WEST DES MOINES, Iowa, May 20, 2026, 08:17 CDT
- West Bancorporation will pay its 25-cent quarterly dividend on Wednesday to shareholders who were on record as of May 6.
- WTBA last changed hands at $23.30, off 0.2% from the last close, putting the company’s market cap around $397 million.
- Profit at the bank climbed in the first quarter as lending margins widened. Loans and deposits both fell from levels at the end of the year.
West Bancorporation’s regular dividend is out Wednesday, keeping its payout steady. The community bank’s recent quarter showed fewer growth moves and leaned more on finding lower-cost funds.
West Bank’s parent said net income for the first quarter was $10.6 million, or 61 cents per diluted share, up from $7.8 million, or 46 cents, last year. Investors are watching the dividend here, as they look to see if a better spread on money is enough to keep the payout steady with loan demand still choppy.
Net interest margin was in focus. That’s the difference between what a bank makes on loans and securities versus what it pays out for deposits and other funding. West reported its tax-equivalent margin at 2.59%, up from 2.47% in the fourth quarter and 2.28% last year, using the company’s adjusted number for comparison. Deposit costs dropped 14 basis points from the previous quarter. One basis point is 0.01%.
David Nelson, president and CEO, said the company still has “relationship building strategies” at the top of its list to boost profit and shareholder value. He said credit quality was “pristine,” with no loans classified as nonaccrual at March 31. That means the bank has no loans where it has stopped booking interest income. GlobeNewswire
West’s rate outlook is still in play. CFO Jane Funk said on the call that if rates and funding costs don’t change, the company still sees “plenty of opportunity on the asset side in repricing to improve margin.” About $250 million in loans and investments should reprice over the next year, according to Funk. Investing
Loan growth stalled in the quarter. Loans outstanding dropped roughly $10.1 million from Dec. 31 to $2.99 billion as of March 31. Deposits fell $133.5 million, or 3.8%, in the same stretch. The bank said the loan runoff was due to secondary-market refinancing and clients selling assets or businesses, not major customer exits.
West Bank president Brad Winterbottom told investors the bank was using “new opportunities at better interest rates” to fill in payoffs. He called deposit gathering “a very competitive market today.” Minnesota group president Brad Peters said recent M&A disruption in those areas could put targets on West’s radar, but said any sales would take time. Investing
Peers saw mixed results. First Interstate BancSystem, a bigger regional, had a first-quarter margin of 3.41%, but deposits dropped. Nicolet Bankshares, fresh off finishing its MidWestOne deal in February and gaining more size in the Upper Midwest, reported $15 million in first-quarter net income, pulled down by merger costs, and $52 million of core net income on a non-GAAP basis.
West focuses on local markets. Its West Bank unit has offices in Des Moines, Coralville, and some Minnesota cities, serving small businesses and consumers. That keeps it exposed to the competition for business deposits, but it doesn’t have the size of the bigger regionals.
Wall Street futures gained early, chip names bounced before Nvidia’s earnings, keeping the market tone firmer. WTBA trades on different drivers: deposit rates, loan runoff, business credit, and whatever’s next for interest rates.
The clean-credit view could shift. West said at March 31, estimated uninsured deposits made up about 27% of total deposits. Its commercial real estate portfolio was above regulatory concentration limits for stricter risk management, but West said it still fit its own internal policy. West’s model showed net interest income could drop 1.98% in a year if rates rose 100 basis points, or gain 1.37% if rates fall by 100 basis points. That keeps customer moves and the rate path as real risks.
West’s latest quarter has the dividend covered, with $4.2 million in common payouts and $10.6 million in net income for the first quarter. Looking ahead, the trick will be offsetting runoff by adding higher-yielding loans, all while avoiding overpaying to hold on to deposits.
