Washington Federal Reports Net Income of $20 Million for Its First Fiscal Quarter

• Press Release
• Source: Washington Federal Savings
• On 8:00 am EST, Monday January 19, 2009

SEATTLE, WA--(MARKET WIRE)--Jan 19, 2009 -- Washington Federal, Inc. (NasdaqGS:WFSL - News), parent company of Washington Federal Savings, today announced earnings of $20,169,000 or $.23 per diluted share for the quarter ended December 31, 2008, compared to $33,048,000 or $.38 per diluted share for the same period one year ago. Earnings decreased by $12,879,000 or 39% primarily as a result of higher credit costs. Actual results were consistent with earnings guidance released by the Company on December 29, 2008.

Related Quotes Symbol Price Change WFSL 19.47 +0.49 {"s" : "wfsl","k" : "c10,l10,p20,t10","o" : "","j" : ""}

Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Roy M. Whitehead commented, "In light of overall economic and industry conditions, we are satisfied with the quarterly results and want investors to know that the Company continues to be strong and well capitalized. It should be noted though that near-term earnings, including last quarter, are being adversely impacted by large writedowns in the land and construction loan portfolio. General economic conditions and substantially lower demand for housing has caused values in many markets to drop considerably. Investors are cautioned to expect more charges of a similar or larger magnitude in future quarters."

Non-performing assets amounted to $305 million or 2.44% of total assets at quarter-end. This is an increase of $141 million from September 30, 2008, and is concentrated in our portfolio of land and speculative construction loans. The gross amount of loans outstanding in these two portfolios totaled $1,091 million as of December 31, 2008, a decrease of $73 million or 6% from September 30, 2008. In response to the deteriorating credit conditions of its loan portfolio, the Company increased its provision for loan loss expense from $1 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2007 to $35 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2008. As of quarter end the allowance for loan losses totaled $105 million.

Total assets increased by $725 million or 6% to $12,521,883,000 from $11,796,425,000 at September 30, 2008. Specifically, investment securities increased by $502 million or 31% during the quarter, as the Company purchased agency mortgage backed securities in anticipation of a potential increase in refinance activity. As of December 31, 2008, the Company's investment portfolio had net unrealized gains of $59 million, an increase of $56 million from September 30, 2008.

Net interest income for the current quarter increased by 38% or $25 million from the quarter ended December 31, 2007. This increase is the result of the significant growth in earning assets as well as increased net interest spread as deposit rates have fallen. The Company's period end spread increased to 2.91% as of December 31, 2008, compared to 2.04% one year ago.

The Company's efficiency ratio of 25.8% for the quarter remains among the lowest in the industry. The quarter produced a return on assets of .66%, while return on equity amounted to 5.97%. These ratios represent historical lows for the Company and are reflective of the effects of the significant declines in real estate values throughout the western United States.

On January 16, 2009, Washington Federal paid a cash dividend of $.05 per share to common stockholders of record on January 2, 2009. This was the Company's 104th consecutive quarterly cash dividend.

On November 14, 2008, Washington Federal entered into a Letter Agreement, with the United States Department of the Treasury pursuant to which the Company issued and sold to the Treasury (i) 200,000 shares of the Company's Fixed Rate Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, and (ii) a warrant to purchase 1,707,456 shares of the Company's common stock, par value $1.00 per share, for an aggregate purchase price for both the preferred stock and warrants of $200 million in cash ("TARP funds"). The Preferred Stock qualifies as Tier 1 capital and will pay cumulative dividends at a rate of 5% per annum for the first five years, and 9% per annum thereafter.

In response to questions from the public about how the TARP funds are being deployed, we wish to report that the proceeds were initially invested in mortgage-backed securities to offset the cost of the funding. During the quarter the Company then originated $503 million in new loans, despite limited demand as households and businesses strive to deleverage by paying down debt and increasing capital and liquidity. When the economy improves and confidence returns to the market, lending opportunities will increase, enabling the Company to more fully and safely leverage its capital base, including TARP funds. The Company does not intend to use the TARP funds in ways that will materially increase its risk profile, such as lending imprudently. The Company's first priority is to make certain that the TARP funds can be repaid to taxpayers, along with interest, as soon as the financial crisis subsides.

