Business: Cashmere Valley Bank was established 1932. Cashmere was chosen as the site to begin their new bank because the community was without a financial institution after the failure of two banks during the beginning of the Great Depression. From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s, Cashmere Valley Bank opened 5 new branches to better serve the Wenatchee, Leavenworth and East Wenatchee communities. Cashmere Valley Bank has grown to include branches in Ellensburg, Cle Elum, Chelan and Yakima with a Municipal Banking office in Bellevue.