Cascade Financial Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend of $0.045 Per Share; Schedules Fourth Quarter 2008 Conference Call

• Press Release
• Source: Cascade Financial Corp.
• On 7:34 pm EST, Thursday December 11, 2008

EVERETT, Wash., Dec. 11, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cascade Financial Corporation (NasdaqGS:CASB - News), parent company of Cascade Bank, today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.045 per share, the same as the previous quarter. This dividend is payable January 20, 2009 to shareholders of record as of January 6, 2009.

Related Quotes

Symbol	Price	Change
CASB	1.99	+0.13

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``Cascade Bank continues to be a strong, well capitalized bank that will successfully navigate the challenges of the current economic slowdown,'' stated Carol K. Nelson, President and CEO. ``We believe that cash dividends represent an important component of shareholder return and are pleased to announce our 26th consecutive quarterly dividend.''

On November 24, 2008, Cascade announced that it had completed its $39 million capital raise as a participant in the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Capital Purchase Program. ``This additional capital infusion enables us to expand our ability to provide increased credit to businesses and consumers in our market area and affords us flexibility when considering new strategic opportunities,'' added Nelson.

Cascade expects to report fourth quarter 2008 results after the market closes on Tuesday, January 27, 2009. The following day, on Wednesday, January 28, Cascade's management team will discuss the company's operating results in a conference call at 11:00 a.m. PST (2:00 p.m. EST). Interested investors may listen to the call live or via replay at http://www.cascadebank.com. Investment professionals are invited to dial (800) 218-0204 to participate in the call. A replay will be available for a month at (303) 590-3000, using passcode 11123778#.

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 http://www.cascadebank.com or at http://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 September 2008, President and CEO Carol K. Nelson was named to U.S. Banker magazine's list of ``25 Women to Watch'' in its annual ranking of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking and Finance. 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 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, 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.

          Cascade Financial Corporation
          Carol K. Nelson, CEO
          Lars Johnson, CFO
          425.339.5500
          www.cascadebank.com