CASB Cascade Financial Corp. (MM)

Cascade Financial Corporation (Nasdaq:CASB), parent company of Cascade Bank, today announced that its Board of Directors has declared its quarterly cash dividend of $0.08 per share. Cascade's twelfth consecutive quarterly cash dividend will be paid on July 20, to shareholders of record July 6, 2005. Net income grew 19% to $3.1 million in the first quarter of 2005, compared to $2.6 million in the quarter ended March 31, 2004. Cascade expects to release earnings for the second quarter of 2005 after the close of market on Tuesday, July 19, 2005. The following day, on Wednesday, July 20, Carol K. Nelson, President and CEO, and Lars Johnson, CFO, will discuss the bank's operating results in a conference call at 10:00 am PDT (1:00 pm EDT). Interested investors may listen to the call live or via replay at www.cascadebank.com. Investment professionals are invited to dial 303-262-2140 to access the live call. A replay of the call will be available for three weeks at 303-590-3000, using passcode 11033116#. 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/shareholderinfo or at www.melloninvestor.com. Interested parties may also contact Mellon Investor Services toll-free at 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 Snohomish County, Washington. Cascade Bank operates 17 full service offices, located in Everett, Lynnwood, Marysville, Mukilteo, Smokey Point, Issaquah, Clearview, Woodinville, Lake Stevens, Bellevue and Snohomish. Issaquah Bank, a division of Cascade Bank, operates offices in Issaquah and North Bend. In July 2004, US Banker magazine ranked Cascade #39 out of the Top 200 Publicly Traded Community Banks with less than $1 billion in assets, based on three-year average return on equity. In October, the same publication named President and CEO Carol Nelson one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking.