First Western Reports Second Quarter 2025 Financial Results

Second Quarter 2025 Summary

• Total loans increased $115 million, or 4.7%, from $2.43 billion as of Q1 2025 to $2.54 billion as of Q2 2025

• Net interest margin increased 6 basis points from 2.61% in Q1 2025 to 2.67% in Q2 2025

• Net interest income increased $0.4 million from $17.5 million in Q1 2025 to $17.9 million in Q2 2025

• Non-interest expense decreased $0.3 million from $19.4 million in Q1 2025 to $19.1 million in Q2 2025

• Net income available to common shareholders of $2.5 million, or $0.26 per diluted share, in Q2 2025
  

DENVER, July 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Western Financial, Inc. (“First Western” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: MYFW), today reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2025.

Net income available to common shareholders was $2.5 million, or $0.26 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2025. This compares to net income of $4.2 million, or $0.43 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2025, and net income of $1.1 million, or $0.11 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2024.

Scott C. Wylie, CEO of First Western, commented, “We executed well in the second quarter and saw positive trends in many areas including loan and deposit growth, an expansion in our net interest margin, well managed expenses, and stable asset quality. We were able to redeploy the cash from the sale of our two largest OREO properties into loan production and securities purchases, which positively impacted our net interest margin. While maintaining our disciplined underwriting and pricing criteria, we had a very strong quarter of loan production, which was well diversified across our markets and loan portfolios. Our strong loan production reflects the healthy economic conditions we continue to see across our markets, as well as the contribution of banking talent we have added over the past few years.

“Our loan and deposit pipelines remain healthy and we expect to see solid balance sheet growth over the second half of the year, along with continued expansion in our net interest margin while we continue to maintain tight expense control. We believe this will continue to result in solid financial performance for our shareholders as we move through the year,” said Mr. Wylie.

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⁽¹⁾ Represents a Non-GAAP financial measure. See “Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for a reconciliation of our Non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure.

Operating Results for the Second Quarter 2025

Revenue

Total income before non-interest expense was $22.4 million for the second quarter of 2025, a decrease of 9.3% from $24.7 million for the first quarter of 2025. Gross revenue⁽¹⁾ was $24.2 million for the second quarter of 2025, a decrease of 1.6% from $24.6 million for the first quarter of 2025. Relative to the first quarter of 2025, the decrease in total income before non-interest expense was primarily driven by an increase in the Provision for credit losses and decreases in Net gain on loans held for sale and Net gain on other real estate owned, partially offset by an increase in Net interest income. Relative to the second quarter of 2024, total income before non-interest expense increased 9.8% from $20.4 million and Gross revenue increased 4.8% from $23.1 million. Relative to the second quarter of 2024, the increase in total income before non-interest expense was primarily driven by an increase in Net interest income and decrease in the Provision for credit losses, partially offset by a decrease in Net gain on mortgage loans.

⁽¹⁾ Represents a Non-GAAP financial measure. See “Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for a reconciliation of our Non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure.

Net Interest Margin

Net interest margin for the second quarter of 2025 increased 6 basis points to 2.67% from 2.61% reported in the first quarter of 2025, primarily due to a decrease in cost of deposits and increase in interest-earning assets yield. The decrease in cost of deposits was primarily due to lower rates on time deposits and the increase in interest-earning assets yield was primarily due to an improved mix in average interest-earning asset balances.

The yield on interest-earning assets increased 4 basis points to 5.61% from 5.57% reported in the first quarter of 2025 and the cost of interest-bearing liabilities decreased 2 basis points to 3.63% from 3.65% reported in the first quarter of 2025.

Relative to the second quarter of 2024, net interest margin increased 32 basis points from 2.35%, primarily due to a 42 basis point decrease in total cost of funds as a result of the lower interest rate environment.

Net Interest Income

Net interest income for the second quarter of 2025 was $17.9 million, an increase of 2.3% from $17.5 million for the first quarter of 2025. The increase quarter over quarter was primarily driven by a 6 basis point increase in net interest margin, offset partially by a decline in average interest-earning assets. Relative to the second quarter of 2024, net interest income increased 13.3% from $15.8 million. The increase compared to the second quarter of 2024 was primarily driven by a 32 basis point increase in net interest margin, offset partially by a decline in average interest-earnings assets.

Non-interest Income

Non-interest income for the second quarter of 2025 was $6.3 million, a decrease of 13.7% from $7.3 million in the first quarter of 2025. The decrease was driven primarily by decreases in Net gain on other real estate owned, Net gain on loans held for sale, and Risk management and insurance fees, partially offset by an increase in Net gain on mortgage loans due to an increase in origination volume. The first quarter of 2025 included a Net gain on other real estate of $0.5 million due to the sale of our two largest OREO properties as well as a Net gain on loans held for sale of $0.2 million due to the reversal of a previous quarter's write-down on a non-performing loan.

