Washington Federal Inc. in Seattle is raising $300 million of capital to support its growth and possibly make acquisitions.
The $12 billion-asset company said Monday that it has a common stock offering under way and that the underwriters have the option to purchase up to an additional 15% of shares.
Though it has been having loan trouble lately, Washington Federal already has significantly more capital than regulators require, even after having redeemed the government's preferred shares last quarter. And its ratio of tangible common equity to tangible assets was 9.64% at June 30, nearly double the level that analysts view as a necessary minimum.
In its quarterly SEC filing, the company said its stockpile of capital could be used for expansion and attracting more customer deposits. It had received $200 million of capital from the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program in November, but repaid it May 27.
