Company: WAL-PA
Filing Date: 2025-02-25
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001212545-25-000090
Chunk: 56

Company: WESTERN ALLIANCE BANCORPORATION
Filing Date: 2025-02-25
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 56
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 federal law may substantially increase the time and expense associated with the foreclosure process or prevent us from foreclosing at all. A number of states in recent years have either considered or adopted foreclosure reform laws that make it substantially more difficult and expensive for lenders to foreclose on properties in default. If new state or federal laws or regulations are ultimately enacted that significantly raise the cost of foreclosure or raise outright barriers, it could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Strategic Risks

Our future success depends on our ability to compete effectively in a highly competitive and rapidly evolving market.

We face substantial competition in all phases of our operations from a variety of different competitors. Our competitors, including money center banks, national and regional commercial banks, community banks, thrift institutions, mutual savings banks, credit unions, finance companies, insurance companies, securities dealers, brokers, mortgage bankers, investment advisors, money market mutual funds, financial technology companies and other financial service organizations including private credit funds, compete with lending and deposit-gathering services offered by us. Increased competition in our markets or our inability to compete effectively may result in reduced loans and deposits or less favorable pricing.

In particular, we have experienced intense price and terms competition in some of the lending lines of business and deposits in recent years. Many of these competing institutions have much greater financial and marketing resources than we have. Due to their size and brand recognition, larger competitors can achieve economies of scale and may offer a broader range of products and services or more attractive pricing than us. In addition, some of the non-bank financial services organizations we compete with are not subject to the same degree of regulation as is imposed on bank holding companies and federally insured depository institutions. As a result, these non-bank competitors have certain advantages over us in accessing funding and in providing various services.

The banking business in our primary market areas is very competitive, and the level of competition facing us may increase further, which may limit our asset growth and financial results. In particular, our predominate source of revenue is net interest income. Therefore, if we are unable to compete effectively, including sustaining loan and deposit growth at our historical levels, our business and results of operations may be adversely affected.

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The financial services industry is also facing increasing competitive pressure from the introduction of disruptive new technologies such as blockchain and digital payments, often by non-traditional competitors and financial technology companies. Among other things, technology and other changes are allowing customers to complete financial transactions that historically have involved banks at one or both ends of