- Return on average assets reached 1.37% for the full year 2011.

- 2011 net income increased $30.6 million over 2010.

- During the fourth quarter of 2011, the Company reversed its remaining deferred tax asset valuation allowance generating a benefit for income taxes of $17.6 million in the fourth quarter and $20.2 million for full year 2011.

- In the fourth quarter, the Company recorded a $4.4 million charge in conjunction with prepayment of Federal Home Loan Bank ("FHLB") term borrowings and $1.0 million in expenses associated with completion of several cost reduction initiatives; these actions are expected to improve operating income in 2012.

- Total Nonperforming assets of $71 million, or 2.9% of total assets, at year end continued to decline from prior periods.

- Allowance for credit losses increased to 89% of nonperforming loans at year end 2011.

LAKE OSWEGO, Ore., Jan. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- West Coast Bancorp (NASDAQ: WCBO) ("Bancorp" or "Company"), the parent company of West Coast Bank ("Bank") and West Coast Trust Company, Inc., today announced net income of $17.8 million or $.83 per diluted share for the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to net income of $1.9 million or $.09 per diluted share in the same quarter of 2010. Net income for the full year 2011 was $33.8 million or $1.58 per diluted share, up from net income of $3.2 million or $.16 per diluted share in 2010.

"Net income of $33.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2011, compared to $3.2 million for the same period a year ago, reflects the consistent improvement in the core operating performance of the Company over the past two years and the impact of the reversal of the deferred tax asset valuation allowance", said Robert D. Sznewajs, President and Chief Executive Officer. "The Company's return on average assets continues to improve, reaching 1.37% for the year ended December 31, 2011. The combination of record levels of capital, actions taken in 2011 relating to the restructuring of FHLB borrowings, implementation of cost reduction and revenue enhancing initiatives, and other measures, positions the Bank well for 2012."

As shown in Table 1 below, the Company incurred approximately $1.0 million in expenses associated with its ongoing cost reduction initiatives in the quarter ended December 31, 2011. In addition, the Company prepaid $80 million of FHLB term borrowings in the fourth quarter, incurring a $4.4 million prepayment charge. As a result of this and the $88 million FHLB prepayment in the third quarter of 2011, the Company estimates a net reduction in interest expense related to term borrowings of approximately $3.2 million in 2012. The cumulative effect of all these actions is projected to improve pre-tax income by approximately $5.8 to $6.0 million in 2012.

Table 2 below shows summary financial information for the quarters and years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010.

Balance Sheet Overview

Fourth quarter 2011 average total loan balances of $1.49 billion declined 1% from the third quarter of 2011. The Company's new loan commitment originations in 2011 were approximately $300 million, a 50% increase from 2010 levels. Due to higher than expected loan payoffs and a greater resolution of nonaccrual loans than anticipated, total average loans in the fourth quarter of 2011 declined $59 million or 4% from the same quarter a year ago. A modest growth in commercial real estate loans was offset by reductions in all other categories. The reduction was particularly significant in the construction loan category, which contracted $26 million or 48%, reflecting the continued weak market conditions. Real estate mortgage and commercial loan categories declined at more modest rates.

Yield on total loans continued to decline as existing higher yielding loans paid off and new loan originations were at lower yields reflecting low market interest rates.

While the collective balance of cash equivalents and investment securities declined $111 million from September 30, 2011, the Company's year-end 2011 liquidity position remained strong. Combined cash equivalents and investment securities balance totaled $762 million or 34% of earning assets. As part of its efforts to support its net interest income and margin, the Company reduced its cash equivalents balance by $103 million while increasing its investment securities portfolio by $84 million since year end 2010. Over this period, the Company increased its investments in U.S. government agency, government guaranteed mortgage-backed, and municipal securities. The purchases consisted primarily of U.S. government agency securities with 3 to 5-year maturities and 10 and 15-year fully amortizing U.S. agency mortgage-backed securities. The expected duration of the investment portfolio was 2.5 years at year end 2011, compared to 2.7 years at year end 2010.

The fourth quarter yield on the collective cash equivalents and investment securities balance contracted slightly from the third quarter of 2011, reflecting investment securities purchases at yields lower than existing portfolio yields as well as accelerated premium amortization on mortgage-backed securities during the most recent quarter.

Fourth quarter 2011 average total deposits of $1.94 billion declined 2% or $37 million from the same quarter in 2010. With excess balance sheet liquidity, the Company continued to reduce higher cost time deposit balances, which declined $102 million or 36% from the fourth quarter of 2010. Time deposits represented 9% of the Company's average total deposits in the most recent quarter compared to 14% during the corresponding quarter of 2010.

Fourth quarter average total checking balances of $999 million grew $83 million or 9% year-over-year and represented 52% of the Company's average total deposits in the quarter. The continuing shift in the mix of deposit balances from time deposits to non-time deposits contributed to the reduction in the average rate paid on total deposits to .14% in the most recent quarter, a decline of 26 basis points from .40% in the fourth quarter last year and down 6 basis points on a sequential quarter basis.

As noted above, the Company prepaid $80 million in term FHLB borrowings in the most recent quarter. In addition, the Company elected to enter into $70 million in new term borrowings with the FHLB in order to maintain its interest rate sensitivity position. The rate on the new term borrowings is 1.19%, a reduction from 3.21% on the amount prepaid. The duration of the new term borrowings was approximately three and a half years, an increase from approximately two years for the $80 million that was prepaid.

Capital Position

The Company continued to improve its capital position as a result of its profitability, and aided by the reversal of the DTA valuation allowance in the most recent quarter. As shown in Table 6 below, at year end 2011, the Company's tier 1 and total risk-based capital ratios measured 19.36% and 20.62%, respectively, while its leverage ratio was 14.61%.

