FMSB First Mutual Bancshares (MM)

First Mutual Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq: FMSB) announced today its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.09 per share. The dividend is payable on January 5, 2007, to shareholders of record December 22, 2006. In October, First Mutual issued a 5-for-4 stock split, which effectively increased the quarterly cash dividend by 12.5%, and early this year paid a $1.00 per share special cash dividend. Last month, First Mutual reported its 56th consecutive quarter of year-over-year earnings growth, with third-quarter diluted earnings per share rising 10% from the same period in 2005. First Mutual�s consistent performance has garnered attention from a number of sources. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods has named First Mutual to its Honor Roll in each of the last three years for the company�s 10-year earnings per share growth rate. In September 2006, U.S. Banker magazine ranked First Mutual #38 in the Top 100 Publicly Traded Mid-Tier Banks, which includes those with less than $10 billion in assets, based on its three-year return on equity. First Mutual Bancshares, Inc. is the parent company of First Mutual Bank, an independent, community-based bank that operates 12 full-service banking centers in the Puget Sound area and sales finance offices in Jacksonville, Florida, and Mt. Clemens, Michigan. www.firstmutual.com First Mutual Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq: FMSB) announced today its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.09 per share. The dividend is payable on January 5, 2007, to shareholders of record December 22, 2006. In October, First Mutual issued a 5-for-4 stock split, which effectively increased the quarterly cash dividend by 12.5%, and early this year paid a $1.00 per share special cash dividend. Last month, First Mutual reported its 56th consecutive quarter of year-over-year earnings growth, with third-quarter diluted earnings per share rising 10% from the same period in 2005. First Mutual's consistent performance has garnered attention from a number of sources. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods has named First Mutual to its Honor Roll in each of the last three years for the company's 10-year earnings per share growth rate. In September 2006, U.S. Banker magazine ranked First Mutual #38 in the Top 100 Publicly Traded Mid-Tier Banks, which includes those with less than $10 billion in assets, based on its three-year return on equity. First Mutual Bancshares, Inc. is the parent company of First Mutual Bank, an independent, community-based bank that operates 12 full-service banking centers in the Puget Sound area and sales finance offices in Jacksonville, Florida, and Mt. Clemens, Michigan. www.firstmutual.com