EVERETT, Wash., Oct. 2, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cascade Financial Corporation (Nasdaq:CASB), parent company of Cascade Bank, today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.045 per share, down from $0.09 per share in the previous quarter. This dividend is payable October 29, 2008 to shareholders of record as of October 15, 2008.
"Our decision to reduce the dividend was thoroughly and thoughtfully reviewed and considered many factors, including capital adequacy, earnings, payout ratios and yield. We believe that conserving capital through a reduction in the dividend is in the best long-term interest of our shareholders and will help ensure that Cascade maintains its well-capitalized position," said Carol K. Nelson, president and CEO. "This action also addresses uncertainty over the valuation of our investments in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac preferred stock, given the uncertainty surrounding these two U.S. Government sponsored enterprises."
On September 7, 2008, the U.S Treasury, the Federal Reserve and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), announced that the FHFA was placing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under Conservatorship and would suspend dividends on common and preferred stock. On September 9, 2008 Cascade reported in an 8-K filing with the SEC that as of June 30, 2008 it owned preferred shares issued by Fannie Mae ($10.2 million book value) and Freddie Mac ($8.4 million) with a combined adjusted book value of approximately $18.6 million. As of September 30, 2008 the fair market value of these securities had declined to approximately $1.3 million. At this level, the non-cash write down on the company's investment in Fannie and Freddie preferred stock would be approximately $11.3 million on an after-tax basis.
"Cascade expects to remain 'well-capitalized' for regulatory purposes even if this investment is written off in its entirety," said Nelson. "Cascade's underlying business operations continue to be solid. As previously reported, loans on non-accrual have declined since the end of the second quarter 2008 and details of this progress will be reported in the third quarter earnings release."
Cascade expects to report third quarter 2008 results after the market closes on Tuesday, October 21, 2008. Management will host a conference call on Wednesday, October 22 at 11:00 a.m. PDT (2:00 p.m. EDT) to discuss the results. Interested investors may listen to the call live or via replay at www.cascadebank.com. Investment professionals are invited to dial (303) 262-2211 to participate in the call. A replay will be available for a month at (303) 590-3000, using passcode 11119713#.
Investors wishing to reinvest the upcoming dividend must complete the enrollment through the company's transfer agent, Mellon Investor Services. For complete details on this program, please visit the investor relations portion of the company's website at www.cascadebank.com or at www.melloninvestor.com. Interested parties may also contact Mellon Investor Services toll-free at 1-800-839-2983.
About Cascade Financial
Established in 1916, Cascade Bank, the only operating subsidiary of Cascade Financial Corporation, is a state chartered commercial bank headquartered in Everett, Washington. Cascade Bank has proudly served the Puget Sound region for over 90 years and operates 21 full service branches in Everett, Lynnwood, Marysville, Mukilteo, Shoreline, Smokey Point, Issaquah, Clearview, Woodinville, Lake Stevens, Bellevue, Snohomish, North Bend and Burlington.
In June 2008, Cascade was ranked #44 on the Seattle Times' Northwest 100, a list of public companies. In January 2008 Cascade was ranked #10 on Washington CEO magazine's list of Top 25 Washington Banks. In September 2007, U.S. Banker magazine named President and CEO Carol Nelson one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking. In July 2007, Cascade was named to Sandler O'Neill's Bank and Thrift Sm-All Stars - Class of 2007, which recognized Cascade as one of the top 24 best performing small capitalization institutions from a field of 610 publicly traded banks and thrifts in the U.S. with market capitalizations less than $2 billion. In making their selections, Sandler focused on growth, profitability, credit quality and capital strength.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain of the statements contained herein that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Reform Act. CASB's actual results may differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words or phrases such as "believe," "expect," "intend," "may increase," "may fluctuate," and similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "should," "would," and "could." These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, economic conditions, portfolio growth, the credit performance of the portfolios, including bankruptcies, and seasonal factors; changes in general economic conditions including the performance of financial markets, the performance of coal and coal related industries, prevailing inflation and interest rates, realized gains from sales of investments, gains from asset sales, and losses on commercial lending activities; results of various investment activities; the effects of competitors' pricing policies, of changes in laws and regulations on competition and of demographic changes on target market populations' savings and financial planning needs; industry changes in information technology systems on which we are highly dependent; failure of acquisitions to produce revenue enhancements or cost savings at levels or within the time frames originally anticipated or unforeseen integration difficulties; the adoption of CASB of an FFIEC policy that provides guidance on the reporting of delinquent consumer loans and the timing of associated credit charge-offs for financial institution subsidiaries; and the resolution of legal proceedings and related matters. In addition, the banking industry in general is subject to various monetary and fiscal policies and regulations, which include those determined by the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and state regulators, whose policies and regulations could affect CASB's results. These statements are representative only on the date hereof, and CASB undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made.