Western Alliance Cites B&C Writedown

Western Alliance Bancorporation, Las Vegas, has announced plans to write down its subprime mortgage-backed securities from $9.5 million to $4.9 million for the fourth quarter, but said the charge is expected to be offset. The offset will come from mark-to-market valuation benefits under Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 159, the company said. Western Alliance also announced that its earnings per share are expected to decline from $0.35 in the third quarter to $0.09 in the fourth quarter, primarily as a result of an increase in its loan loss provision to $13.9 million. The company can be found online at http://www.westernalliancebancorp.com.