Washington Banking Announces Increased Quarterly Dividend

Oct 26 - Oak Harbor-based Washington Banking Company (NASDAQ: WBCO), the holding company for Whidbey Island Bank, has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 15 cents per common share to shareholders of record on Nov. 5, 2012, and payable on Nov. 20, 2012.

“We’ve increased the payout to 15 cents this quarter reflecting our solid operating results,” said Jack Wagner, president and CEO, “and we’re proud of the fact that our continued profitability has rewarded shareholders with cash dividends every quarter since going public in June 1998 – a total of 58 consecutive quarters.”

Earlier in the year, the company outlined the two-tiered approach used in determining the dividend amount. “We are considering six cents as our 'basic' dividend and then adding a variable amount to equate to a total dividend payout not to exceed 50 percent of quarterly earnings,” Wagner said.

The payment of dividends is at the sole discretion of the board of directors and will depend on a number of factors, including capital requirements, the company’s and the bank’s financial condition and results of operations, tax considerations, statutory and regulatory limitations, general economic conditions and any applicable restrictions.

About Washington Banking Company
Washington Banking Company is a bank holding company based in Oak Harbor, Wash., that operates Whidbey Island Bank, a state-chartered, full-service commercial bank. Founded in 1961, Whidbey Island Bank provides various deposit, loan and investment services to meet customers’ financial needs. With its two FDIC-assisted acquisitions in 2010, Whidbey Island Bank currently operates 30 full-service branches located in six counties in northwestern Washington. In June 2009, Washington Banking was added to the Russell 2000 Index, a subset of the Russell 3000 Index. Both indices are widely used by professional money managers as benchmarks for investment strategies.