BELLINGHAM, Wash., Dec. 22, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Horizon Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:HRZB) today announced its Board of Directors decided to suspend the quarterly cash dividend previously paid on shares of its common stock.
"Due to the current uncertainty in our markets, we believe it is prudent to preserve capital by suspending the cash dividend payment," said Rich Jacobson, CEO. "We will re-evaluate our cash dividend policy in the future to determine when it might be appropriate to resume paying dividends."
At September 30, 2008, Horizon was well-capitalized with a Total Risked Based Capital ratio of 10.35%, which remains above the regulatory threshold of 10% for a well capitalized rating, and solidly above the 8% adequate capitalized threshold.
Conference Call Information
Horizon will also release its fiscal 2009 third quarter results before the market opens on January 29, 2009, and will host a conference call at 1:30 p.m. PST (4:30 pm EST) to discuss the quarterly results. The live call can be accessed by dialing (303) 262-2130 or on the web at www.horizonbank.com. The replay, which will be available for a month beginning shortly after the call concludes, can be heard at (303) 590-3000 using access code 11120602# or on the web at www.horizonbank.com.
Horizon Financial Corp. is a $1.45 billion, state-chartered bank holding company headquartered in Bellingham, Washington. Its primary subsidiary, Horizon Bank, is a state-chartered commercial bank that operates 19 full-service offices, four commercial loan centers and four real estate loan centers throughout Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish and Pierce counties, Washington.
Safe Harbor Statement: Except for the historical information in this news release, the matters described herein are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Such risks and uncertainties include: the credit risks of lending activities, including changes in the level and trend of loan delinquencies and write-offs, results of examinations by our banking regulators, our ability to manage loan delinquency rates, the ability to successfully expand existing relationships, deposit pricing and the ability to gather low-cost deposits, success in new markets and expansion plans, expense management and the efficiency ratio, expanding or maintaining the net interest margin, interest rate risk, the local and national economic environment, and other risks and uncertainties discussed from time to time in Horizon Financial's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. Horizon undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Investors are encouraged to read the SEC report of Horizon, particularly its Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2008, for meaningful cautionary language discussion why actual results may vary from those anticipated by management.