Western Alliance loses some ties to state

Western Alliance Bancorporation, the holding company for banks in three states, is losing some Nevada ties but bank officers say Bank of Nevada remains a key part of the company.

The company late last year moved its corporate headquarters from Las Vegas to Phoenix, where chairman and chief executive officer Robert Sarver has lived for years. He is a key owner of the National Basketball Association's Phoenix Suns.

At year's end 2010, Western Alliance subsidiary First Independent Bank of Reno was merged with Alliance Bank of Arizona. The Arizona bank was renamed Western Alliance Bank and kept its Arizona charter.

That is part of corporate streamlining, Chief Financial Officer Dale Gibbons said.

"We used to have five bank charters, and we now have three," he said. The Reno bank continues to do business as First Independent.

Gibbons, who initially worked in Las Vegas after joining Western Alliance, has relocated to Arizona. Ken Vecchione, president and chief operating officer of the parent company, also works out of Phoenix.

Larry Woodrum, the founding CEO of what became Bank of Nevada, has left the bank's board, along with six others.

Woodrum co-founded the bank with backing from casino executive William Boyd and others in 1994. However, Bruce Hendricks, CEO of Bank of Nevada, said Woodrum is now in Salt Lake City. In addition, Western Alliance trimmed all its bank boards for efficiency, bank officers said.

The Bank of Nevada board was cut to 10 from 17, but still has Nevada directors, including Don Snyder and Jim Nave. More importantly, seven of the 13 holding company board members are Nevadans.

Nevada's economic slump was not a factor in the decision to move, Gibbons said.

Bank of Nevada remains the second-largest chartered in Nevada, behind Nevada State Bank. Bank of Nevada has $2.8 billion in assets, and Nevada State, a subsidiary of Zions Bancorporation, has $4.2 billion.

Contact reporter John G. Edwards at
jedwards@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0420.