First Northwest Bancorp (FNWB): Marketing Mix Analysis [Dec-2025 Updated]

You're looking at a regional bank that's navigating today's rate environment, and honestly, understanding First Northwest Bancorp's playbook requires looking past the stock ticker. As someone who's spent two decades mapping bank strategies, I see a clear picture emerging from their late 2025 financials: they are doubling down on their Pacific Northwest community roots while actively managing funding costs-evidenced by the 2.20% cost of total deposits in Q3 2025 and a 2.91% Net Interest Margin. This analysis breaks down exactly how their product mix, concentrated branch Place, community-focused Promotion, and disciplined Price strategy are shaping up right now, so you can see where the near-term opportunities and risks truly lie.

First Northwest Bancorp (FNWB) - Marketing Mix: Product

First Northwest Bancorp, through its subsidiary First Fed Bank, delivers full-service banking designed to meet the needs of individuals, small businesses, and non-profit organizations across western Washington, United States. The bank maintains 16 locations in Washington state, which includes 12 full-service branches.

The core of First Northwest Bancorp's lending product strategy centers on real estate secured assets. This focus includes originating first lien one-to-four-family mortgage loans and commercial and multi-family real estate loans. Furthermore, the lending portfolio encompasses construction and land loans, commercial business loans, and consumer loans, with the latter primarily consisting of automobile loans and home-equity loans and lines of credit. For the quarter ending September 30, 2025, First Northwest Bancorp reported total trailing twelve-month revenue of $66M.

Deposit products are the foundation of the funding structure, offering a range of options for liquidity and savings. The offerings include checking, money market deposit, savings, and transaction accounts, alongside Certificates of Deposit (CDs). You saw a notable shift in the deposit mix in the first quarter of 2025, with a $45.0 million decrease in brokered deposits while core customer deposits grew by $23.0 million. The net interest margin for the third quarter of 2025 improved to 2.91%, marking five consecutive quarters of improvement.

First Northwest Bancorp actively pursues strategic investments to modernize its product suite, specifically targeting fintech for digital payments and marketplace lending. The company previously announced a fintech partnership with Splash Financial on January 12, 2022. For the third quarter of 2025, noninterest income, which includes returns from these investments, was $2.0 million. The company also agreed to cash payments totaling not less than $2.87 million and up to $5.74 million in a settlement agreement finalized in July 2025 related to bankruptcy proceedings. The bank's focus on product breadth is supported by ancillary services.

You can see a snapshot of key financial metrics and product-related data below:

The product ecosystem is rounded out with supplementary financial instruments available to customers:

• Credit cards.
• Mutual funds.
• Insurance products.
• Consumer loans, including automobile loans.
• Home-equity loans and lines of credit.

In the first quarter of 2025, the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.07 per common share. That's a concrete return delivered to shareholders based on the operational performance of the product and service delivery.

First Northwest Bancorp (FNWB) - Marketing Mix: Place

First Northwest Bancorp's distribution strategy centers on a high-touch, localized physical network complemented by necessary digital infrastructure to serve its defined market. The entire operational footprint is intentionally narrow, which is a key characteristic of its community bank positioning.

Primary geographic market is the Pacific Northwest, specifically western Washington state. First Fed Bank, the subsidiary, serves customers and communities across this region. The bank operates branch offices in Clallam, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, and Whatcom Counties, Washington. This focus helps First Northwest Bancorp maintain deep local relationships, which is central to its identity.

Physical footprint includes 16 locations in Washington, with 12 full-service branches. You see this concentration in the operational data. For instance, as of the third quarter of 2025, the company reported total interest income of $26.9 million for the quarter, derived from this limited physical and asset base. The physical presence is defintely concentrated, which limits scale but deepens local ties. This structure means that while scale is constrained compared to larger regional banks, the penetration within its chosen markets is deeper.

Corporate headquarters remain in Port Angeles, WA, anchoring the community bank identity. The corporate office is located at 105 West Eighth Street, Port Angeles, WA 98362. This physical anchor reinforces the commitment to the local community where the bank was founded in 1923.

Digital channels are crucial for extending reach beyond the limited branch network. First Northwest Bancorp focuses on strategic partnerships to provide modern financial services such as digital payments and marketplace lending. This digital layer is essential for servicing customers who may not live near one of the 16 physical sites, helping to maintain relevance in a modern banking environment.

Here's a quick view of the distribution and related operational scale as of late 2025:

The distribution strategy relies on these specific geographic nodes to drive business, supported by digital tools. The counties served define the service area:

• Clallam County
• Jefferson County
• King County
• Kitsap County
• Whatcom County

The bank's focus on specific lending activities also ties into its place strategy, as these loans are often tied to the real estate within its service area. For example, the principal lending activities focus on first lien one- to four-family mortgage loans and commercial and multi-family real estate loans, all geographically constrained to western Washington.

The digital extension is supported by investments made in fintech partnerships, such as the one in Meriwether Group, which helps First Northwest Bancorp offer services beyond the immediate reach of its physical branches. The loan-to-deposit ratio was stable at 99.9% at September 30, 2025, indicating that deposits gathered across this limited footprint are being actively deployed through lending within the same service area.

First Northwest Bancorp (FNWB) - Marketing Mix: Promotion

You're looking at how First Northwest Bancorp communicates its value proposition to the market, which is heavily weighted toward its community roots and recent operational stability. The promotion strategy leans on its long history as a core differentiator.

