Chief Executive Officer, President & Director, Western Alliance Bancorp
Search every verified Kenneth Vecchione interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Kenneth Vecchione, CEO of Western Alliance Bancorp, discussed the company's response to the COVID-19 pandemic during the first quarter 2020 earnings call. He stated that the bank began assessing risks in mid-January and accelerated plans in mid-February to prioritize asset quality, capital, and liquidity management. Vecchione noted that the bank dedicated over a quarter of its workforce to the Paycheck Protection Program, approving over 2,600 applications totaling $1.5 billion. He described the bank's approach to loan modifications as seeking to partner with clients by asking them to contribute liquidity, capital, or equity. Vecchione reported that the bank generated $163.4 million in operating pre-provision net revenue for the quarter, up 10% year-over-year, and recorded a provision for credit losses of $51.2 million. Vecchione stated that the bank had no direct energy or large retail mall exposure and that its construction and land development portfolio was under 9% of its loan book. He noted that the bank had direct dialogue with all borrowers with over $3 million in exposure, covering 86% of the portfolio. Vecchione expressed that his outlook had become more pessimistic since early March, citing the recent unemployment filings, and said he believed the downturn would be "deeper than I've ever experienced." He also commended the federal government's passage of the CARES Act and the Federal Reserve's actions to support liquidity.
“Good afternoon and welcome to Western Alliance's first quarter earnings call. At Western Alliance Bank our people remain healthy and engaged and despite the vast majority working from home for the last month continue to go above and beyond the call of duty to serve our customers and the communities we operate.”
“We started assessing potential risks and mitigants as early as mid‑January and as the breadth of the pandemic became apparent we accelerated implementing plans in mid‑February to prioritize asset quality, capital and liquidity management.”
“We are very pleased that Congress and the entire federal government came together to expeditiously pass the CARES Act and stimulus measures; additionally we applaud the Fed's actions to reduce interest rates and support liquidity in the financial markets through quantitative easing and new lending programs.”
“We dedicated over a quarter of our workforce to avail our clients of the Paycheck Protection Program and have successfully approved over 2,600 applications totaling $1.5 billion to date, and we anticipate funding approximately $150 million per day.”
“Our approach to loan modifications and deferment requests is to look for resourceful ways to partner with our clients — assessing their willingness and capacity to support their business interests, and asking our clients to contribute liquidity, capital or equity as an integral component to loan modifications so soluti...”
“Despite a uniquely challenging operating rate environment, Western Alliance generated $163.4 million of operating pre‑provision net revenue, up 10% year over year and 3% quarter to quarter; we recorded a provision for credit losses of $51.2 million for the quarter and net income of $84 million, or $0.83 per share.”
“We believe our well‑diversified business model and purposeful decisions over the past decade regarding conservative underwriting and sector allocations positioned the portfolio to withstand the current economic environment — at quarter end asset quality was stable, we have no direct energy or large retail mall exposure...”
“Western Alliance enters this crisis in a position of strength — we remain well capitalized and highly liquid with a CET1 ratio of 9.7% and total liquidity resources of over $10 billion.”
“We have had direct dialogue with all borrowers with over $3 million in exposure — or 86% of our portfolio — and are proactively engaging borrowers to evaluate and agree upon financial plans focused on liquidity management to conserve resources in anticipation of an elongated economic downturn.”
“My answer keeps evolving as information evolves and I am certainly more pessimistic than I was in early March given roughly 22.5 million people have recently filed for unemployment — I think it's going to be deeper than I've ever experienced.”
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