** Shares of regional lender WaFd WAFD.O fall as much as 6%; last down 2.1% at $30.36
** WAFD late Thursday posted Q1 adjusted profit of 54 cents/shr, missing Wall Street expectation of 65 cents/shr, according to data compiled by LSEG
** Q1 net interest income came in at $155.4 mln, far beneath Wall Street estimates of $171.4 mln
** WAFD says Q1 results were impacted by greater-than-expected margin compression
** Interest rate cuts resulted in variable rate assets repricing quickly compared to liabilities such as deposits, causing margin compression - WAFD
** Bank also announced a "significant" shift in focus for its business model, unveiling plans to exit the single-family mortgage lending market after over 100 years of making home loans
** Piper Sandler says WAFD's smaller balance sheet negatively impacted its interest income, adding that buybacks had dried up
** Stephens expects WAFD shares to underperform, given the magnitude of the interest income degradation
** WAFD shares fell 2.2% in 2024
(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru)
((ArasuKannagi.Basil@thomsonreuters.com;))
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