Horizon Financial Increases Quarterly Cash Dividend 4 Percent to $0.135

Schedules Fiscal Third Quarter 2008 Conference Call


BELLINGHAM, Wash., Dec. 19, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Horizon Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:HRZB) announced today its Board of Directors has increased the quarterly cash dividend 4% to $0.135 per share. The dividend will be paid on February 1, 2008, to shareholders of record on January 8, 2008.

Horizon also announced the earnings release date and dial-in information for management's upcoming earnings conference call. The holding company for Northwestern Washington-based Horizon Bank expects to report results for the third quarter of fiscal 2008 before the market opens on Thursday, January 17, 2008. Management will host a conference call to discuss the results at 1:30 pm PST (4:30 pm EST) on that same day. The live call can be accessed by dialing (303) 262-2130. 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 11104842#.

Horizon Financial Corp. is a $1.3 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: continuing to pay cash dividends, the ability to increase such dividends, successfully targeting new commercial business and expand existing relationships, deposit pricing and the ability to gather core deposits, success in new markets, expense management, expanding or maintaining the net interest margin, interest rate risk, loan quality and the loss levels expected on non-performing loans, the local and national economic environment, and other risks and uncertainties discussed from time to time in Horizon Financial's SEC filings. 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.



            

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