Western Alliance: High Margin Of Safety

Western Alliance Bancorporation remains a Buy despite a Q1 earnings hit from a $126.4M charge-off tied to a Leucadia Asset Management loan. WAL's core lending portfolio continues robust growth, with loans up 8% year-over-year to $59.1B, and net interest margin rising to 3.54%. Western Alliance said last week that a $99M loan was non-performing, raising concerns about asset quality. However, WAL's Q1 adjusted net charge-off ratio didn't show a major structural quality deterioration.