Poised to Benefit as Market Turns
July 28, 2009
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Forward-Looking Information
This presentation contains forward-looking statements that relate to expectations, beliefs,
projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar expressions
concerning matters that are not historical facts. The forward-looking statements contained herein
reflect our current views about future events and financial performance and are subject to risks,
uncertainties, assumptions and changes in circumstances that may cause our actual results to differ
significantly from historical results and those expressed in any forward-looking statement. Some
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical or expected results include:
factors listed in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K as filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission; changes in general economic conditions, either nationally or locally in the areas in which
we conduct or will conduct our business; inflation, interest rate, market and monetary fluctuations;
increases in competitive pressures among financial institutions and businesses offering similar
products and services; higher defaults on our loan portfolio than we expect; changes in management’s
estimate of the adequacy of the allowance for loan losses; legislative or regulatory changes or
changes in accounting principles, policies or guidelines; management’s estimates and projections of
interest rates and interest rate policy; the execution of our business plan; and other factors affecting
the financial services industry generally or the banking industry in particular.
We do not intend and disclaim any duty or obligation to update or revise any industry information
or forward-looking statements set forth in this presentation to reflect new information, future events or
otherwise.
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Why WAL?
Right time, right place, right management team
Management track record of building franchise value in down markets and realizing
shareholder value in good markets
• Expansion through strong organic growth and acquisitions
Located in desirable markets with solid long term growth prospects
• #4 market share in Nevada, #11 in Arizona and #11 in San Diego
Attractive commercial banking business
• Low cost and growing deposit base with a high percentage of non-interest bearing deposits
• Ability to expand by attracting seasoned bankers with long-standing relationships
Proactive in dealing with challenges
• Credit performance better than regional peers
Attractive valuation
Limited exposure to additional securities impairment charges and goodwill write-offs
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Current Snapshot
Financial Highlights (as of 6/30/09) First Independent
Bank of Nevada
Assets: $5.7 Billion UT
Loans: $4.0 Billion Reno
Alta Alliance NV
Customer Funds: $4.7 Billion Bank
Oakland
Tang. Common: $437 Million CA
Bank of Nevada
TARP Preferred: $140 Million Las Vegas
41 branches across 5 bank subsidiaries
in 3 states (AZ, CA, and NV) AZ
Alliance Bank
of Arizona
Torrey Pines
Bank Phoenix
Avg. deposits per branch: $107 Million
San Diego
26 branches less than 5 years old Tucson
Deposits
Successfully built through de-novo (Dollars in millions) State Branches Loans Deposits / Branch
Bank of Nevada NV 15 $2,210 $2,107 $140
start-ups and acquisitions
1 FDIC assisted transaction First Independent
Bank of Nevada
NV 6 365 443 74
3 whole bank acquisitions Alliance Bank of AZ 11 688 804 73
Arizona
3 de novo start-ups Torrey Pines Bank CA 7 707 889 127
2 asset manager acquisitions Alta Alliance Bank CA 2 103 157 79
1 trust co. acquisition
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Experienced Management Team
Member Title Years Previous Shares*
Robert Sarver Chair & CEO 25+ Zions, SW Val. Partners 2,616,744
Dale Gibbons CFO 25+ Zions, First Interstate 72,299
Duane Froeschle CCO 25+ Natl Bank Arizona 137,327
Merrill Wall CAO 25+ Zions, Ahmanson 70,813
Bruce Hendricks So. Nevada 25+ 1st Sec, Amer. Comrce 28,526
Grant Markham No. Nevada 25+ Sun State, First Interste 119.171
Jim Lundy Arizona 25+ Natl Bank Arizona 123,033
Gary Cady So. California 25+ Cal. Bank & Trust 59,077
Arnold Grisham No. California 25+ Korn/Ferry, Wells Fargo 19,435
Dennis Miller Asset Mgmt 25+ United Bank Arizona 186,800
Hal Erskine PartnersFirst 25+ MBNA & DuPont 40,000
*Excludes unexercised options and warrants
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Proactive in Dealing with Challenges
Avoided subprime and condominium conversions
Limited residential land and gaming exposure
Held in-house single project lending limit to $15 million despite increase in legal lending
Credit limit to over $100 million during the past five years
Anticipated R.E. downturn in ‘06 and began identifying and eliminating weakest credits
Conservative underwriting with mean LTVs at origination of 41% on resi. land and 62%
for homes
Addressed securities portfolio concerns through aggressive writedowns
Book Value Mkt. Value
Private Label MBS
AAA 17.0 15.5
A/BBB 12.0 10.2
29.0 25.7
Securities Publicly Traded ARPS
Bank of America 5.9 13.6
Zions 3.4 4.5
Morgan Stanley 2.2 2.9
11.5 21.0
Trust Preferred
JP Morgan 30.1 15.3
State Street 2.0 1.2
CDO's ($31 million current) 4.0 0.9
36.1 17.4
Municipals - AAA/BBB (17 issuers) 20.9 20.8
Total 97.5 84.9
Raised $80 million of equity through two private placements in 2008
Capital In November 2008, added $140 million of TARP preferred to strengthen the balance
sheet
Completed $200 million common equity raise in May of 2009
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Competitive Advantages
Over Large National Banks Over Small Community Banks
Flexibility and responsiveness Broader, more sophisticated
Deeper market knowledge product and service array
Local decision making Lower funding cost
Top management access Larger credit capacity
Strong local boards of directors Higher visibility / more offices
Significant employee and board Experienced professionals,
ownership large bank expertise
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Balanced Loan Composition
Total Loan Composition Non-Owner Occupied CRE Loans (by Location)
Residential,
Consumer, 2% Clark NV, 49%
Commercial, 15%
19%
Non-Owner
Occupied CRE,
32% Other, 13%
San Diego CA,
12%
Bay Area, 4%
Owner-
Occupied CRE, Maricopa AZ, Washoe NV,
Pima AZ, 10%
32% 5% 7%
Total Loans ($ in millions) Non-Owner Occupied CRE Loans (by Type)
$4,500
$4,096 $4,029
$4,000
$3,633
Multi-Family,
$3,500 Warehouse,
9% Other, 4%
11%
$3,003
$3,000 Office, 20%
$2,500
Commercial
$2,000 $1,793 Land, 20%
Residential
$1,500 Retail, 19% Land, 17%
$1,000
2005 2006 2007 2008 2Q09
Total Loans
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Curtailing NPA Migration
200,000
Non-Accrual + OREO
175,000 30+ Days Past Due (Leading Indicator)
150,000
125,000
100,000
75,000
50,000
25,000
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Attractive Deposit Franchise
High proportion of noninterest bearing demand deposits provides strong,
low-cost funding base for wide margins
Deposit Composition - 6/30/09 Deposit Trends ($ in millions)
2005 – 2009Q2 Total Deposit CAGR – 18.9%
$5,000
$4,392
$4,500
$4,000 $3,652 740
Interest $3,547
$3,400
Time Deposits Bearing $3,500
29.2% Demand
6.7% $3,000
$2,394
$2,500
$2,000
$1,500
Non-Interest
Bearing
$1,000
Savings & Demand
Money Market 25.2% $500
38.8%
$0
2005 2006 2007 2008 2Q09
Total Deposits
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Peer Comparison: Deposit Mix
25.2
22.5 53.0 62.4
47.4 54.6
45.6 Percentile
18.4
75 to 90
40.6 50 to 75
25 to 50
13.4 42.9 10 to 25
10.0 33.9 6/30/09
36.1
4.7 27.6 30.3
29.2
DDA Now/MMA/Sav CDs
Peer group comprised of 80 publically held holding companies with assets
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between $3 and $10 billion at March 31, 2009
Positioned to Take Market Share
June 30, 2008, $ in millions
Nevada Deposit Market Share Arizona Deposit Market Share
Rank Institution Deposits Share (%) Rank Institution Deposits Share (%)
1 Bank of America 9,683 26.4 1 JPMorgan Chase 19,804 26.7
2 Wells Fargo 9,172 25.0 2 Wells Fargo 17,302 23.3
2Q09
3 Zions Bancorp 4,808 13.1 3 Bank of America 16,176 21.8
4 Western Alliance 2,388 6.5 2,550 4 Zions Bancorp 3,975 5.4
5 U.S. Bancorp 1,760 4.8 5 Compass 3,000 4.0
6 Citibank 1,491 4.1 6 Marshall & Ilsley 2,907 3.9
7 JPMorgan Chase 1,361 3.7 7 Meridian 1,544 2.1
8 Community Bancorp 1,256 3.4 8 Capitol Bancorp 789 1.1
9 Colonial BancGroup 683 1.9 9 Northern Trust 753 1.0 2Q09
10 Irwin Financial 457 1.2 10 U.S. Bancorp 699 0.9
Total 36,702 100.0 11 Western Alliance 657 0.9 804
Total 74,211 100.0
San Diego Deposit Market Share Projected Population Growth (’08 – ’13)
Rank Institution Deposits Share (%)
1 Wells Fargo 10,601 22.7 25.0%
2 Bank of America 8,550 18.3
20.0%
3 JPMorgan Chase 7,506 16.1 20.0%
17.5%
4 Mitsubishi 4,313 9.3
5 Zions Bancorp 2,455 5.3 15.0%
6 FBOP Corp. 2,057 4.4
7 U.S. Bancorp 2,008 4.3 10.0%
8 Citibank 1,240 2.7 6.3%
9 PacWest Bancorp 1,025 2.2 5.0% 3.7%
2Q09
10 Comerica 637 1.4
11 Western Alliance 540 1.2 889 0.0%
NV AZ San Diego U.S.
