Cascade Bancorp, the holding company for Bank of the Cascades, announced the hiring of a commercial banking team in the Seattle Metro Area led by veteran banker Brandon Elieff who brings over 15 years of experience in middle market C&I and business banking in the vibrant Puget Sound market.

"I am very pleased to have Brandon and his team joining Cascade in the attractive Seattle, WA market," commented Terry Zink, President and CEO of Cascade.  "A key component of our organic growth strategy is to leverage our enviable low cost deposit base in markets outside of our core branch network where we believe we can take market share at attractive risk adjusted returns.  Our commercial banking center in Portland is a great example of the success of this strategy, having contributed almost 15% of total loans.  Our proven formula is to combine strong in-market bankers with advanced mobile access, enabling delivery of our unique and personalized lending and treasury management services to targeted mid-market commercial customers.  Brandon and his team are a perfect fit as we continue to execute upon this important facet of our growth strategy."

Elieff, who will serve as Executive Vice President and Seattle Market President, joins Cascade from Northwest Bank, where he served as the bank's Seattle Market President, responsible for leading their build-out in the Seattle market.  Prior to Northwest Bank, Elieff served as Northern Trust's Pacific Northwest Senior Lender and was responsible for the oversight of the entire lending and deposit services staff as well as over seeing a $250 million loan portfolio.

Cascade Bancorp, headquartered in Bend, Oregon, and its wholly owned subsidiary, Bank of the Cascades, operate in Oregon and Idaho markets. Founded in 1977, Bank of the Cascades offers full-service community banking through 37 branches in Central, Southern and Northwest Oregon, as well as in the greater Boise/Treasure Valley, Idaho area.