December 18, 2006

Carol Nelson Appointed to Seattle Branch Federal Reserve Board

Seattle, WA – December 18, 2006 – The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco has appointed Carol Nelson, president and chief executive officer of Everett-based Cascade Financial Corporation, to its Seattle Branch board of directors. Her appointment is for a three-year term beginning January 1, 2007.

Carol Nelson

Cascade Financial is the holding company for Cascade Bank, a community bank with locations throughout Snohomish and Eastern King County. Prior to her arrival at Cascade Financial in 2001, Ms. Nelson was a senior vice president and regional executive for Bank of America.

Ms. Nelson is a member of the Washington Roundtable, Washington Bankers Association and the Public Facilities District for Washington State’s MLB stadium. In 2005 she was named to U.S. Banker Magazine’s list of the 25 most powerful women in banking and finance.

Current board member, Helvi Sandvik, president of NANA Development Corporation in Anchorage, Alaska, was reappointed to a second term beginning January 1, 2007. Her reappointment replaces outgoing director David Wyckoff, chief executive officer of Wyckoff Farms, located in Grandview, Washington. Ms. Nelson succeeds Ms. Sandvik.

Other members of the Seattle Branch board include Mic R. Dinsmore (chairman), Port of Seattle, James R. Gill, Pacific Northwest Title, Kenneth M. Kirkpatrick, U.S. Bank, and H. Stewart Parker, Targeted Genetics Corporation.

The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, with branch offices in Los Angeles, Seattle, Salt Lake City, and Portland, and a cash processing office in Phoenix, provides wholesale banking services to financial institutions throughout the nine western states. As the nation's central bank, the Federal Reserve System formulates monetary policy, serves as a bank regulator, administers consumer protection laws, and is fiscal agent for the U.S. government.

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