Washington Federal Increases Cash Dividend 12.5%

SEATTLE, WA--(Marketwire - Mar 25, 2013) - The Board of Directors of Washington Federal, Inc. (NASDAQ: WAFD), parent company of Washington Federal, today announced a quarterly cash dividend of 9 cents per share, a 1 cent per share or 12.5% increase over the prior quarter. The dividend will be payable on April 19, 2013 to common stockholders of record on April 5, 2013. This will be Washington Federal's 121^st consecutive quarterly cash dividend.

Washington Federal operates 188 offices in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Texas and New Mexico. Established in 1917, the Company provides consumer and commercial deposit accounts, insurance products and financing for small to middle market businesses, commercial real estate and residential real estate, including consumer mortgages and home equity lines of credit. As of December 31, 2012, the Company reported $13.1 billion in assets, $9.2 billion in deposits and $1.9 billion in stockholders' equity.