First Financial Northwest Bank Promotes Dalen D. Harrison to Executive Vice President

RENTON, Wash., Nov. 16, 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 Dalen D. Harrison was promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Banking Officer of the Bank effective November 10, 2023. The promotion is in recognition of the breadth and depth of Ms. Harrison’s role in the success of the Bank. Ms. Harrison leads both the deposit and loan production teams, championing a steadfast commitment to expanding the Bank’s customer base and winning more of each customer’s financial relationship. She is currently leading the efforts to recruit a C&I credit officer and team and evaluating fintech partnership opportunities. Ms. Harrison was one of the principal architects behind the expansion of the Bank’s geographic presence from a single branch located in Renton, Washington to 15 full-service banking offices throughout the Puget Sound Region today.

“Since her arrival at the Bank in 2014, Dalen has played a pivotal role in converting us from a Renton-centric savings bank to a full-fledged commercial community bank spanning three counties, beginning with a core data processor conversion to cutting edge branching and fintech innovations to name just a few key transformational milestones. At every turn she has applied her experience and creativity to make us a vibrant financial institution which is at the very soul of our culture to provide unique, innovative solutions to our customers,” said Joseph W. Kiley III, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Initially hired in March 2014 as Chief Deposit Officer, Ms. Harrison was appointed Senior Vice President in July 2014. A member of the Bank’s executive management team, she was promoted to Senior Vice President and Chief Banking Officer in December 2019. Ms. Harrison has over 40 years of banking experience in Washington.

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 made by, or on behalf of, us and could negatively affect our operating and stock performance. 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; changes in the interest rate environment, including the recent increases in the Federal Reserve benchmark rate and duration at which such increased interest rate levels are maintained, which could adversely affect our revenues and expenses, the value of assets and obligations, and the availability and cost of capital and liquidity; the impact of continuing high inflation and the current and future monetary policies of the Federal Reserve in response thereto; the effects of any federal government shutdown; increased competitive pressures; 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; disruptions, security breaches, or other adverse events, failures or interruptions in, or attacks on, our information technology systems or on the third-party vendors who perform several of our critical processing functions; effects of critical accounting policies and judgments, including the use of estimate in determining fair value of certain of our assets, which estimates may prove to be incorrect and result in significant declines in valuation; the effects of climate change, severe weather events, natural disasters, pandemics, epidemics and other public health crises, acts of war or terrorism, and other external events on our business; 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.

Any of the forward-looking statements that we make in this Press Release and in the other public statements are based upon management’s beliefs and assumptions at the time they are made and may turn out to be wrong because of the inaccurate assumptions we might make, because of the factors illustrated above or because of other factors that we cannot foresee. Therefore, these factors should be considered in evaluating the forward-looking statements, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. We do not undertake and specifically disclaim any obligation to revise any forward-looking statements to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statements.

For more information, contact:
Joseph W. Kiley III, President and Chief Executive Officer
Rich Jacobson, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
(425) 255-4400