Biz week

Frontier looks ahead

A New York-based holding company has purchased Frontier Financial Corp. for an exchange of stock. The plan is to keep the Frontier Bank brand and management and to continue to base the company in Everett. Officials say the move will provide needed capital the bank can use to transition itself from a strong emphasis on land development and home sales to business banking. Chief Executive Pat Fahey said it should also allow Frontier buy other firms. The deal, announced Friday, comes after Frontier announced a loss of $50 million during the second quarter and said its nonperforming loans had increased to 20 percent. “This opportunity is attractive when considered amidst the backdrop of today’s historically low bank stock valuations and the opportunity for improved valuation in the future,” said Warren Lichtenstein, chief executive of buyer SP Acquisition Holdings Inc. “I am personally excited to help lead our business banking efforts and believe this market is ripe with opportunities,” said Fahey.

Cascade posts loss: Everett-based Cascade Bank announced a second-quarter loss of nearly $21 million, mostly to cover expected bad loans. The bank increased its provision for loan losses by $18.3 million and also wrote off $12 million in goodwill, representing the loss in value of Issaquah Bank, which Cascade purchased in 2004. The goodwill loss is an accounting move that doesn’t affect the amount of capital the bank has to do business.

Boeing sells 777s: The Boeing Co. had good news last week with two sales of 777s. Turkish Airlines and Ethiopian Airlines bought a total of 12 of the passenger jets valued at $3.2 billion in list prices. The orders give Boeing a lift in a year where many airlines have cancelled orders for the 787 and other jets to deal with decline passengers.

Herald staff