024. The credit loss expense in 2024 was primarily due to an adjustment to qualitative factors within the commercial real estate segment and changes in forecasted loss rates, which was driven by an increase in the forecasted unemployment rate.Net interest margin, on a fully tax-equivalent basis (a non-GAAP measure) was 2.35 percent for the year ended December 31, 2025, compared to 1.91 percent for the year ended December 31, 2024. Net interest income increased $17.6 million in 2025 compared to 2024. The increase in net interest income was primarily due to the increase in interest income on short-term assets consisting of deposits with banks and securities purchased under agreements to resell and decrease in interest expense on deposits and borrowed funds, partially offset by a decrease in interest income on securities. The increase in interest income on interest-earning assets was driven by growth in and changes in the mix of interest-earning assets. The cost of deposits and cost of borrowed funds decreased by 55 and 21 basis points, respectively, in 2025 compared to 2024, contributing to the reduction in interest expense. Also contributing to the reduction in interest expense was the change in mix of interest-bearing liabilities. The Company plans to file its report on Form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission on or before February 26, 2026. Please refer to that document for a more in-depth discussion of the Company’s financial results. The Form 10-K will be 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 2:00 p.m. Central Time on Thursday, January 29, 2026. The telephone number for the conference call is 800-715-9871. The conference ID for the conference call is 7846129. A recording of the call will be available until February 12, 2026, by dialing 800-770-2030. The conference ID for the replay call is 7846129 followed by the # key.... Read more

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