Washington Banking Company Elects New Director

OAK HARBOR, Wash., June 24, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Washington Banking Company
(Nasdaq:WBCO), announced today that it elected Mark D. Crawford to serve on its
Board of Directors. Crawford was also elected to serve on the board of Whidbey
Island Bank, the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary.

"Mark is a great representative for north Snohomish County," stated Tony
Pickering, Chairman of the Board for Washington Banking Company. "He is
extremely involved in the community, particularly with youth activities,
devoting a lot of time to coaching and attending local sporting events with his
family. He'll be a great addition to our Board." Pickering advised that Crawford
was appointed to the Company's Audit Committee and Compensation Committee.

Crawford, a resident of Stanwood WA, is the President of Smokey Point Concrete,
Inc., a position he has held since 1986. He served on the Washington Aggregate &
Concrete Association Board, and is an Advisory Board member for Youth Dynamics
-- Arlington WA. Crawford has additional experience in board and committee
service for other local entities and he holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in
Business Management from Portland State University.

ABOUT WASHINGTON BANKING COMPANY

Washington Banking Company is a bank holding company based in Oak Harbor,
Washington, 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. Washington Banking was the
only company in the Pacific Northwest that ranked in the top 100 best performing
community banks between $500 million and $5 billion in assets by SNL Financial
in 2010, and joined the Keefe, Bruyette &Woods 2010 Bank Honor Roll, based on
its superior 10-year track record.

www.wibank.com

CONTACT: Jack Wagner - President & CEO
Rick A. Shields - EVP & Chief Financial Officer
360.679.3121