Strong community bank positioning, emphasizing a century of service since 1923.

First Fed Bank, the operating subsidiary of First Northwest Bancorp, anchors its promotional narrative in its longevity, serving customers and communities since 1923. The parent holding company, First Northwest Bancorp, was incorporated much later, in 2012, which frames the promotion as a modern, publicly-traded entity built on a century of local trust. This historical context is key for a community bank.

Public relations focus on executive stability, like the September 2025 CEO transition.

Public relations efforts have recently focused on demonstrating governance stability following a leadership change. Matthew P. Deines resigned as President and CEO effective July 12, 2025. COO Geraldine L. Bullard stepped in as Interim CEO starting July 13, 2025, providing continuity until Curt Queyrouze was appointed the new CEO and President, effective September 17, 2025. Mr. Queyrouze's compensation package includes a base salary of $550,000 and a $100,000 signing bonus, plus an award of 50,000 restricted stock shares. This transition communication aims to assure stakeholders of experienced leadership.

Local marketing leverages awards, such as 'Best Lender' in Clallam and Jefferson County.

Local marketing heavily promotes community recognition, which serves as third-party validation of service quality. For 2025, First Fed secured several local accolades. These include being named 'Best Lender' in Clallam County and the West End, and also 'Best Lender' in Clallam and Jefferson County. Furthermore, First Fed was named one of the Forbes 2025 Best-in-State Banks. You can see the impact of these local wins in the table below, contrasting them with prior year recognitions.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) via the First Fed Foundation grant cycles.

The First Fed Foundation is central to CSR promotion, showing tangible community investment. The Foundation itself was established in 2015 with an initial gift of $12 million in cash and stock from First Northwest Bancorp. To date, the Foundation has awarded $7.6 million in grants through Spring 2025. Since its inception in 2003, the broader First Federal Foundation effort has provided over $1.5 million in funding.

The 2025 grant activity included two cycles. The Fall 2025 cycle application deadline was September 1, 2025. The second and final funding period for 2025 opened on October 1, 2025, with a deadline of November 21, and decisions expected in early December. During the first funding period of 2025, the Foundation awarded nearly $50,000 across 16 organizations. Typical grant amounts range from a minimum of approximately $1,000 to a maximum of around $5,000.

The Foundation's community support is highlighted through specific grant details:

• Funding decisions for the Fall 2025 cycle are expected by the end of November 2025.
• The Foundation supports organizations in Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap, Whatcom Counties, and the city of Bellevue.
• Grant ranges are typically $5,000 to $25,000 for Community Support projects.
• Larger grants, from $25,000 to $100,000, target Housing & Homelessness, Economic Development, and broader Community Development.

Investor relations announcements, including the October 2025 Q3 earnings release.

Investor communications are driven by mandatory financial disclosures, which also serve as promotional material for the investment community. First Northwest Bancorp announced its Third Quarter 2025 results on October 27, 2025. The quarter showed a return to profitability, posting a net income of $802,000, or $0.09 per share, compared to a net loss of $(1.98) million a year ago.

Key financial metrics released in the Q3 2025 report include:

• Net Interest Margin: Increased to 2.91% from 2.83% in the preceding quarter.
• Net Interest Income: Ticked up to $14.6 million.
• Total Assets (as of September 30, 2025): $2.11 billion.
• Total Deposits (as of September 30, 2025): $1.65 billion.
• Nonperforming Loans (as of September 30, 2025): Decreased to $13.4 million.
• Shares Outstanding (as of October 30, 2025): 9,462,150.

The Company declared cash dividends totaling $1.31 million for the nine-month period ending September 30, 2025. The Q3 2025 EPS of $0.09 per share missed the consensus estimate of $0.18 per share, representing a -50.00% earnings surprise. Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

First Northwest Bancorp (FNWB) - Marketing Mix: Price

The pricing element for First Northwest Bancorp centers on managing the cost of funds to support the Net Interest Margin (NIM). You see this directly reflected in the core profitability metric.

Net Interest Margin (NIM) improved to 2.91% in Q3 2025, marking a five-quarter streak of gains. This improvement followed a 2.83% NIM reported in the preceding quarter, Q2 2025.

The cost side of the funding equation shows active management. The Cost of total deposits decreased to 2.20% in Q3 2025, which reflects lower funding costs. This is down from 2.31% in Q2 2025.

This management of liability costs directly impacted the income statement. Total interest expense was $12.3 million for Q3 2025, down from $12.9 million in the preceding quarter.

Here's a quick view of these key liability-related pricing metrics:

Regarding shareholder returns, the Board elected not to declare a dividend for Q3 2025, prioritizing capital preservation. This contrasts with the dividend declared for the first quarter of 2025, which was $0.07 per common share, payable on May 23, 2025.

The underlying pricing strategy is actively managing interest-bearing liabilities, reducing brokered CD costs. The improvement in NIM for Q3 2025 resulted from a decrease in the rate paid on interest-bearing liabilities. Specific actions contributing to lower funding costs include:

• Cost of total deposits dropped due to higher-rate certificates of deposit (CDs) maturing.
• Noninterest-bearing demand balances increased.
• Interest expense decreased due to lower average balances and costs on borrowings.

The market price for First Northwest Bancorp stock as of December 01, 2025, was $9.88.