Western Alliance Pares Decline After Updating Deposit Data

(Bloomberg) -- Western Alliance Bancorp pared earlier declines after saying deposits fell 11% in the first quarter to $47.6 billion, a smaller drop than some analysts had estimated. 

The disclosure eased concern about a statement from the company on Tuesday that failed to update the deposit figure. Deposits balances have increased this month, cutting this year's decline to 9%. 

“Investors were disappointed by the amount of detail initially given out,” Adam Crisafulli, an analyst at Vital Knowledge, said in a note to clients. “But this new color should be received well by the market.”

The shares fell 12% at 1:47 p.m. in New York, after dropping as much as 19% earlier Wednesday. 

“The bank experienced elevated net deposit outflows surrounding the announcements of the Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank closures in mid-March,” Western Alliance said in a filing Wednesday. The withdrawals were “concentrated primarily in our Technology and Innovation and Settlement Services groups, with net outflows falling sharply and returning to normalized levels by March 17.” 

Read More: Western Alliance Total Deposits Fell to $47.6b in First Quarter

David Chiaverini, an analyst at Wedbush Securities Inc., had estimated that deposits at Western Alliance could have dropped about 15% in the first quarter, compared with a prior estimate of a 9% decline.

(Updates with analysts' commentary and share price starting in the second paragraph.)

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