Relative to the second quarter of 2024, non-interest income decreased $0.7 million, driven primarily by a decrease in Net gain on mortgage loans due to a decrease in origination volume.

Non-interest Expense

Non-interest expense for the second quarter of 2025 was $19.1 million, a decrease of 1.5% from $19.4 million in the first quarter of 2025. The decrease was primarily driven by a decrease in Salaries and employee benefits due to the seasonality of payroll taxes, partially offset by an increase in Professional services.

Relative to the second quarter of 2024, non-interest expense increased 0.5% from $19.0 million, driven primarily by an increase in Occupancy and equipment expenses, partially offset by a decrease in Salaries and employee benefits.

The Company’s efficiency ratio⁽¹⁾ was 78.8% in the second quarter of 2025, compared with 79.2% in the first quarter of 2025 and 82.3% in the second quarter of 2024.

⁽¹⁾ Represents a Non-GAAP financial measure. See “Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for a reconciliation of our Non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure.

Income Taxes

The Company recorded Income tax expense of $0.8 million for the second quarter of 2025, compared to $1.2 million for the first quarter of 2025, and $0.3 million for the second quarter of 2024.

Loans

Total loans held for investment were $2.54 billion as of June 30, 2025, an increase of $115 million or 4.7% compared to March 31, 2025. Changes in the quarter included net growth in the Cash, securities, and other and 1-4 family residential portfolios, partially offset by a net decrease in the Construction and development portfolio. Relative to the second quarter of 2024, total loans held for investment increased from $2.46 billion as of June 30, 2024, primarily driven by net growth in the 1-4 family residential and Non-owner occupied commercial real estate portfolios, partially offset by net decreases in the Construction and development and Commercial and industrial portfolios.

Deposits

Total deposits were $2.53 billion as of June 30, 2025, an increase of 0.4% from $2.52 billion as of March 31, 2025. Relative to the second quarter of 2024, total deposits increased from $2.41 billion as of June 30, 2024, driven primarily by an increase in Interest-bearing deposits.

Borrowings

Federal Home Loan Bank (“FHLB”) and Federal Reserve borrowings were a combined $163.4 million as of June 30, 2025, an increase of $111.8 million from $51.6 million as of March 31, 2025. The change when compared to March 31, 2025 was primarily driven by net draws on the Company's FHLB line of credit as a result of interest-earning asset growth during the quarter. Relative to the second quarter of 2024, borrowings decreased $28.1 million from $191.5 million as of June 30, 2024. The decrease in borrowings from June 30, 2024 was primarily driven by Bank Term Funding Program ("BTFP") payoffs and net pay downs on the Company's FHLB line of credit as a result of deposit growth.

Subordinated notes were $44.7 million as of June 30, 2025, compared to $44.6 million as of March 31, 2025. Subordinated notes decreased $7.8 million from $52.5 million as of June 30, 2024. Relative to the second quarter of 2024, the decrease was primarily due to the redemption of $8.0 million of subordinated notes that became eligible to call in the first quarter of 2025.

Assets Under Management

Assets Under Management (“AUM”) was $7.50 billion as of June 30, 2025, an increase of $320 million, or 4.5%, from $7.18 billion as of March 31, 2025. The increase in AUM during the quarter was primarily attributable to improving market conditions. Compared to June 30, 2024, total AUM increased 6.9% from $7.01 billion.

Credit Quality

Non-performing assets totaled $18.8 million, or 0.62% of Total assets, as of June 30, 2025, compared to $17.1 million, or 0.59% of total assets, as of March 31, 2025. The increase in non-performing assets during the quarter was due to additions to non-performing loans. As of June 30, 2024, non-performing assets totaled $49.3 million, or 1.68% of total assets. Relative to the second quarter of 2024, the decrease in non-performing assets was primarily driven by the sale of two OREO properties, partially offset by additions to non-performing loans. OREO totaled $4.4 million as of June 30, 2025 and March 31, 2025, a decrease of $7.0 million from $11.4 million as of June 30, 2024.

Non-performing loans totaled $14.4 million as of June 30, 2025, an increase of $1.6 million from $12.8 million as of March 31, 2025. The increase was due to the addition of one credit relationship that is in active workout. This relationship is secured by a residential real estate asset, business assets, and a personal guarantee. As of June 30, 2024, non-performing loans totaled $37.9 million. The decrease when compared to June 30, 2024 was driven by the migration of one loan relationship out of non-performing loans and into OREO, partially offset by additions to non-performing loans.

During the second quarter of 2025, the Company recorded provision expense of $1.8 million, compared to $0.1 million in the first quarter of 2025 and $2.3 million in the second quarter of 2024. The increase in provision expense recorded in the second quarter of 2025 compared to the first quarter of 2025 was primarily driven by loan growth and charge-offs.

