Frontier Financial feels housing market pinch

The regional banking industry delivered more unpleasant news Thursday, with the latest dose coming from a somewhat surprising source. Everett-based Frontier Financial Corp. said it will cut its third-quarter dividend, payable in July, to 6 cents, a slice of two-thirds from the second-quarter payout of 18 cents a share. Frontier also warned that it expects to "significantly" increase its provision for loan losses for second-quarter results, to be reported next month. "This action comes as a result of our concern with a continuing deterioration in the housing market and the impact it is having on many of our borrowers," Frontier President John Dickson said in a statement. "Unfortunately, the economic cycle we are working through poses challenges for everyone in our industry. Challenges we believe call for prudent, but... [read full story]