New risk paragraphs, branching off last year
Each branch is a paragraph in Risk Factors with nothing like it in the 10-K filed Nov 20, 2024. A box jumps to the paragraph as filed, below.
Paragraphs with nothing like them in last year's 10-K
17 paragraphs in Risk Factors of the 10-K filed Nov 18, 2025 with nothing like them in the 10-K filed Nov 20, 2024. Quoted exactly. Paragraphs that were only edited are under 10-K change.
Changes in our business operations and divestitures of lines of business may not be successful, resulting in a negative impact on our operating results and financial condition.
Our ability to compete depends on various factors, including our ability to develop and successfully execute strategic plans and initiatives. However, we may not achieve some or all of our strategic objectives. Expected cost savings and revenue growth from these initiatives may not materialize, and the costs of implementation may be greater than anticipated. Additionally, changes in economic conditions beyond our control, such as fluctuations in interest rates, may affect our ability to achieve our objectives. Failure to execute or achieve the anticipated outcomes of our strategic initiatives could negatively impact market perceptions of our company and impede our growth and profitability.
In January 2025, we made a significant shift in focus to our business model and announced that WaFd Bank would be exiting the single-family mortgage lending market to focus on commercial loans, including small business and SBA loans. We made this determination for several reasons: first because home loans are seen as a commodity, with the majority of originations sold to US government sponsored enterprises like Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, which has caused our profitability to decrease and credit risk to increase, and second, because technology has made it easy for consumers to refinance, increasing our interest rate risk. While we have estimated annual expense savings of approximately $17 million from our exit from the single-family mortgage business, this change involves a number of risks, including costs and expenses (including a $5.4 million restructuring charge), the potential loss of customer relationships, community goodwill and revenues and earnings. Exiting this business could impact future earnings if we are unable to offset the loss of revenue associated with the single-family mortgage business against the anticipated expense savings. In addition, the shift in business focus to commercial loans will require varying levels of management resources, which may divert our attention from other business operations. If we are unable to realize the expected benefits of these types of changes in our business operations, or execute on other strategic plans and initiatives, our consolidated financial position, results of operations and cash flows could be negatively impacted. Current uncertain economic conditions pose challenges, and could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Climate change and related legislative and regulatory initiatives may materially affect the Company’s business and results of operations.
The effects of climate change continue to raise significant concerns about the state of the environment. However, under the new administration, federal policy has shifted to reduce the emphasis on climate change initiatives and environmental regulations. This includes scaling back federal participation in international agreements, and reducing regulatory pressures on businesses, including banks, to address climate-related risks. Federal legislative and regulatory proposals aimed at combating climate change have and may continue to face greater scrutiny or diminished priority. However, state and local regulations or guidance relating to climate change, as well as changes in consumers’ and businesses’ behaviors and business preferences, continue to affect our business operations.
Regardless of changes in federal policy, the effects of climate change and their unknown long-term impacts could still have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. The physical effects of climate change, such as more frequent and severe weather disasters or other catastrophic events, could directly affect our business and those of our customers, damaging or destroying our property, or the real property and other assets securing loans in our portfolios. Such events may also interrupt the business operations of our customers, putting them in financial difficulty, and increasing the risk of default. If our borrowers’ insurance is insufficient to cover these losses or if insurance becomes unavailable, the value of the collateral securing our loans could be negatively affected, potentially impacting our financial condition and results of operations. Moreover, climate change may adversely affect regional and local economic activity, harming our customers and the communities in which we operate. In addition, our business, reputation and ability to attract and retain employees may also be harmed if our response to climate change is perceived to be ineffective or insufficient.
Our business is subject to the risks of pandemics, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, fires and other natural catastrophic events and other events beyond our control.
A major catastrophe, such as an earthquake, tsunami, flood, fire, or other natural disaster, including those caused or exacerbated by climate change, public health issues such as the COVID-19 or other pandemics, or other events beyond our control, could result in a prolonged interruption of our business. For example, our headquarters is located in Seattle, Washington and we have operations throughout the western United States, a geographical region that has been or may be affected by earthquakes, wildfires, tsunamis, and flooding activity. Because we primarily serve individuals and businesses in our nine-state footprint, a natural disaster likely would have a greater impact on our business, operations, and financial condition than if our business were more geographically diverse throughout the United States. The occurrence of any of these natural disasters could negatively impact our performance by disrupting our operations or the operations of our customers, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Our “Needs to Improve” rating under the Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”) may restrict our operations and limit our ability to pursue certain strategic opportunities.
