Business
Washington Federal Announces Record Quarterly Earnings Per Share Of $1.16
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 $79,509,000 for the quarter ended December 31, 2022, an increase of 58% from $50,281,000 for the quarter ended December 31, 2021. After the effect of dividends on preferred stock, net income available for common shareholders was $1.16 per diluted share for the quarter ended December 31, 2022, compared to $0.71 per diluted share for the quarter ended December 31, 2021, a $0.45 or 63% increase in fully diluted earnings per common share. Return on common shareholders' equity for the quarter ended December 31, 2022 was 15.15% compared to 10.12% for the quarter ended December 31, 2021. Return on assets for the quarter ended December 31, 2022 was 1.50% compared to 1.02% for the same quarter in the prior year.\n\nExecutive Vice President, Chief Consumer Banker and acting Chief Executive Officer Cathy Cooper commented, \"The first fiscal quarter of 2023 was a great start to the year. Loan growth was robust, increasing $880 million or 5.5% for the quarter. Credit quality remained strong, with yet another quarter of net recoveries and our allowance for credit losses stands at $208 million. Solid growth in our fundamental business resulted in a 36.3% increase in net interest income over the same quarter last year as the increase in the average rate earned on our interest-earning assets outpaced the increase in the average rate paid on our interest-bearing liabilities.\n\nOur results show that the Bank continues to benefit from rising rates while we hold the line on other expenses, as reflected in our improved efficiency ratio for the quarter, even as we make additional investments in technology enhancements such as voice-authenticated banking and data-driven personalization. It's not surprising that deposit costs are rising and liquidity in the system is tightening, for WaFd and the banking industry, which we view both as important and needed steps for economic stability\n\nOn November 13, 2022 we announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement with Luther Burbank Corporation (NASDAQ: LBC, “Luther Burbank”), creating a continuous footprint from Seattle to Austin. We believe our complementary approach to serving the needs of our clients and communities...