Operating Results

As shown in Table 7 below, fourth quarter 2011 net income of $17.8 million increased $15.9 million compared to net income of $1.9 million in the corresponding quarter of 2010. The Company recorded a benefit for income taxes of $17.6 million in the most recent quarter, primarily as a result of a full reversal of the deferred tax asset valuation allowance, as compared to a provision for income taxes of $3.5 million in the same quarter last year. Fourth quarter 2011 income before income taxes was $.1 million, a decline from $5.5 million in the same quarter of 2010. Excluding the $4.4 million FHLB prepayment charge and $1.0 million in expenses associated with cost reduction initiatives in the most recent quarter, income before income taxes was substantially unchanged from the fourth quarter of 2010. Table 7 also shows reconciliation to GAAP income before income taxes.

Fourth quarter 2011 net interest income of $17.9 million decreased $3.9 million from the same quarter in 2010, mainly as a result of the $4.4 million prepayment charge incurred in conjunction with prepayment of FHLB borrowings during the quarter. Compared to the third quarter of 2011, net interest income declined $1.4 million, which was primarily due to a $1.6 million higher prepayment charge in the most recent quarter compared to that in the third quarter. As shown in Table 8 below, adjusting for the prepayment charge, the fourth quarter 2011 net interest margin of 3.88% increased 14 basis points from the same quarter last year. This was due to the combined effect of cash equivalents being deployed in investment securities, the favorable impact from FHLB prepayments in third and fourth quarter 2011, and the lower rates on interest-bearing deposits more than offsetting the impact from lower loan balances and yields on total earning assets. The reduced interest rate on FHLB borrowings, resulting from the prepayments in late third quarter and early fourth quarter, caused the 10 basis points increase in the net interest margin over third quarter 2011.

As shown in Table 9 below, fourth quarter 2011 total noninterest income of $6.4 million declined $2.2 million from the same quarter last year. Fourth quarter deposit service charges declined $.7 million or 20% from the same quarter in 2010 primarily as a consequence of implementing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's ("FDIC") guidance on overdraft protection programs in the second quarter of 2011. Compared to the third quarter of 2011, deposit service charges decreased $.1 million or 4% in the fourth quarter 2011.

Fourth quarter payment systems-related revenues remained essentially unchanged from both the same quarter in 2010 and the prior quarter. The net loss on OREO increased to $2.0 million in the most recent quarter from a $1.2 million net loss in the fourth quarter 2010 and an immaterial loss in the third quarter of 2011. Excluding the total net loss on OREO, the Company's noninterest income decreased $1.4 million from the same quarter in 2010 and was substantially unchanged over sequential quarters. Gains on sales of investment securities declined $.4 million year-over-year in the fourth quarter. There was no other-than-temporary-impairment ("OTTI") charge on trust preferred securities held in the investment portfolio in the fourth quarter 2011.

As shown in Table 10 below, fourth quarter 2011 total noninterest expense of $22.7 million declined $.6 million from the same quarter in 2010. Other noninterest expense category declined $1.8 million year-over-year fourth quarter, which more than offset increases in employee benefits and professional expenses. Excluding expenses associated with cost reduction initiatives of $1.0 million in the fourth quarter, total noninterest expense declined $.8 million or 4% from the third of 2011 as the Company began to experience benefits from such efforts.

Income Taxes and Reversal of Deferred Tax Asset Valuation Allowance

Fourth quarter 2011 benefit for income taxes was $17.6 million, compared to a provision for income taxes of $3.5 million in the same quarter of 2010. The benefit for income taxes in the most recent quarter was primarily the result of fully reversing the Company's deferred tax asset valuation allowance. Based on a number of factors, including the Company's return to profitability over consecutive quarters, no deferred tax asset valuation allowance was deemed necessary as of December 31, 2011.

Credit Quality

Full year 2011 net charge-offs of $13.2 million declined by $3.8 million from $17.0 million in 2010. Net charge-offs increased in home equity and commercial real estate categories in 2011, but were more than offset by declines in commercial, construction real estate, mortgage, and nonstandard mortgage categories. The Company's future provisioning will continue to be heavily dependent on the local real estate market, level of market interest rates, and general economic conditions nationally and in areas where the Company does business.

The Company recorded a fourth quarter 2011 provision for credit losses of $1.5 million, a decline from $1.7 million in the same quarter of 2010 and up from $1.1 million in the third quarter of 2011. The fourth quarter 2011 net charge-offs of $2.5 million, or .67% of average loans on an annualized basis, declined from the corresponding quarter in 2010 and on a linked quarters basis, primarily due to declining commercial net charge-offs. The net-charge off activity in fourth quarter 2011 represented the lowest level of charge-offs experienced in the most recent eight quarters.

The allowance for credit losses was $36.0 million or 2.40% of total loans at December 31, 2011, compared to an allowance for credit losses of $41.1 million or 2.67% of total loans a year ago and $37.0 million or 2.46% of total loans at September 30, 2011. The lower allowance for credit losses relative to total loans reflected the improving trend in the overall risk profile of the loan portfolio. The allowance for credit losses declined largely due to additional impaired loans moving from being included in the general valuation allowance to being individually measured for impairment during the quarter, a reduction in the unallocated reserve, and slightly lower overall loan balances. The allowance for credit losses relative to nonperforming loans increased from 67% a year ago to 89% at December 31, 2011. The Company's estimate of an appropriate allowance for credit losses will continue to be closely related to the loan portfolio's credit quality performance trends and the region's economic conditions.

Total nonperforming assets were $71.4 million or 2.9% of total assets as of December 31, 2011, compared to $100.7 million and 4.1% of total assets a year ago and $83.1 million and 3.3% at the end of the third quarter.