West Bancorporation Inc Company Profile

West Bank offers a full range of deposit services, including checking, savings, money market accounts and time certificates of deposit. West Bank also offers internet, mobile banking and treasury management services, which help to meet the banking needs of its customers and communities. Treasury management services offered to business customers include cash management, client-generated automated clearing house transactions, remote deposit and fraud protection services. Also offered are merchant credit card processing and corporate credit cards.

West Banks business strategy emphasizes strong business and personal relationships between West Bank and its customers and the delivery of products and services that meet the individualized needs of those customers. West Bank also emphasizes strong cost controls, while striving to achieve an above average return on equity and return on assets. To accomplish these goals, West Bank focuses on small- to medium-sized businesses in the local markets that traditionally wish to develop an exclusive relationship with a single bank. West Bank has the size to provide the personal attention required by local business owners and the financial expertise and entrepreneurial attitude to help businesses meet their financial service needs.

Some of West Banks competitors are locally controlled, while others are regional, national or international companies. The larger national or regional banks have certain competitive advantages due to their ability to undertake substantial advertising campaigns and allocate their investment assets to out-of-market geographic regions with potentially higher returns. Such banks also offer certain services, for example, international and conduit financing transactions, which are not offered directly by West Bank. These larger banking organizations also have much higher legal lending limits than West Bank, and therefore, may be better able to service large regional, national and global commercial customers.

In order to compete to the fullest extent possible with the other financial institutions in its primary market areas, West Bank uses the flexibility and knowledge of its local management, Board of Directors and community advisors. West Bank seeks to capitalize on customers desire to do business with a local institution. This includes emphasizing specialized services, local promotional activities, and personal contacts by West Banks officers, directors and employees. In particular, West Bank competes for loans primarily by offering competitive interest rates, experienced lending personnel with local decision-making authority, flexible loan arrangements, quality products and services, and proactive relationship management. West Bank competes for deposits principally by offering depositors a variety of deposit programs, convenient office locations and hours and other personalized services.

West Bank also competes with the general financial markets for funds. Yields on corporate and government debt securities and commercial paper affect West Banks ability to attract and hold deposits. West Bank also competes for funds with money market accounts and similar investment vehicles offered by brokerage firms, mutual fund companies, internet banks and others. The competition for these funds is based almost exclusively on yields to customers.