8-K

                                  UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                              Washington, DC 20549

                                 --------------


                                    FORM 8-K

                                 --------------


                                 CURRENT REPORT
                       PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF
                       THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

       Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): November 15, 2004


                                 --------------


                        GOLDEN WEST FINANCIAL CORPORATION


                                 --------------


                          Commission file number 1-4629

           Incorporated Pursuant to the Laws of the State of Delaware

                   IRS Employer Identification No. 95-2080059

                 1901 Harrison Street, Oakland, California 94612
                                 (510) 446-3420







Item 2.03. Creation of a Direct Financial Obligation

On November 12, 2004, World Savings Bank, FSB, the wholly-owned subsidiary of
Golden West Financial Corporation, initiated a bank note program for the
possible issuance from time to time of $8 billion of unsecured, senior bank
notes with maturities ranging from 270 days to 30 years.

Any notes issued under the bank note program will be unsecured and uninsured
obligations of World Savings. The notes will not be obligations of or otherwise
guaranteed by Golden West Financial Corporation. World Savings currently has an
unsecured, senior debt rating of Aa3 from Moody's Investors Services and AA-
from Standard & Poor's.

A copy of the press release attached as Exhibit 99.1 is incorporated herein by
reference (other than information included on or linked from the Company's
website, referenced in such release, which is not incorporated by reference into
this report).

As a federal savings bank, World Savings' principal business is attracting funds
from the investing public and the capital markets and investing those funds
principally in residential mortgage loans. This bank note program is only one of
several sources of funds for the Company and is being entered into to give the
Company the flexibility to access the capital markets and to diversify
borrowings if conditions are favorable. This filing does not indicate that the
bank note program is material to the Company. Additional information about
World's sources of funds can be found in the Thrift Financial Reports filed by
World Savings with the Office of Thrift Supervision and the reports filed by
Golden West with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

World Savings is not obligated to issue any notes under this bank note program.
The Company believes that any issuances thereunder will be in the ordinary
course of its business and expects that individual and aggregate issuances made
during the periods between the filing of Golden West's periodic reports will not
be material to the Company as a whole.




Exhibit No.          Exhibit
- -----------          -------

99.1                 Press Release dated November 15, 2004.








                                   SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.


                                         GOLDEN WEST FINANCIAL CORPORATION

                                         Dated: November 15, 2004

                                         /s/ Russell W. Kettell
                                         ---------------------------------------
                                         Russell W. Kettell
                                         President and Chief Financial Officer

EX-99.1

                                                                    EXHIBIT 99.1

         World Savings Announces $8 Billion Bank Note Program

    OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 15, 2004--World Savings
Bank, FSB, a subsidiary of Golden West Financial Corporation
(NYSE:GDW), today announced the launch of a bank note program for the
possible issuance of $8 billion of unsecured, senior bank notes with
maturities ranging from 270 days to 30 years.
    "The bank note program gives the Company more flexibility when
accessing the capital markets and allows us to further diversify
borrowings if conditions are favorable," stated Russell W. Kettell,
President and Chief Financial Officer of Golden West. Kettell added:
"We anticipate that World's high credit ratings and risk-averse
business model will continue to appeal to a broad range of debt
investors."
    World Savings currently has an unsecured, senior debt rating of
Aa3 from Moody's Investors Services and AA- from Standard & Poor's.
    Lehman Brothers Inc. is the arranger for the bank note program as
well as a dealer on it. The other named dealers are Bear, Stearns &
Co. Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Credit Suisse First Boston
LLC, Goldman, Sachs & Co., J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., Merrill Lynch,
Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated and Morgan Stanley & Co.
Incorporated. World Savings may also sell notes directly to investors
or appoint other dealers.
    The notes will be unsecured and uninsured direct obligations of
World Savings and will not be guaranteed by Golden West or any other
affiliates of World. The notes have not been, and are not required to
be, registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The notes
are being offered and sold pursuant to an abbreviated registration
procedure permitted by the Office of Thrift Supervision. Investors
must be institutional accredited investors and hold the notes in
minimum denominations of $250,000. This communication does not
constitute an offer of any securities for sale.
    Headquartered in Oakland, California, Golden West is one of the
nation's largest financial institutions with assets over $100 billion
as of September 30, 2004. The Company has one of the most extensive
thrift branch systems in the country, with 276 savings branches in 10
states and lending operations in 38 states. Golden West's stock is
listed on the New York Stock and Pacific Exchanges under the ticker
symbol GDW. Options on the Company's stock are traded on the Chicago
Board Options Exchange and on the Pacific Exchange.
    Golden West investor information is available at www.gdw.com.
Information about the Company's home loans and savings and checking
accounts can be found at www.worldsavings.com and about its
proprietary no-load mutual funds and annuities at www.atlasfunds.com.

    Information in this press release may contain various
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements
include projections, statements of the plans and objectives of
management for future operations, statements of future economic
performance, assumptions underlying these statements and other
statements that are not statements of historical facts.
Forward-looking statements are subject to significant business,
economic and competitive risks, uncertainties and contingencies, many
of which are beyond the Company's control. Should one or more of these
risks, uncertainties or contingencies materialize, or should
underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary
materially from those anticipated. Among the key risk factors that may
have a direct bearing on Golden West's results of operations and
financial condition are competitive practices in the financial
services industries; operational and systems risks; general economic
and capital market conditions, including fluctuations in interest
rates; economic conditions in certain geographic areas; and the impact
of current and future laws, governmental regulations, and accounting
and other rulings and guidelines affecting the financial services
industry in general and the Company's operations in particular. In
addition, actual results may differ materially from the results
discussed in any forward-looking statements.

    CONTACT: Golden West Financial Corporation
             William C. Nunan, 510-446-3614