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Washington Federal Announces Quarterly Earnings Per Share Of $0.70
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Washington Federal, Inc. (Nasdaq: WAFD) (the "Company"), parent company of Washington Federal Bank ("WaFd Bank"), today announced
About this update from Wafd, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":" SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nWashington Federal, Inc. (Nasdaq: WAFD) (the \"Company\"), parent company of Washington Federal Bank (\"WaFd Bank\"), today announced quarterly earnings of $49,359,000 for the quarter ended March 31, 2022, an increase of 10.0% from $44,871,000 for the quarter ended March 31, 2021. After the effect of dividends on preferred stock, net income available for common shareholders was $0.70 per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31, 2022, compared to $0.56 per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, a $0.14 or 25% increase in fully diluted earnings per common share. Return on common shareholders' equity for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 was 9.80% compared to 8.17% for the quarter ended March 31, 2021. Return on assets for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 was 0.98% compared to 0.93% for the same quarter in the prior year.\n\nPresident and Chief Executive Officer Brent J. Beardall commented, \"This was the first full quarter since our exit from the 2018 Bank Secrecy Act (\"BSA\") Consent Order and we are grateful for the hard work of WaFd bankers throughout our eight western states that made these results possible. In the last year, net loans grew by $2 billion, or 16%, which is even more impressive when you consider that for the majority of that period loan prepayments occurred at record levels. Couple the record loan growth with increasing customer deposits by $1.6 billion, or 11%, over the last year and we see tangible results from the ongoing investments we are making in our bankers, technology and processes. Importantly, our net interest margin improved this quarter and credit quality continues to improve with decreases in non-performing loans, delinquencies and yet another quarter of net recoveries from previously charged off loans.\n\n\"While our operating results are strong there are macro-economic factors that give us reason for concern. Inflation is at a 40-year high and it appears the Federal Reserve’s initial assessment that inflation was transitory was incorrect. As a result, interest rates are surging, with the average 30 year mortgage rate increasing to above 5%, up from 2.75% a year ago. This will likely cause mortgage refinancings to dwindle to a fraction of what they have recently been and unfortunately, will exacerbate the housing affordability issues we are facing as ...