Spokane-based WTB Financial Corp., the holding company for Washington Trust Bank, has launched a $10 million share repurchase program.

The bank’s board of directors authorized the share repurchase program March 1, and it will be in effect over a 12-month period, says Larry Sorenson, chief financial officer for WTB.

“The plan is a mechanism, along with dividends, to return capital to shareholders,” says Sorensen. “A share repurchase plan helps provide liquidity to our stock in terms of buyers and sellers.”

Sorensen says that this is the fourth year the bank has announced a share repurchase program, and they typically range from $10 million to $12 million.

The company will repurchase class b common stock, which is currently valued at $373.96 a share. In a 52-week period, the stock ranged in price from $370 to $399 a share, says Nicholas Olsen, director of accounting for WTB.  

Investors looking to buy and sell stock can work with a broker, says Olsen.  

Daily stock prices are listed through OTC Markets Group platform.

In the previous repurchase authorization, the company repurchased 21,924 shares in total for $8.3 million, with 2,550 of those shares purchased in the first quarter of 2022, according to a WTB press release.

Earnings per share in the first quarter of 2022 totaled $8.22, up from $8.13 in the year-earlier quarter, says Sorensen. 

Share repurchases depend on market conditions and the corporate needs and strategies, he says.

Sorensen adds that a variety of criteria are considered when announcing a share repurchase program, such as the company’s financial performance, a desire to return capital to shareholders, and a desire to provide liquidity on the buy side of stock and stock trading.

Headquartered at 717 W. Sprague with 19 branches in the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene area, Washington Trust is the largest bank in the Spokane area in terms of local deposits, totaling $4.3 billion as of Dec. 31, 2021,  according to the Journal’s latest banks list published in the April 7 issue. 

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