8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

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FORM 8-K

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CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): July 12, 2018 (July 10, 2018)

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Washington Federal, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

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Washington	001-34654	91-1661606
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)	(Commission File Number)	(IRS Employer Identification No.)

425 Pike Street, Seattle, Washington 98101

(Address of principal executive offices)(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code (206) 624-7930

Not Applicable

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

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Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

o Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

o Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company o

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. o

Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers

On July 10, 2018, the Board of Directors of Washington Federal, Inc. (the “Company”), and its wholly owned subsidiary Washington Federal, N.A. (the “Bank”) increased the size of the board of both the Company and the Bank from nine to ten persons and appointed a new independent director, Mr. Steve Singh, to fill the resulting vacancy, with such appointment effective August 1, 2018. Mr. Singh will serve in the class of directors with terms expiring in 2021.

There are no arrangements or understandings between Mr. Singh and any other persons concerning his appointment as director of the Company and he has no direct or indirect material interest in any transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K. Our board has affirmatively determined that Mr. Singh is independent of our Company and its management under Nasdaq Listing Rules.

Mr. Singh will be entitled to the same compensation as the other non-employee directors of the Company as set forth in the Company’s most recent proxy statement filed on December 7, 2017, including an annual stock award, annual retainer and fees for attending board meetings and any committee meetings to which he is appointed.

A copy of the press release issued by the Company announcing the appointment of Mr. Singh to the Board of Directors is included as Exhibit 99.1 to this Report. Exhibit 99.1 shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act) or otherwise subject to the liabilities under that section and shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing of the registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Exchange Act.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits

(a) Not applicable

(b) Not applicable

(c) Not applicable

(d) The following exhibit is being furnished herewith:

99.1 Press Release dated July 10, 2018

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.

July 12, 2018	WASHINGTON FEDERAL, INC.
	By:	/s/ VINCENT L. BEATTY
		Vincent L. Beatty
		Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

Tuesday July 10, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Washington Federal Announces Appointment of Technology Leader Steve Singh to its Board of Directors

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - Washington Federal, Inc. (NASDAQ: WAFD) today announced that Steve Singh will join its Board of Directors on August 1, 2018. Singh, age 57, is the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board at Docker, an innovative cloud technology company based in San Francisco. Mr. Singh is best known as the CEO and Co-Founder of Concur Technologies, a Bellevue, Washington based travel and expense management company. He built Concur into an enterprise success over the course of 20 years before selling to SAP for $8.3 billion in 2014. Singh is also Executive Chairman of Center, a financial software company. Singh holds various leadership roles in other technology companies and community organizations.

Chairman of the Board, Roy M. Whitehead commented, “Washington Federal is honored to have Steve join our board. He brings more than two decades of expertise building world-class software companies and developing some of the most successful technology brands in the industry. Steve will add valuable public company, technology and payments experience to our Board of Directors.”

Washington Federal, Inc. is the parent company of Washington Federal, a national bank that provides consumer and commercial deposit accounts, insurance products, financing for small to middle market businesses, commercial real estate and residential real estate, including consumer mortgages and home equity lines of credit. Established in 1917, the Company operates 236 branches in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Texas and New Mexico. To find out more about the Company, please visit the 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.

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Contact:

Brad Goode

Washington Federal, Inc.

425 Pike Street, Seattle, WA 98101

(206) 626-8178