West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA), parent company of West Bank, is pleased to report that third quarter 2016 net income was $5.8 million, or $0.36 per diluted common share. This is the highest net income ever recorded by the Company for the third quarter of any year. This compares to third quarter 2015 net income of $5.4 million, or $0.34 per diluted common share. On October 26, 2016, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.17 per common share. This is equal to the highest quarterly dividend ever paid by the Company. The dividend is payable on November 23, 2016, to shareholders of record on November 9, 2016.

For the first nine months of 2016, net income was $17.0 million, or $1.05 per diluted common share, up from $15.8 million, or $0.98 per diluted common share, for the first nine months of 2015. The increase in net income for the third quarter and first nine months of 2016 compared to the same periods last year was primarily the result of higher net interest income, which was mainly due to loan growth.

“We are very pleased with the third quarter of 2016,” commented Dave Nelson, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. “Our key performance measures continue to be strong as compared to our peers. We are proud to say that this is the ninth consecutive quarter we have had record earnings for the respective quarter.”

Brad Winterbottom, West Bank President, said, “Our exceptional loan growth in the first nine months of 2016 has helped us grow net interest income by 6.7 percent compared to the first nine months of 2015. Outstanding loan balances at September 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. Our bankers continue to work very hard to foster new relationships and leverage existing ones.”

Eastern Iowa Market President, Jim Conard, commented, “We have seen 9.6 percent growth in the eastern Iowa loan portfolio from December 31, 2015 through September 30, 2016, which is primarily attributable to healthy loan demand in the active local commercial real estate market. Our clients have taken advantage of opportunities to add to their portfolios with financing provided by West Bank.”

“In Rochester, we are enjoying continued market share growth this year, which gives us momentum leading up to next month’s opening of our new Rochester bank building,” said Mike Zinser, Rochester Market President. “Our state-of-the-art, full-service bank will not only expand our physical presence in Rochester, but will also allow us to broaden our banking services.”  Zinser continued, “With last year’s addition of Natalie Jones to help build consumer banking in Rochester, we have now assembled a well-known and highly regarded consumer banking team.  The timing is right for us to continue our expansion as many valued households are now desiring a strong, local community bank. We expect business banking and consumer banking to complement each other in our effort to grow by simply providing what is important to our customers.”

The Company filed its report on Form 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission this morning. Please refer to that document for a more in-depth discussion of our results. The Form 10-Q document is 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 10:00 a.m. Central Time tomorrow, Friday, October 28, 2016. The telephone number for the conference call is 888-339-0814. A recording of the call will be available until November 11, 2016, by dialing 877-344-7529. The replay passcode is 10077826.

About West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ: WTBA)

West Bancorporation, Inc. is headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa. Serving Iowans since 1893, West Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of West Bancorporation, Inc., is a community bank that focuses on lending, deposit services, and trust services for consumers and small- to medium-sized businesses. West Bank has eight offices in the Des Moines metropolitan area, one office in Iowa City, Iowa, one office in Coralville, Iowa and one office in Rochester, Minnesota.