First Western Financial reports Q4 EPS 3c, consensus 32c

Q4 net interest margin decreased 9 basis points to 2.37% from 2.46% in Q3, primarily due to growth in interest-bearing deposits during the quarter and continued pricing pressure due to a highly competitive deposit market. CEO Scott Wylie commented, “While an increase in our estimated provision for credit losses reduced our profitability in Q4, we continued to execute on our strategic priorities including maintaining disciplined expense control while adding new deposit relationships. Our deposit focus resulted in 18% annualized growth in total deposits during the quarter and further reduced our loan-to-deposit ratio to be in-line with our year-end goal of 100%, while our new loan production focused on clients that also bring deposits to the bank…While economic conditions remain uncertain, we will continue to prioritize prudent risk management and be conservative in new loan production while focusing on core deposit gathering, which should result in a modest level of asset growth until economic conditions improve…we believe we can deliver solid earnings growth in 2024 even with a modest level of balance sheet growth. Over the long-term, we continue to believe that we are well positioned to capitalize on our attractive markets to consistently add new clients, generate profitable growth, and further enhance the value of our franchise,”