First Financial Northwest (FFNW) 2023年年度报告「NASDAQ」.pdf

1、Annual Report 2023unique.innovative.solutions.Dear Fellow Shareholders,unique.innovative.solutions.Last year marked 100 years since our founding and the culmination of our journey from Renton Savings and Loan Association established in 1923 on the shores of Lake Washington as a single branch thrift

2、to todays First Financial Northwest,Inc.,the holding company of a full-fledged community bank.In 2015 we embarked on a strategy to expand our presence to bring our unique,innovative solutions to more communities via 15 locations in the greater Puget Sound Region,showcasing our award-winning branch m

3、odel,with smaller footprint and technology-forwardofficesfeaturingexperienced bankers.Over the past two years the Federal Reserve has raised its targeted interest rate from 0.25%to 5.50%.The impact of the rising interest environment on our business has been substantial.Moreover,2023 turned out to be

4、 an especiallytumultuous year for the banking industry which experiencedthe 2nd and 3rd largest bank failures in U.S.history,causing significant volatility in the trading prices of securities of financial institutionsand heightened concernamong depositors and investors.One common catalyst of these f

5、ailures was a high level of uninsured deposits at both institutions and the resulting run-off in deposits.While in many cases shifting into higher interest-bearing retail certificates of deposits,our customers did not waver,total deposits increased$24.1 million to$1.19 billion during 2023.At the sam

6、e time,we employed various strategies to help our customers reduce their exposure to uninsured deposit accounts for greater security and peace of mind.Uninsured deposits represented a manageable 23%of total deposits at year end.Despite a challenging interest rate and lending environment,we increased