Southwest Bancorp Inc. Reports 2009 Earnings

STILLWATER, Okla., Jan. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Southwest Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: OKSB), (“Southwest”), today reported net income available to common shareholders of $2.5 million, or $0.17 per diluted share for the fourth quarter 2009, compared to $3.0 million, or $0.20 per diluted share for the fourth quarter of 2008.  Net income available to common shareholders for the year ended December 31, 2009 was $8.8 million, or $0.60 per diluted share, compared to $14.7 million, or $1.00 per diluted share for the year ended December 31, 2008.  At December 31, 2009, total assets were $3.1 billion.  

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Rick Green, Southwest Bancorp’s President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “Southwest’s 2009 results demonstrate our ability to maintain top line revenue, effectively manage noninterest expenses, and take steps to control risk."

Southwest’s nonperforming assets increased significantly during the year as the economy in general, and commercial real estate values in particular, continued to show weakness.  We recorded provisions for losses that were over $22 million greater than our net charge offs for the year.  At December 31, 2009, the allowance for loan losses of $62.4 million was 2.46% of portfolio loans, excluding loans covered by FDIC loss sharing agreements.  Each of our nonaccrual loans is valued on an individual basis using primarily the fair value of collateral or estimated future cash flows, with a specific allowance recorded based on the result.

On January 27, 2010, our principal banking subsidiary, Stillwater National Bank and Trust Company (“Stillwater National”) entered into a formal agreement with the United States Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) relating to its levels of commercial real estate lending and problem assets. The OCC is the primary regulator for national banks. Additional information regarding this agreement is included later in this release under the heading “Regulatory Matters.”

The economy continues to show weakness.  In 2010 our goals are to work diligently to identify and resolve problem credits, reduce our commercial lending concentrations, and comply with our agreement with the OCC while continuing to produce consistent net interest income.