John Ron's questions to Western Alliance Bancorp (WAL) leadership • Q4 2024
Question
John Ron, on for Jared Shaw, asked for the portion of the securities book that is floating rate, any differences in spreads on new 2025 loan growth versus 2024, and the outlook for the size of the mortgage servicing portfolio.
Answer
Interim CEO Dale Gibbons stated that 15% of the securities portfolio is floating rate. He and Chief Banking Officer Timothy Bruckner noted they continuously seek the best risk-adjusted returns across categories like lot banking. Gibbons and Chief Banking Officer Stephen Curley explained the MSR portfolio size should remain relatively flat, as it is replenished over a few months after block sales.