Letter From Our CEO
Thank you for taking the time to review this report and learn how more at Western Alliance can work for you. Our core purpose is to provide deposit and credit solutions to businesses. We deliver through a team of knowledgeable and empowered bankers committed to providing personalized and responsive service that translates into long-lasting relationships.
As our Company continues to grow and evolve, our key corporate values remain constant:
- We place honesty, transparency, and integrity with our customers, co-workers, and regulators at the top.
- We view ourselves as a trusted partner with our customers.
- We strive to bring more passion and care to our customers than our competitors.
- We want to make a difference in the communities we serve.
The year 2016 was one of strong performance for Western Alliance. Financially we had more growth across the board: loans, deposits, capital, earnings and customers. Total assets increased 20% to $17.2 billion. This growth was supported by an increase of $500 million or 31% in regulatory capital. Our deposits and loans grew by 21% and 19%, respectively, during the year. Net income was $260 million and $2.50 per share compared to $193 million and $2.03 per share in 2015. Our 23% earnings per share growth, return on tangible common equity of 17.71%, return on assets of 1.61%, and 21% increase in tangible book value per share, combined to put us in the upper echelon of peers in terms of operating performance and were the basis for another excellent year for our shareholders.
Strategically, during 2016, we:
- Purchased General Electric’s domestic, limited service, hotel franchise finance business. This acquisition provided $1.3 billion in loans to Western Alliance, added a team of 20 talented bankers and brought us a great portfolio of new customers.
- Added 100 more dedicated bankers to serve you and three more strategic offices: Atlanta, Menlo Park and San Francisco.
- Implemented a comprehensive upgrade of our core data processing platform. During the fourth quarter I know this conversion caused disruption and a need for training for some of our customers. For this, I apologize. However, with these changes we are moving forward with enhanced user functionality, cybersecurity and product offerings.
- Provided more to our underserved communities, including:
- Originating $180 million in community development loans.
- Making $28 million in new community investments and donations.
- Donating 10,000 hours of employee volunteer time to community organizations.
- Originating 31% of our small business loans in low- and low-to-moderate income areas.
Looking forward to 2017, we are focused on: continuing to innovate with our customers in mind, investing in our employees, outworking our competition, adding value to our customers and shareholders, and being a great community asset.
I wish to thank our employees who volunteered to tell our story of more in this report as well as the 1,500 other dedicated employees who I get to work with every day. I’m appreciative of our talented and supportive Board of Directors that has provided us with oversight, guidance and vision.
Finally, the biggest thank you is to our customers who confide in us to be their trusted partner in business.
Sincerely,
Robert G. Sarver