On December 27, 2024, the Bank received an overall CRA rating from the FDIC of “Needs to Improve” for the period covering June 3, 2020 to March 26, 2024. Based on its performance on the individual components of the CRA tests, the Bank received a “High Satisfactory” rating on both the Investment Test and the Service Test and a “Needs to Improve” rating on the Lending Test, which resulted in the overall “Needs to Improve” rating. The Bank disagrees with the overall CRA rating and has appealed. If our appeal is unsuccessful in changing the overall CRA rating, having a “Needs to Improve” rating will result in restrictions on certain expansionary activity, including mergers and acquisitions and the establishment and relocation of bank branches. This rating will also result in a loss of expedited processing of applications to undertake certain activities. It could also have an impact on our relationships with certain states, counties, municipalities or other public agencies to the extent applicable law, regulation or policy limits, restricts or influences whether such entity may do business with a company that has a below “Satisfactory” rating and, in general, could negatively affect our reputation, business, financial condition and results of operations. These restrictions, among others, will remain in place at least until the Bank’s next CRA rating is publicly released by the FDIC following a subsequent CRA examination which is likely to occur in 2026. As a result of these limitations and conditions, we may be unable or may fail to pursue, evaluate or complete transactions that might have been strategically or competitively significant.
Changes in laws, regulations, government policy, oversight or increased enforcement activities by regulatory agencies may increase our costs and adversely affect our business and operations.
New or amended laws, rules, regulations and policies to which we are subject, including those resulting from changes in U.S. Presidential administration, could impact our operations, increase our capital requirements or substantially restrict our growth and adversely affect our ability to operate profitably by making compliance more difficult or expensive, restricting our ability to originate or sell loans, or impacting the amount of interest or other charges or fees earned on loans or other products. New appointments to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors could also affect monetary policy and interest rates. Future legislation, regulation, and changes in trade and fiscal policy, including uncertainty surrounding the ongoing operations of the CFPB, could affect the banking industry as a whole, including our business and results of operations. It is difficult to predict future changes in regulation or the competitive impact that any such changes would have on our business. Any new laws, rules and regulations could make compliance more difficult, expensive, costly to implement or may otherwise adversely affect our business, financial condition or growth prospects. Other changes to statutes, regulations, or regulatory policies, including changes in interpretation or implementation of statutes, regulations, or policies, could affect us in substantial and unpredictable ways including subjecting us to additional costs, limiting the types of financial services and products we may offer, and increasing the ability of non-banks to offer competing financial services and products.
Additionally, actions by regulatory agencies or significant litigation against us may lead to penalties that materially affect us. These regulations, along with the current tax, accounting, securities, insurance, and monetary laws, regulations, rules, standards, policies, and interpretations control the methods by which financial institutions conduct business, implement strategic initiatives and tax compliance, and govern financial reporting and disclosures. These laws, regulations, rules, standards, policies, and interpretations are constantly evolving and may change significantly over time. Any new regulations or legislation or change in existing regulations or oversight, whether a change in regulatory policy or a change in a regulator’s interpretation of a law or regulation, could have a material impact on our operations, increase our costs of regulatory compliance and of doing business and/or otherwise adversely affect us and our profitability. Further, changes in accounting standards can be both difficult to predict and involve judgment and discretion in their interpretation by us and our independent registered public accounting firm. Changes could materially impact, potentially even retroactively, how we report our financial condition and results of our operations, as could our interpretation of those changes. We cannot predict what restrictions may be imposed upon us with future legislation.
Our failure to comply with current, or adapt to new or changing, laws, regulations or policies could result in enforcement actions and sanctions against us by regulatory agencies, civil money penalties and/or reputation damage, along with corrective action plans required by regulatory agencies, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, and the value of our common stock.
FDIC insurance premiums are risk based and, accordingly, higher premiums are charged to banks that have lower capital ratios or higher risk profiles. As a result, a decrease in the Bank’s capital ratios, or a negative evaluation by the FDIC, may increase the Bank’s net funding cost and reduce its earnings.
