West Bancorporation Inc., the West Des Moines parent company of West Bank, today reported first quarter net income of $8.1 million, or 49 cents per share, compared to first quarter 2019 net income of $6.9 million, or 42 cents per share. On April 22, the company’s board declared a regular quarterly dividend of 21 cents per share, the same amount as in the previous four quarters. Normally the company increases the quarterly dividend during the second quarter, but the board decided to keep it at its current level due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “The economic impact of the pandemic is highly dependent on variables that are extremely difficult to predict, and we are focused on supporting our customers through this difficult period of time,” said Dave Nelson, president and CEO, in a prepared statement. “We believe our disciplines of maintaining strong capital levels and exceptional asset quality have positioned West Bank to support the current and future credit and banking needs of our customers.” West Bank is participating as a lender in the federal Paycheck Protection Program. From the inception of the program through April 22, West Bank has processed 596 applications totaling $206 million. West Bancorporation will discuss its financial results on a conference call scheduled for 10 a.m. on Friday. The telephone number for the conference call is 888-339-0814.