Mr. Whitehead commented further, "As we have done throughout our history, the Company is working closely with troubled borrowers to avoid foreclosure whenever possible and warranted. Recently, we established a Mortgage Resource Center staffed by seasoned mortgage professionals to handle all requests for mortgage relief and to bring consistency and fairness to the process. Our experience to date is that approximately one-third of the requests result in some form of relief being clearly warranted, one-third are clearly unwarranted requests, some designed to take advantage of current conditions and one third fall somewhere in between. Obviously the latter requests are the most difficult to decide upon and many in that category will be disappointed as we work to balance the interests of customers and shareholders. Fortunately, Washington Federal did not originate interest-only, option ARM, subprime or other exotic mortgage products that are the source of so many problems elsewhere. As a result, the volume of mortgage problems as measured by delinquencies and foreclosures within our consumer mortgage portfolio is significantly less than industry averages. In light of the intense public focus on troubled borrowers, it's also important to maintain perspective and recognize that, at least in our case, 99 out of 100 mortgage borrowers are current on their payments. We are deeply appreciative for the commitment of those borrowers to honor their obligations, even though it may pinch a little in these difficult economic times."

The Company's Annual Meeting of Stockholders will be held at 2:00 p.m. on January 21, 2009, at the Sheraton Hotel, 1400 6th Avenue, in Seattle, Washington.

Washington Federal Savings, with headquarters in Seattle, Washington, has 150 offices in eight western states.

To find out more about the Company, please visit our website. The Company uses its website to distribute financial and other material information about the Company, which is routinely posted on and accessible at www.washingtonfederal.com.

Important Cautionary Statements

The foregoing information should be read in conjunction with the financial statements, notes and other information contained in the Company's 2008 Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K.

Statements contained herein that are not historical facts should be considered forward-looking statements with respect to Washington Federal. Forward-looking statements of this type speak only as of the date of this report. By nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risk and uncertainties. Various factors, including, but not limited to, unforeseen local, regional, national or global events, economic conditions, asset quality, interest rates, loan demand, changes in business or consumer spending, borrowing or savings habits, deposit growth, adequacy of the reserve for loan losses, competition, stock price volatility, government monetary and economic policy, anticipated expense levels, changes in laws and regulations, the level of success of the company's asset/liability management strategies as well as its marketing, product development, sales and other strategies, the effect of changes in accounting policies and practices, as may be adopted by the regulatory agencies as well as the Financial Accounting Standards Board and other accounting standard setters, the costs and effects of litigation and of unexpected or adverse outcomes in such litigation, and changes in the assumptions used in making the forward-looking statements, could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Washington Federal undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent circumstances, events or information or for any other reason.

 
                WASHINGTON FEDERAL, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
             CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION
                               (UNAUDITED)


                                               December 31,   September 30,
                                                   2008           2008
                                               ------------   ------------
                                                  (In thousands, except
                                                      per share data)

ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents                      $    153,045   $     82,600
Available-for-sale securities                     1,980,730      1,476,067
Held-to-maturity securities                         121,735        124,537
Loans receivable, net                             9,635,434      9,501,620
Interest receivable                                  57,433         54,365
Premises and equipment, net                         134,557        133,357
Real estate held for sale                            61,932         37,107
FHLB stock                                          144,491        144,874
Intangible assets, net                              220,375        221,294
Other assets                                         12,151         20,604
                                               ------------   ------------
                                               $ 12,521,883   $ 11,796,425
                                               ============   ============

