# West Bancorporation Inc

West Bancorporation Inc is an Asset Manager based in West Des Moines, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Asset Manager
- **Headquarters:** West Des Moines, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** 1601 22nd Street, West Des Moines, IA 50266, United States
- **Founded:** 1984
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** westbankstrong.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/westbankstrong

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

West Bancorporation was founded in 1984 as the holding company for West Bank, a community-focused commercial lender headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa. The Gulling family has been central to its identity: Doug Gulling took over as CEO in 2011 after a period of regional expansion, having previously served as CFO since the mid-1990s. The wealth engine here is not a legacy industrial fortune but the bank's own balance-sheet compounding and the Gulling family's long-tenured stewardship. The firm's strategy centers on commercial and industrial (C&I) lending, commercial real estate, and multifamily construction finance across the Interstate 35 corridor. The loan portfolio tilts heavily toward owner-occupied commercial properties, medical office buildings, and market-rate apartment developments in secondary Midwestern markets such as Des Moines, Rochester, and Mankato. Unlike a typical family office, West Bancorporation operates as a regulated depository institution: it takes insured deposits to fund its lending, generating net interest margin rather than charging management fees. Confirmed historical concentrations include loans to local manufacturing firms and faith-based educational institutions. West Bancorporation trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker WTBA, with a market capitalization that has fluctuated around $300 million. Professional headcount is not consistently disclosed, though the bank operates a limited branch network across central Iowa and southern Minnesota. Adjacent vehicles are standard for a bank holding company: a trust department offering wealth management and fiduciary services, plus a small correspondent banking division. In December 2023, the company named Brad Winterbottom as President of West Bank, signaling a potential succession track as Gulling moves closer to retirement (per the firm, December 2023). The structural differentiator is its posture as a publicly traded bank that thinks like a private credit fund. Management has historically maintained loan-to-deposit ratios above national peers, deploying nearly all available deposits into commercial relationships rather than holding securities. This leaves the firm acutely exposed to a regional economic downturn — which is also what differentiates its return profile from a larger, diversified regional bank. The Gulling-family continuity across decades of leadership embeds a generational time horizon inside a quarterly-reporting structure.

## Sectors

- Financial Services
- Private Credit
- Real Estate

## People

- Douglas Gulling — President & CEO

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at West Bancorporation?

Doug Gulling, President and CEO, has led the bank since 2011 and previously served as CFO from the mid-1990s. Lending decisions are executed through West Bank's commercial banking team, with the board of directors overseeing concentration limits and credit policy. The Gulling family's long tenure means strategic direction is closely tied to their view of regional economic cycles.

### What sectors does West Bancorporation explicitly avoid?

As a community bank, West Bancorporation generally avoids speculative technology lending, energy exploration, and large-scale agribusiness loans. Its public filings show a preference for owner-occupied commercial real estate, medical offices, and manufacturing rather than startup or venture-stage companies.

### How is West Bancorporation related to West Bank?

West Bancorporation is the holding company that wholly owns West Bank. The bank does business under the West Bank brand across its branch network in Iowa and Minnesota, while the holding company manages regulatory capital allocation and strategic governance.

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

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