Total 45,715 100.0
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WAL Balance Sheet Growth
Western Alliance Rank Among Public
Banks & Thrifts
Date Assets (millions) Rank
12/31/02* $ 872 # 333
12/31/05 $ 2,857 # 158
3/31/09 $ 5,267 # 97
* WAL IPO on 6/30/05
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Strong, Stable Margin Premium
4.60
4.50
4.40
4.40 4.36
4.24 4.27
4.20
56 bps
4.00
3.84
3.78 85 bps
3.80
3.64
3.60 3.54
3.42
3.40
3.20
2005 2006 2007 2008 1Q09*
Western Alliance
Publicly held banks, assets $3b-$10b
14 *note: WAL margin reflects 1H09, peers 1Q09
Peer Comparison: Interest Margin
6.1 2.8 4.4
4.3
5.9 2.5
3.8 Percentile
75 to 90
5.5
50 to 75
1.9 3.3 25 to 50
10 to 25
5.2
1.6 1.6 6/30/09
2.8
5.0
4.8 1.2 2.4
Earning Assets Cost of Funding Interest Margin
Peer group comprised of 80 publically held holding companies with assets
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between $3 and $10 billion at March 31, 2009
Improved Capital Position - WAL
(millions)
12/31/08 6/30/09
Tangible Common $270 $437
Tier I Capital $457 $613
Total Capital $576 $732
TCE Ratio 5.3% 7.7%
Tier I Common RBC 5.9% 9.4%
Tier I Leverage 8.9% 11.7%
Total Capital 12.3% 15.7%
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Peer Comparison: Capital
11.7
9.5 11.2 16.2
15.7
10.2
14.9
7.9 7.7
Percentile
75 to 90
8.9 50 to 75
13.6
6.5 25 to 50
10 to 25
7.9
6/30/09
5.1 11.9
4.0 6.3 10.8
Tang Common Equity Tier 1 Leverage Total Capital
Peer group comprised of 80 publically held holding companies with assets
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between $3 and $10 billion at March 31, 2009
SCAP Stress Test Highlights
Conducted capital stress test modeled after the
Supervisory Capital Assessment Program required of 19
largest domestic institutions with assets over $100 billion
Employed maximum presumed two-year loan loss rate
under the “More Adverse” scenario, which resulted in
10% cumulative losses when weighted by our loan mix
Tier I Common Risk-Based Capital ratio remained above
6% after stress at 12/31/10, required level of 4%
Actual first half 2009 loan loss rate of 2.4% annualized,
or less than half the presumed loss rate for the two year
period 2009 - 2010
Tier I Common RBC ratio estimated to remain above 9%
at 12/31/10, if future losses continue at same level
incurred during first half 2009
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Solid Tsunami WAL
Continued strong operating performance: growing
franchise, enviable deposit mix, stable margin,
increasing cash flow
Cleaned up investment portfolio, mark to market
gain at 6/30/09, first time since IPO
Demonstrated superior loan underwriting, credit
performance metrics
Capable of withstanding dramatically increased
losses, during exceptional stress scenario from
strong operating cash flow and capital position
Well positioned to leverage distressed environment,
acquisition of experienced relationship managers,
financial institutions
Valuation at tangible book, not inflated by
unrecognized securities losses
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Landscape of Opportunities
The marketplace is rich with opportunities for WAL
Competitors Under Pressure Growth Opportunities
Large national Attempting to consolidate Customer acquisitions
recent deals or
banks preoccupied with internal Banker team acquisitions
issues
Lending at relative Better lending terms
standstill at local
business level Improve operating
efficiency
Dealing with layoffs and
Out-of-footprint restructuring Failed bank / deposit
regionals acquisitions
Regulatory pressures
Retreat from markets Opportunistic acquisitions
due to lack of local of stressed but not failing
knowledge, risk aversion institutions
Balance sheet stress /
Small local banks credit Population growth and
density / economic
Capital outlets drying up recovery
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July 28, 2009
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