FMSB First Mutual Bancshares (MM)

First Mutual Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq:FMSB) has scheduled its quarterly earnings release and conference call. The holding company for First Mutual Bank expects to report earnings for the third quarter of 2005 after the market closes on Tuesday, October 25, 2005. Management will host an analyst call the following morning to discuss the results. On Wednesday, October 26, investment professionals are invited to dial 303-262-2130 at 7:00 am PDT (10:00 am EDT). All current and prospective shareholders are welcome to listen to the live call or replay through a webcast posted on the bank's website, www.firstmutual.com, where it will be archived for one month. A telephone replay will also be available for a month, beginning approximately two hours after the conclusion of the call, at 303-590-3000 using 11040243# for the passcode. In July, First Mutual reported its 51st consecutive quarter of year-over-year earnings growth. Net income was up 15% to $2.5 million, or $0.45 per diluted share in the second quarter compared to the second quarter of last year. First Mutual's consistent performance has garnered attention from a number of sources. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods named First Mutual to its Honor Roll in 2005 and 2004 for the company's 10-year earnings per share growth rate, and Sandler O'Neill's 2004 Bank and Thrift Sm-All Stars named First Mutual one of the top 30 performing small banks in the country, among the 592 with market capitalizations below $2 billion. In August 2005, U.S. Banker magazine ranked First Mutual #34 in the Top 100 Publicly Traded Mid-Tier Banks, which includes those with less than $10 billion in assets, based on its three-year return on equity. In May last year, First Mutual Bank was named Eastside Business of the Year in the 2004 Eastside Business Awards, sponsored by the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce. First Mutual Bancshares, Inc. is the holding company for its wholly owned subsidiary, First Mutual Bank, an independent, community-based bank that operates 12 full-service banking centers in the Puget Sound area, as well as a loan production office in Tacoma, Washington, and a sales finance office in Jacksonville, Florida. www.firstmutual.com