Wouldn't Recommend It - Anonymous employee WaFd Bank Employee Review

1.0
Nov 11, 2020
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

My compensation at the time of starting the job was good for the role; I really enjoyed working with my team

Cons

Workload--the workload was huge and frankly impossible; rather than providing consistent feedback, corrections were typically just made by QC, so nothing ever got better; there are 2-3 people who are deemed competent enough to handle "complex" reviews and that was all they were given often with deadlines a few days out on investigations that needed much longer so they end up working truly ridiculous hours (14-16/day) just to complete things. Work/Life Balance--overtime, constant overtime, is not just an option, it's an expectation. There was no way to get done what I needed to get done within the confines of a 40-hour week. Because so many people in compliance moved from out of state, I know of several people who have not seen their families in months or over a year because there just doesn't seem to be time. Things always seem to be coming up, resources seem to be constantly shifting, etc. Inconsistency--the only consistent thing I could count on was that if I went to 2 different people with a policy/procedure question, I would get 2 different answers. Things change almost on a daily basis, so it was hard to know from day to day what actually was correct--I felt like I never had the full picture or all of the information I needed to do my job, so no matter what I did, I was somehow always wrong. Culture--I have never before (and hope never to again) worked for a company with such contention between departments. It was a battle every day to talk to people working front lines or even non-compliance-related back-office departments. I understand where the ire from other departments comes from, but it took an emotional toll to constantly have to fight with people or be on my toes when I'm in the office or prep myself for fifteen minutes before calling a banker because they think you're the enemy whose sole goal in life is to make them miserable. Training--the training situation was very poor; people who don't have time or inclination to train new people were often tasked with training people with no industry experience and at times with very little computer experience. They don't have the necessary tools and resources to train people.

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WaFd Bank Response
5y
I appreciate the candid feedback as we work to build our culture of compliance. Our teams are working very hard and thank you for the work you did. We wish you all the best going forward.

Explore other reviews about WaFd Bank

5.0
Mar 18, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The leadership at all levels is outstanding

Cons

No cons in the bank

2.0
May 28, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Primarily remote work. Decent PTO after the 4th year.

Cons

Limited staffing and limiting overtime opportunities until the bitter end of potentially missing deadlines, which you are guilted into working. 2% "raise" every January and ZERO merit raises. Gutted profit sharing and profitability bonuses over time. Most recent bonus, which is tied to net profit after dividends, was given a result when the scale was never published. All previous bonuses had a floor-to-ceiling profit scale that showed the targets months in advance of the end of the bonus period.

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