Issaquah Bank sold to Cascade Financial Corp.
Published 12:13 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008
ISSAQUAH – Issaquah Bank will be changing owners, but it will not change its name.
Last week Everett-based Cascade Financial Corp., the parent company of Cascade Bank, agreed to pay $32 million to buy privately held Issaquah Bancshares Inc. The transactions will increase Cascade’s assets to more than $1 billion from $885 million as of Dec. 31, 2003, and will increase its number of banking offices to 17.
Issaquah Bank, which has $128 million in assets, currently has two branches, one in Issaquah and one in North Bend. Cascade currently has two branches in Issaquah.
“Issaquah Bank brings a healthy share of a robust market, a solid commercial loan portfolio, a strong deposit base and attractive margins to our business mix,” said Carol K. Nelson, president and CEO of Cascade Financial.
The boards of directors from both companies have approved the merger, but the agreement is subject to the shareholders of Issaquah Bank. The deal is expected to be completed this spring.
Once that agreement is completed, Issaquah Bank will operate as a division of Cascade Financial Corp. under the supervision of Robert Ittes, Issaquah Bank’s founder and chief executive officer.
“We view Cascade as one of the premier banking organizations in this region,” said Ittes. “Our commitment to preserving our community-bank atmosphere and high-quality service will be enhanced by this merger.”
Issaquah Bank was founded by Ittes in 1993 when he opened the institution in a trailer parked in the front of Lombardi’s restaurant on Gilman Boulevard in Issaquah.
Ittes, a former bank examiner with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., sought to fill a community banking need along the Interstate 90 corridor.
Nelson pointed to continued growth along the corridor as one of the reasons for the purchase.
“This merger of two community-oriented institutions represents a natural extension of our franchise, and will give our combined company a stronger presence as a business and retail commercial bank in the growing Cascade foothills market along Interstate 90,” she said.
Nelson added that during the 1990s, Issaquah’s population increased 44 percent and increased another 23 percent between 2000 and 2002, according to the Economic Development Council of Seattle and King County.
Upon opening its North Bend branch in 1997, Issaquah Bank and its employees became involved in the community by supporting events and organizations such as Alpine Days, Village Theater, Children’s Services of Sno-Valley, Mount Si High School, Salmon Days and the Snoqualmie Valley and Issaquah chambers of commerce.
Travis Peterson can be reached at (425) 888-2311 or by e-mail at travis.peterson@valleyrecord.com.
