Washington Federal's Brent Beardall 2012 CFO of the Year Award Finalist

   Washington Federal (NASDAQ: WFSL) is pleased to announce that Brent Beardall, Chief Financial Officer, has been selected as a finalist for this year's CFO of the Year Award sponsored by the Puget Sound Business Journal. This honors the top financial strategists in Washington in five categories based on the company type -- small or large private, small or large public, and nonprofit organization.

The winner for each category will be publicly announced Wednesday, March 7 at an awards dinner to be held at Benaroya Hall in Seattle.

Washington Federal operates 166 offices in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Texas and New Mexico. Established in 1917, the Company provides residential real estate loans, commercial real estate financing, consumer deposit accounts and business banking. On December 31, 2011, the Company reported $13.6 billion in assets, $8.9 billion in deposits and $1.9 billion in stockholders' equity.

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.