Capital

As of June 30, 2025, First Western (“Consolidated”) and First Western Trust Bank (“Bank”) exceeded the minimum capital levels required by their respective regulators. As of June 30, 2025, the Bank was classified as “well capitalized,” as summarized in the following table:

Book value per common share increased 0.8% from $26.44 as of March 31, 2025 to $26.64 as of June 30, 2025. Book value per common share increased 4.3% from $25.55 as of June 30, 2024.

Tangible book value per common share⁽¹⁾ increased 0.9% from $23.18 as of March 31, 2025, to $23.39 as of June 30, 2025. Tangible book value per common share increased 5.0% from $22.27 as of June 30, 2024.

During the three months ended June 30, 2025, the Company repurchased 26,287 shares for $0.5 million.

⁽¹⁾ Represents a Non-GAAP financial measure. See “Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for a reconciliation of our Non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure.

Conference Call, Webcast and Slide Presentation

The Company will host a conference call and webcast at 10:00 a.m. MT/ 12:00 p.m. ET on Friday, July 25, 2025. Telephone access: https://register-conf.media-server.com/register/BI4e9784b7b6ee4a528ae8f3affe52d2ee.

A slide presentation relating to the second quarter 2025 results will be accessible prior to the scheduled conference call. The slide presentation and webcast of the conference call can be accessed on the Events and Presentations page of the Company’s investor relations website at https://myfw.gcs-web.com.

About First Western

First Western is a financial services holding company headquartered in Denver, Colorado, with operations in Colorado, Arizona, Wyoming, California, and Montana. First Western and its subsidiaries provide a fully integrated suite of wealth management services on a private trust bank platform, which includes a comprehensive selection of deposit, loan, trust, wealth planning and investment management products and services. First Western’s common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “MYFW.” For more information, please visit www.myfw.com.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Some of the financial measures included in this press release are not measures of financial performance recognized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”). These non-GAAP financial measures include “Tangible Common Equity,” “Tangible Common Book Value per Share,” “Return on Tangible Common Equity,” “Efficiency Ratio,” and “Gross Revenue”. The Company believes these non-GAAP financial measures provide both management and investors a more complete understanding of the Company’s financial position and performance. These non-GAAP financial measures are supplemental and are not a substitute for any analysis based on GAAP financial measures. Not all companies use the same calculation of these measures; therefore, this presentation may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures as presented by other companies. Reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP financial measures are provided at the end of this press release.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this news release regarding our expectations and beliefs about our future financial performance and financial condition, as well as trends in our business and markets are “forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements often include words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “estimate,” “project,” “position,” “outlook,” or words of similar meaning, or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “opportunity,” “could,” or “may.” The forward-looking statements in this news release are based on current information and on assumptions that we make about future events and circumstances that are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that are often difficult to predict and beyond our control. As a result of those risks and uncertainties, our actual financial results in the future could differ, possibly materially, from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release and could cause us to make changes to our future plans. Those risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the risk of geographic concentration in Colorado, Arizona, Wyoming, California, and Montana; the risk of changes in the economy affecting real estate values and liquidity; the risk in our ability to continue to originate residential real estate loans and sell such loans; risks specific to commercial loans and borrowers; the risk of claims and litigation pertaining to our fiduciary responsibilities; the risk of changes in interest rates could reduce our net interest margins and net interest income; increased credit risk, including as a result of deterioration in economic conditions, could require us to increase our allowance for credit losses and could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition; the risk in our ability to maintain a strong core deposit base or other low-cost funding sources. Additional information regarding these and other risks and uncertainties to which our business and future financial performance are subject is contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on March 7, 2025 (“Form 10-K”), and other documents we file with the SEC from time to time. We urge readers of this news release to review the “Risk Factors” section our Form 10-K and any updates to those risk factors set forth in our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and our other filings with the SEC. Also, our actual financial results in the future may differ from those currently expected due to additional risks and uncertainties of which we are not currently aware or which we do not currently view as, but in the future may become, material to our business or operating results. Due to these and other possible uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this news release, which speak only as of today’s date, or to make predictions based solely on historical financial performance. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and we do not undertake any obligation to update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law.

Contacts:
Financial Profiles, Inc.
Tony Rossi
310-622-8221
MYFW@finprofiles.com 
IR@myfw.com

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⁽¹⁾ Includes fair value adjustments on loans held for investment accounted for under the fair value option.

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⁽¹⁾ Represents a Non-GAAP financial measure. See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for a reconciliation of our Non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure.

First Western Financial, Inc.
Consolidated Financial Summary (unaudited) (continued)

Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Financial Measures