: Western Alliance stock falls more than 5% after bank narrowly misses profit expectations, but says it is on track to ‘return to normal’

Shares of Western Alliance Bancorp. WAL dropped more than 5% in the extended session Tuesday after the Phoenix bank narrowly missed quarterly per-share earnings expectations but assured investors it had bolstered its liquidity. Western Alliance said it earned $215.7 million, or $1.96 a share, in the second quarter, compared with $260.2 million, or $2.39 a share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue rose 21% to $669.3 million, the bank said. “Western Alliance continued to successfully execute its balance sheet repositioning strategy and return to normal business operations by bolstering liquidity and capital, sustaining profitability and expanding core client relationships,” Chief Executive Kenneth A. Vecchione said in a statement. Quarterly deposit growth of $3.5 billion lowered the bank’s loan-to-deposit ratio to 94%, with total insured and collateralized deposits representing 81% of deposits and available liquidity coverage of 276% of uninsured deposits, Vecchione said. Shares of Western Alliance ended the regular trading day up more than 8%.

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