** 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;))