First Financial Northwest, Inc. Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend of $0.13 per Share; Announces Adoption of New Stock Repurchase Plan

RENTON, Wash., Aug. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Financial Northwest, Inc. (the “Company”) (NASDAQ GS: FFNW), the holding company for First Financial Northwest Bank (the “Bank”), today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.13 per share on the Company’s outstanding common stock. The cash dividend will be payable on September 22, 2023, to shareholders of record on September 8, 2023.

The Company also announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to 5% of the Company’s outstanding common stock, or approximately 457,000 shares, on the open market or in privately negotiated transactions, in accordance with Rule 10b-18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The new stock repurchase plan will commence on or about August 10, 2023, and will expire no later than March 16, 2024. The extent to which the Company repurchases its shares and the timing of such repurchases will depend upon market conditions and other corporate considerations. As a result, there can be no assurance as to the exact number of shares, if any, that will be repurchased under the plan.

First Financial Northwest, Inc. is the parent company of First Financial Northwest Bank; an FDIC insured Washington State-chartered commercial bank headquartered in Renton, Washington, serving the Puget Sound Region through 15 full-service banking offices. For additional information about us, please visit our website at ffnwb.com and click on the “Investor Relations” link at the bottom of the page.

Forward-looking statements:

When used in this press release and in other documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), in press releases or other public stockholder communications, or in oral statements made with the approval of an authorized executive officer, the words or phrases “believe,” “will,” “will likely result,” “are expected to,” “will continue,” “is anticipated,” “estimate,” “project,” “plans,” or similar expressions are intended to identify “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts but instead represent management’s current expectations and forecasts regarding future events many of which are inherently uncertain and outside of our control. Actual results may differ, possibly materially from those currently expected or projected in these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, include, but are not limited to, the following: potential adverse impacts to economic conditions in our local market areas, other markets where the Company has lending relationships, or other aspects of the Company’s business operations or financial markets, including, without limitation, as a result of employment levels, labor shortages and the effects of inflation, a potential recession or slowed economic growth caused by increasing political instability from acts of war including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as supply chain disruptions; higher inflation and the impact of current and future monetary policies of the Federal Reserve in response thereto; increased competitive pressures; changes in the interest rate environment; legislative and regulatory changes; the impact of bank failures or adverse developments at other banks and related negative press about the banking industry in general on investor and depositor sentiment; and other factors described in the Company’s latest Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other reports filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission – that are available on our website at www.ffnwb.com and on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.