West Bank parent posts record profit

West Bancorporation, corporate parent of West Bank in Coralville and Iowa City, on Thursday reported record third-quarter earnings.

The West Des Moines bank holding company posted net income of $5.8 million, or 36 cents per share, in the quarter that ended on Sept. 30, up from $5.4 million, or 34 cents per share, in the same period last year.

For the first nine months of 2016, net income was $17 million, or $1.05 per share, compared with $15.8 million, or 98 cents per share, for the first nine months of 2015.

West Bancorporation attributed the increase in third-quarter and year-to-date net income to higher net interest income, which was mainly due to loan growth.

'Our loan growth in the first nine months of 2016 has helped us grow net interest income by 6.7 percent, compared with the first nine months of 2015,” Brad Winterbottom, West Bank President, said in a news release. 'Outstanding loan balances on Sept. 30, 2016, were 11.5 percent higher than a year ago.

'While our loan growth during the third quarter of 2016 was modest, our pipeline of potential new business continues to be strong, and we have several construction loans yet to be funded.”

Jim Conard, West Bank Eastern Iowa market president, said in the same news release that the bank experienced 9.6 percent growth in its loan portfolio during the first nine months of 2016. Conard said the growth is primarily attributable to healthy loan demand in the active local commercial real estate market.

In addition to its Coralville and Iowa City offices, West Bank eight offices in the Des Moines metropolitan area and a branch in Rochester, Minn.