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Liabilities
Customer accounts
  Savings and demand accounts                  $  7,251,043   $  7,146,045
  Repurchase agreements with customers               33,700         23,494
                                               ------------   ------------
                                                  7,284,743      7,169,539
FHLB advances                                     2,743,026      1,998,308
Other borrowings                                    800,600      1,177,600
Advance payments by borrowers for taxes and
 insurance                                           16,192         37,206
Federal and state income taxes                       25,768              -
Accrued expenses and other liabilities               69,847         81,098
                                               ------------   ------------
                                                 10,940,176     10,463,751
Stockholders' equity
Common stock, $1.00 par value, 300,000,000
 shares authorized; 105,093,965 and 105,092,724
 shares issued; 87,917,527 and 87,916,286 shares
 outstanding                                        105,094        105,093
Preferred Stock, 200,000 shares issued and
 outstanding                                        197,944              -
Paid-in capital                                   1,263,700      1,261,032
Accumulated other comprehensive income, net of
 taxes                                               35,276          2,472
Treasury stock, at cost; 17,176,438 shares         (210,250)      (210,250)
Retained earnings                                   189,943        174,327
                                               ------------   ------------
                                                  1,581,707      1,332,674
                                               ------------   ------------
                                               $ 12,521,883   $ 11,796,425
                                               ============   ============
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
Common stockholders' equity per share          $      15.74   $      15.16
Stockholders' equity to total assets                  12.63%         11.30%
Tangible stockholders' equity to tangible assets      11.07           9.60
Weighted average rates at period end:
  Loans and mortgage-backed securities                 6.22%          6.33%
  Investment securities                                1.22           2.78
  Combined loans, mortgage-backed securities
   and investment securities                           6.11           6.26
  Customer accounts                                    2.99           3.25
  Borrowings                                           3.64           3.77
  Combined cost of customer accounts and
   borrowings                                          3.20           3.41
  Interest rate spread                                 2.91           2.85



                WASHINGTON FEDERAL, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
                  CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
                               (UNAUDITED)


                                                Quarter Ended December 31,
                                               ---------------------------
                                                   2008           2007
                                               ------------   ------------
                                                  (In thousands, except
                                                      per share data)

INTEREST INCOME
Loans                                          $    152,319   $    140,505
Mortgage-backed securities                           25,312         21,962
Investment securities and cash equivalents              908          4,125
                                               ------------   ------------
                                                    178,539        166,592

INTEREST EXPENSE
Customer accounts                                    55,908         65,970
FHLB advances and other borrowings                   32,619         35,329
                                               ------------   ------------
                                                     88,527        101,299
                                               ------------   ------------

Net interest income                                  90,012         65,293
Provision for loan losses                            35,000          1,000
                                               ------------   ------------
Net interest income after provision for loan
 losses                                              55,012         64,293

OTHER INCOME
Gain on sale of securities, net                           -              -
Other                                                 3,835          4,387
                                               ------------   ------------
                                                      3,835          4,387

OTHER EXPENSE
Compensation and fringe benefits                     14,805         11,118
Occupancy                                             3,174          2,239
Other                                                 6,268          3,862
                                               ------------   ------------
                                                     24,247         17,219
Gain (loss) on real estate acquired through
 foreclosure, net                                    (1,239)           (24)
                                               ------------   ------------
Income before income taxes                           33,361         51,437
Income taxes                                         11,843         18,389
                                               ------------   ------------
NET INCOME                                           21,518         33,048
                                               ============   ============
Preferred dividends accrued                           1,349              -
                                               ------------   ------------
NET INCOME AVAILABLE TO COMMON SHAREHOLDERS    $     20,169   $     33,048
                                               ============   ============

PER SHARE DATA
Basic earnings                                 $        .23   $        .38
Diluted earnings                                        .23            .38
Cash dividends                                          .05            .21
Basic weighted average number of shares
 outstanding                                     87,966,308     87,435,408
Diluted weighted average number of shares
 outstanding, including dilutive stock options   88,028,272     87,614,498
Return on average assets                                .66%          1.26%
Return on average common equity                        5.97%          9.95%