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First Financial Northwest , Inc. 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 First Financial Northwest , Inc. Reports Third Quarter Net Income of $ 3.2 Million or $ 0.34 per Diluted Share Renton , Washington - October 28 , 2021 - First Financial Northwest , Inc. ( the “ Company ” ) ( NASDAQ GS : FFNW ) , the holding company for First Financial Northwest Bank ( the “ Bank ” ) , today reported net income for the quarter ended September 30 , 2021 , of $ 3.2 million , or $ 0.34 per diluted share , compared to net income of $ 3.8 million , or $ 0.40 per diluted share , for the quarter ended June 30 , 2021 , and $ 2.1 million , or $ 0.21 per diluted share , for the quarter ended September 30 , 2020. For the nine months ended September 30 , 2021 , net income was $ 9.5 million , or $ 0.99 per diluted share , compared to net income of $ 5.9 million , or $ 0.60 per diluted share , for the comparable nine - month period in 2020 . “ I am pleased to report that net loans increased $ 20.0 million to $ 1.10 billion in the quarter , primarily as a result of a $ 24.4 million commercial real estate loan purchase from a third - party bank , as organic loan growth remains challenging in the current environment because of loan repayments and Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiveness , " stated Joseph W. Kiley III , President and CEO . " These purchased loans , with balances ranging between $ 747,000 and $ 5.5 million meet all of our underwriting standards and are secured by commercial properties located outside of Washington , predominantly in Texas , California and Alabama , and which are under long - term leases by national tenants , ” continued Kiley . “ In addition , we achieved a further reduction in our cost of funds , with the average cost of deposits decreasing to 0.56 % in the quarter ended September 30 , 2021 , compared to 0.68 % in the quarter ended June 30 , 2021 , and 1.18 % in the quarter ended September 30 , 2020 . If market interest rates remain low , we expect this decline to continue as we have approximately $ 159.9 million in retail certificates of deposit at a weighted average rate of 1.15 % maturing in the next 12 months , and an additional $ 78.7 million maturing in the subsequent 12 to 24 months , at a weighted average rate of 1.88 % , ” continued Kiley . “ Finally , I am happy to report that we had no nonperforming assets at quarter end as we sold our other real estate owned properties during the quarter . While this sale resulted in the recognition of a net loss of $ 207,000 , we are pleased that we no longer have this distraction , " concluded Kiley .