West Coast Bancorp in Oregon Benefits from Tax Asset Valuation Allowance

West Coast Bancorp in Lake Oswego, Ore., benefitted greatly in the fourth quarter after reversing its remaining deferred tax asset valuation allowance.

The $2.4 billion-asset company reported on Friday that profit for the quarter jumped nine-fold from a year earlier, to $17.8 million. Its full-year profit of $33.8 million was more than 10 times higher than what it made in 2010.

During the fourth quarter, West Coast reversed its remaining deferred tax asset valuation allowance, generating a benefit for income taxes of $17.6 million for the quarter and $20.2 million for the year.

The company also prepaid $80 million in Federal Home Loan Bank term borrowings in the fourth quarter, incurring a $4.4 million charge. It also incurred roughly $1 million in expenses associated with branch closures and staff reductions. The bank said in August that it would close three of its 62 branches.

With these changes and an $88 million FHLB prepayment in the third quarter, West Coast projected that it would improve its pretax income by $5.8 million to $6 million in 2012.

Total average loans in the fourth quarter fell 4% from a year earlier, to $1.5 billion, because of higher-than-expected loan payoffs and a greater-than-expected resolution of nonaccrual loans.

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