Western Alliance Bancorporation Stock

Western Alliance Bancorporation (WAL) operates as the bank holding company for Western Alliance Bank (WAB) that provides a full spectrum of deposit, lending, treasury management, and online banking products and services.

The company operates various full-service banking divisions, such as Alliance Bank of Arizona (ABA), Bank of Nevada (BON), Bridge Bank (Bridge), First Independent Bank (FIB), and Torrey Pines Bank (TPB).

Western Alliance Trust Company, N.A. (WATC) is an OCC-chartered, non-depository national trust bank.

Lending Activities

The company’s lending has focused primarily on meeting the needs of business customers. Through WAB and its banking divisions and operating subsidiaries, the company provides a variety of lending products to customers, including the loan types.

Commercial and Industrial: Commercial and industrial loans are a significant portion of the company's loan portfolio, representing 40% and 47% of the company's HFI loan portfolio as of December 31, 2022. These loans include working capital lines of credit, loans to technology companies, inventory and accounts receivable lines, mortgage warehouse lines, and other commercial loans. Equipment loans and leases, tax-exempt municipalities, and not-for-profit organizations are also categorized as commercial and industrial loans.

CRE: Loans to fund the purchase or refinancing of CRE for investors (non-owner occupied) or owner occupants are a significant portion of the company's loan portfolio. These CRE loans are secured by multi-family residential properties, professional offices, industrial facilities, retail centers, hotels, and other commercial properties. Approximately 16% and 13% of the company's CRE investor portfolio consisted of office loans as of December 31, 2022. These office loans are primarily shorter-term bridge loans that enable borrowers to reposition or redevelop projects and are geographically well diversified, with the vast majority located in midtown or suburban locations.

Construction and Land Development: Construction and land development loans include single family and multi-family residential projects, industrial/warehouse properties, office buildings, retail centers, medical office facilities, and residential lot developments. These loans are primarily originated to experienced local and national developers with whom the company has a satisfactory lending history.

Residential: The company executes flow and bulk residential loan purchases that meet its goals and underwriting criteria through its residential mortgage acquisition program. These loan purchases consist of both conforming and non-conforming loans. Non-conforming loan purchases are considered to be high quality as the borrowers have high The Financing Corporation (FICO) scores and the loans generally have low loan-to-values.

Consumer: Limited types of consumer loans are offered to meet customer demand and to respond to community needs. Examples of these consumer loans include home equity loans and lines of credit, home improvement loans, personal lines of credit, and loans to individuals for investment purposes.

The company’s lending policies generally incorporate consistent underwriting standards across all geographic regions in which it operates, customized as necessary to conform to state law and local market conditions.

Deposit Products

The company offers a variety of deposit products, including demand deposits, checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, and other types of deposit accounts, including fixed-rate, fixed maturity certificates of deposit. The company has historically focused on growing its lower cost core customer deposits.

Other Financial Products and Services

In addition to traditional commercial banking activities, the company offers other financial services to its customers, including internet banking, wire transfers, electronic bill payment and presentment, 24/7 funds transfer and other digital payment offerings, lock box services, courier, and cash management services.

Investment Portfolio

As of December 31, 2022, the company’s investment portfolio included collateralized loan obligation (CLO); Commercial MBS issued by Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs); corporate debt securities; private label residential Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS); residential mortgage-backed securities (MBS) issued by GSEs; tax-exempt; other; common stock; Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) investments; and preferred stock.

Supervision and Regulation

As a registered bank holding company, the company is subject to inspection, examination, and supervision by the Federal Reserve Bank (FRB) and is regulated under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 ( ). The company is also under the jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and is subject to the disclosure and other regulatory requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as Amended (Exchange Act), as administered by the SEC. WAL is a bank holding company as defined under the BHCA.

WAB is an Arizona chartered bank and a member of the Federal Reserve System. WAB is subject to the supervision of, and to regular examination by, the Arizona Department of Financial Institutions, the FRB as its primary federal regulator, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as its deposit insurer. WAB's deposits are insured by the FDIC up to the applicable deposit insurance limits in accordance with FDIC laws and regulations. The company also serves business customers through a national platform of specialized financial services providers.

The company and WAB are also supervised by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for compliance with federal consumer financial protection laws. The company’s non-bank subsidiaries are subject to federal and state laws and regulations, including regulations of the FRB.

The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act relieves bank holding companies with less than $100 billion in assets, such as the company, from the enhanced prudential standards imposed under Section 165 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank Act) (including but not limited to, resolution planning and enhanced liquidity and risk management requirements).

Many of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act’s programs are, and remain, dependent upon the direct involvement of the U.S. financial institutions like the company and the bank. These programs have been implemented through rules and guidance adopted by federal departments and agencies, including the U.S. Department of Treasury, the Federal Reserve, and other federal bank regulatory authorities, including those with direct supervisory jurisdiction over the company and the bank.

Section 165 of the Dodd-Frank Act imposes enhanced prudential standards on larger banking organizations, with certain of these standards applicable to banking organizations over $10 billion, including the company and WAB.

Section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Act, commonly known as the Volcker Rule, restricts the ability of banking entities, such as the company and WAB.

The company is subject to a number of federal and state laws designed to protect borrowers and promote lending to various sectors of the economy and population. These laws include the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Fair Debt Collection Procedures Act, the Truth in Lending Act, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, the Real Estate Settlement Practices Act, various state law counterparts, and the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010, which is part of the Dodd-Frank Act.

Substantially all of the deposits of WAB are insured up to applicable limits by the FDIC’s Deposit Insurance Fund. The company is subject to federal laws, including the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and certain state laws containing consumer privacy protection provisions.

WAB has a responsibility under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) to help meet the credit needs of its communities, including low and moderate income neighborhoods. WAB is a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, which is one of 12 regional FHLBs that provide funding to their members to support residential lending, as well as affordable housing and community development loans.

The company has a Bank Secrecy Act and USA PATRIOT Act Board-approved compliance program and engages in relatively few transactions with foreign financial institutions or foreign persons.

AmeriHome is a residential mortgage producer and servicer that operates in a heavily regulated industry. In addition to supervision by the federal banking agencies with primary jurisdiction over the Company and WAB, AmeriHome is subject to the rules, regulations and oversight of certain federal, state and local governmental authorities, including the CFPB, HUD, and Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA), and government-sponsored enterprises in the mortgage industry such as Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC) and Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA).

Further, AmeriHome must comply with a large number of federal consumer protection laws and regulations including, among others:

the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and Regulation X, which require lenders, mortgage brokers, or servicers to provide borrowers with pertinent and timely disclosures regarding the nature and costs of the settlement process and prohibit specific practices related thereto;

the Truth In Lending Act and Regulation Z, which require disclosures and timely information on the nature and costs of the residential mortgages and the real estate settlement process;

the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act, which applies to businesses and individuals engaging in the residential mortgage loan business;

the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Federal Trade Commission Act, and the rules and regulations of the FTC and CFPB that prohibit unfair, abusive or deceptive acts or practices;

the Fair Credit Reporting Act (as amended by the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act) and Regulation V, which address the accuracy, fairness, and privacy of information in the files of consumer reporting agencies; and

the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Regulation B, the Fair Housing Act, the Homeowners Protection Act, and the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act and Regulation C, which generally disallow discrimination on a prohibited basis, provide applicants and borrowers rights with respect to credit decisioning and the residential mortgage process, and require disclosures and impose obligations on financial businesses conducting residential lending and mortgage servicing.

History

Western Alliance Bancorporation was founded in 1994. The company was incorporated in 2014.