Washington Federal Declares 103rd Consecutive Cash Dividend

The Board of Directors of Washington Federal, Inc. (NASDAQ: WFSL), parent company of Washington Federal Savings, today announced a quarterly cash dividend of 21 cents per share. The dividend will be payable October 17, 2008 to common stockholders of record on October 3, 2008. This will be Washington Federal’s 103rd consecutive quarterly cash dividend.

Washington Federal Savings operates 148 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. The Company reported $11.8 billion in assets, $7.2 billion in deposits and $1.4 billion in stockholders’ equity as of June 30, 2008.

 Contact: Cathy Cooper (206) 777-8246  Washington Federal, Inc. 425 Pike Street Seattle, WA 98101  

SOURCE: Washington Federal Savings