Macatawa Bank reports Q4 EPS 28c, consensus 31c

Net interest income for the fourth quarter 2023 totaled $21.4M , a decrease of $803,000 from third quarter 2023 and a decrease of $1.4M from fourth quarter 2022. Net interest margin for fourth quarter 2023 was 3.28% percent, down 7 basis points from third quarter 2023 and down 6 basis points from fourth quarter 2022. Net interest income in fourth quarter 2023 versus fourth quarter 2022 was impacted by increases in deposit rates and significant shifting of deposits from noninterest bearing types to money market and certificate of deposit accounting response to the significant increases in the federal funds rate over the past two years.Swets concluded: “We believe our balance sheet is well positioned in the current environment. In addition to the $418.0M of overnight funds we have at year end 2023, we have nearly $300 million of investments maturing over the next twelve months. Deploying those funds into loans or even additional overnight funds will likely be accretive to our interest income. Our loan-to-deposit ratio at December 31, 2023 was just 55%, giving us a significant amount of room to grow our loan portfolio without the need to look to wholesale funding sources. Our liquidity, high level of capital, and excellent asset quality put us in a good position to weather softer economic conditions, should they occur, and to seize loan growth opportunities in our markets. We remain committed to the conservative and well-disciplined approach to running the Company that has provided strong and consistent financial performance to our shareholders.”