The deposits of the Bank are insured by the FDIC up to legal limits and, accordingly, subjected to the payment of FDIC deposit insurance assessments, which are determined in accordance with a defined calculation. The FDIC imposed a special assessment to recover the losses in connection with the receiverships of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Increases in assessment rates or further special assessments may occur in the future, especially if there are significant additional financial institution failures. Any future special assessments, increases in assessment rates or required prepayments in FDIC insurance premiums could reduce our profitability or limit our ability to pursue certain business opportunities, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The Company is a separate legal entity from the bank subsidiary and does not have significant operations of its own.
Paragraphs in the 10-Q filed Aug 4, 2026 that were not in the one before
New in the latest 10-Q
1 paragraph in the 10-Q filed Aug 4, 2026 with nothing like it in the 10-Q filed May 5, 2026 (at least half the words must differ; new numbers alone do not count). Quoted exactly, grouped by the item heading above them. This is text that changed, not a judgement of how serious it is.
Financial statements and notes
The Company also enters into credit risk participation agreements with financial counterparties for interest rate swaps related to loans in which the Company is a participant. The risk participation agreements entered into by the Company as a participant bank provide credit protection to the financial institution counterparty should the borrower fail to perform on its interest rate derivative contract with that financial institution. The Company is party to two risk participation agreements with a total notional amount of $ 69,665,000 at June 30, 2026. The estimated exposure when applying a credit valuation adjustment framework to these exposures and the fair value of these exposures was insignificant to the consolidated financial statements as of June 30, 2026.
Read in the 10-Q
The 10-Q's risk factors against the 10-K
Item 1A of the 10-Q filed Aug 4, 2026 against Item 1A of the 10-K filed Nov 18, 2025.
A 10-Q repeats only the risks that changed, so a 10-K paragraph that is missing from it is not counted as removed.
Added is a paragraph with nothing like it in the 10-K, Reworded a sentence that is in both with several words changed,
Quiet changes a sentence in both where one to four words changed and one is a hedge or a modal
(cut words struck through, new words highlighted).
Text on the page, not a score; each links to the filing at sec.gov.
Phrases used for the first time
Two-word phrases in Risk Factors of the 10-K filed Nov 18, 2025 that are in none of the 1 earlier 10-Ks stored, back to Nov 20, 2024
Where each one is used
- improve rating: Our “Needs to Improve” rating under the Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”) may restrict our operations and limit our ability to pursue certain strategic opportunities.
- laws regulations: Changes in laws, regulations, government policy, oversight or increased enforcement activities by regulatory agencies may increase our costs and adversely affect our business and operations.
- new appointments: We are currently operating in an environment in which the Federal Reserve has shifted toward reducing interest rates, although modestly, with cuts implemented in September and October 2025. However, the inflationary outlook remains uncertain and if the Federal Reserve were to reverse course and rapidly increase the...
- single-family mortgage: In January 2025, we made a significant shift in focus to our business model and announced that WaFd Bank would be exiting the single-family mortgage lending market to focus on commercial loans, including small business and SBA loans. We made this determination for several reasons: first because home loans are seen...
- overall cra: On December 27, 2024, the Bank received an overall CRA rating from the FDIC of “Needs to Improve” for the period covering June 3, 2020 to March 26, 2024. Based on its performance on the individual components of the CRA tests, the Bank received a “High Satisfactory” rating on both the Investment Test and the Service...
- rate risk: Our earnings and cash flows are largely dependent upon our net interest income, which is significantly affected by interest rates. Interest rates are highly sensitive to factors beyond our control, such as general economic conditions and policies set by governmental and regulatory bodies. We principally manage...
- strategic plans: Our ability to compete depends on various factors, including our ability to develop and successfully execute strategic plans and initiatives. However, we may not achieve some or all of our strategic objectives. Expected cost savings and revenue growth from these initiatives may not materialize, and the costs of...
- strategic initiatives: Our ability to compete depends on various factors, including our ability to develop and successfully execute strategic plans and initiatives. However, we may not achieve some or all of our strategic objectives. Expected cost savings and revenue growth from these initiatives may not materialize, and the costs of...
Used at least twice, small words left out. Counted, not picked: a phrase can be new because the company renamed something.
What was taken out
29 paragraphs of last year's Risk Factors with nothing like them now. The longest are quoted.
Sources
Item 1A of each 10-K and 10-Q on EDGAR, quoted exactly. Each paragraph links to the filing at sec.gov.
Also
10-K change: what was reworded or cut, section by section.
Work with it
Excel workbook · CSV. Google Sheet that stays up to date: paste =IMPORTDATA("https://tickdelta.com/company/WAFD/export.csv") into a cell.