WaFd Inc., the Seattle-based parent of WaFd Bank, is moving its holding company headquarters to Bellevue, and downtown is the likely landing spot.
“Likely downtown, but it will be dependent on finding the right space,” President and CEO Brent Beardall told Downtown Bellevue Network in an email.
The company expects to be open in Bellevue within 18 months. Beardall said WaFd is not disclosing how much space it needs or how many employees will be based there.
Why Bellevue
Beardall opened his explanation by borrowing a phrase from Bellevue developer Kemper Freeman: “clean, safe and free parking.”
“We have witnessed firsthand the struggles in downtown Seattle and can see that Bellevue is where business is gathering,” he said, adding that as the largest bank holding company headquartered in Washington, WaFd believes it is appropriate to call Bellevue home.
He also framed the move as a decision to stay in the state rather than leave it.
“I think it is also important for us to stay connected to the State of Washington,” Beardall said. “With so many businesses exiting because of the fiscal climate, we want to stay and be part of the long term solution – which is a sustainable budget that allows families, communities and businesses to flourish.”
Those themes echo the mid-year economic forecast Beardall delivered to the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce in June, when he described Washington as among the worst states in the country for sales, business, capital gains and estate taxes and noted that three members of WaFd’s board had moved their legal residency out of state. Bellevue’s comparative position has widened as the tax gap between the two cities has grown.
Space and Staffing
Which functions sit with the Bellevue holding company and which stay with the bank in Jacksonville, Florida, has not been decided.
The new space is also tied to a change in how WaFd works. “As part of this process we will be asking our teams to come back to the office full time, so the additional space in Bellevue will provide needed capacity for our teams,” Beardall said.
WaFd is keeping its Seattle headquarters at 425 Pike Street, but that office will see changes as staff shift east. Beardall said the company had been space constrained there.
Bellevue-area customers will not see a difference at the counter. Beardall said there are no changes planned for WaFd’s Bellevue branches.
The EverBank Merger Behind the Move
The relocation follows the $3.9 billion reverse merger WaFd and Jacksonville-based EverBank Financial Corp. announced Sept. 7.
Under the agreement, EverBank will merge into WaFd Inc., which continues as the financial holding company and takes the EverBank Financial Corp. name. The company will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker EVBK, and EverBank shareholders will receive WaFd common stock in exchange for their shares. EverBank investors will hold 59.2% of the combined company and WaFd shareholders 40.8%.
EverBank CEO Greg Seibly will lead the combined bank, with Beardall as president. Robert Radway, EverBank’s chairman, will serve as chairman. The board will have 13 seats, seven filled by legacy EverBank directors and six by WaFd, including Seibly and Beardall.
The transaction is expected to close in early 2027 and still requires regulatory approval, a vote by WaFd shareholders and other customary closing conditions.
The Numbers
WaFd reported $27.6 billion in total assets as of June 30 and operates 210 branches across nine western states, according to its most recent quarterly earnings report.
A Search in a Tightening Market
WaFd enters a downtown Bellevue office market that has been absorbing large blocks rather than adding them. Vacancy fell to 23.2% in the second quarter of 2026, with The Pokemon Company’s 369,800-square-foot occupancy at The Eightthe single largest driver of the improvement, according to Broderick Group.
One sizable option opened up this month. Bungie listed 210,984 square feet at The Bellevue Connection for sublease in early September.
