NOTE 1 – SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Nature of Operations and Principles of Consolidation: The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Macatawa Bank Corporation ("Macatawa" or the "Company") and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Macatawa Bank (the "Bank").  All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Macatawa Bank is a Michigan chartered bank with depository accounts insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The Bank operates 26 full service branch offices providing a full range of commercial and consumer banking and trust services in Kent County, Ottawa County, and northern Allegan County, Michigan.

The Company owns all of the common securities of Macatawa Statutory Trust I and Macatawa Statutory Trust II.  These are grantor trusts that issued trust preferred securities and are discussed in a separate note.  Under generally accepted accounting principles, these trusts are not consolidated into the financial statements of the Company.

Use of Estimates:  To prepare financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, management makes estimates and assumptions based on available information.  These estimates and assumptions affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and the disclosures provided, and future results could differ.  The allowance for loan losses, valuation of deferred tax assets, loss contingencies, fair value of other real estate owned and fair values of financial instruments are particularly subject to change.

Concentration of Credit Risk:  Loans are granted to, and deposits are obtained from, customers primarily in the western Michigan area as described above.  Substantially all loans are secured by specific items of collateral, including residential real estate, commercial real estate, commercial assets and consumer assets.  Commercial real estate loans are the largest concentration, comprising 40% of total loans at December 31, 2016.  Commercial and industrial loans total 35%, while residential real estate and consumer loans make up the remaining 25%.  Other financial instruments, which potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk, include deposit accounts in other financial institutions.

Cash Flow Reporting:  Cash and cash equivalents include cash on hand, demand deposits with other financial institutions and short-term securities (securities with maturities equal to or less than 90 days and federal funds sold).  Cash flows are reported net for customer loan and deposit transactions, interest-bearing time deposits with other financial institutions and short-term borrowings with maturities of 90 days or less.

Securities:  Securities are classified as held to maturity and carried at amortized cost when management has the positive intent and ability to hold them to maturity.  Securities available for sale consist of those securities which might be sold prior to maturity due to changes in interest rates, prepayment risks, yield and availability of alternative investments, liquidity needs or other factors.  Securities classified as available for sale are reported at their fair value and the related unrealized holding gain or loss is reported in other comprehensive income, net of tax.

Interest income includes amortization of purchase premium or discount.  Premiums and discounts on securities are amortized on the level yield method without anticipating prepayments.  Gains and losses on sales are based on the amortized cost of the security sold.

Management evaluates securities for other-than-temporary impairment ("OTTI") at least on a quarterly basis, and more frequently when economic or market conditions warrant such an evaluation.  Investment securities classified as available for sale or held-to-maturity are generally evaluated for OTTI under ASC Topic 320, Investments — Debt and Equity Instruments.

In determining OTTI, management considers many factors, including: (1) the length of time and the extent to which the fair value has been less than cost, (2) the financial condition and near-term prospects of the issuer, (3) whether the market decline was affected by macroeconomic conditions, and (4) whether the entity has the intent to sell the debt security or more likely than not will be required to sell the debt security before its anticipated recovery. The assessment of whether an other-than-temporary decline exists involves a high degree of subjectivity and judgment and is based on the information available to management at a point in time. Management has determined that no OTTI charges were necessary during 2016, 2015 and 2014.

 

Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) Stock:  The Bank is a member of the FHLB system.  Members are required to own a certain amount of stock based on the level of borrowings and other factors, and may invest in additional amounts.  FHLB stock is carried at cost, classified as a restricted security, and periodically evaluated for impairment.  Because this stock is viewed as a long term investment, impairment is based on ultimate recovery of par value.  Management has determined that there is no impairment of FHLB stock.  Both cash and stock dividends are reported as income.

Loans Held for Sale:  Mortgage loans originated and intended for sale in the secondary market are carried at fair value, as determined by outstanding commitments from investors.  As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, these loans had a net unrealized gain of $28,000 and $65,000, respectively, which are reflected in their carrying value.  Changes in fair value of loans held for sale are included in net gains on mortgage loans.  Loans are sold servicing released; therefore no mortgage servicing right assets are established.

Loans:  Loans that management has the intent and ability to hold for the foreseeable future or until maturity or payoff are reported at the principal balance outstanding, net of unearned interest, deferred loan fees and costs and an allowance for loan losses.

Interest income is accrued on the unpaid principal balance.  Loan origination fees, net of certain direct origination costs, are deferred and recognized in interest income over the respective term of the loan using the level‑yield method without anticipating prepayments.

Interest income on mortgage and commercial loans is discontinued at the time the loan is 90 days delinquent unless the loan is well-secured and in process of collection.  Consumer loans are typically charged off no later than 120 days past due.  Past due status is based on the contractual terms of the loan.  In all cases, loans are placed on nonaccrual or charged-off at an earlier date if collection of principal or interest is considered doubtful.  Nonaccrual loans and loans past due 90 days still on accrual include both smaller balance homogeneous loans that are collectively evaluated for impairment and individually classified impaired loans.

All interest accrued but not received for loans placed on nonaccrual is reversed against interest income.  Interest received on such loans is accounted for on the cash-basis or cost‑recovery method, until qualifying for return to accrual.  Loans are returned to accrual status when all the principal and interest amounts contractually due are brought current and future payments are reasonably assured.

Allowance for Loan Losses:  The allowance for loan losses is a valuation allowance for probable incurred credit losses, increased by the provision for loan losses and recoveries, and decreased by charge-offs of loans.  Management believed the estimated allowance for loan losses to be adequate based on known and inherent risks in the portfolio, past loan loss experience, information about specific borrower situations and estimated collateral values, economic conditions and other factors.  Allocations of the allowance may be made for specific loans, but the entire allowance is available for any loan that, in management’s judgment, should be charged-off.  Loan losses are charged against the allowance when management believes the uncollectibility of a loan balance is confirmed.

The allowance consists of specific and general components.  The specific component relates to loans that are individually classified as impaired.  The general component covers non-classified loans and is based on historical loss experience adjusted for current qualitative environmental factors.  The Company maintains a loss migration analysis that tracks loan losses and recoveries based on loan class as well as the loan risk grade assignment for commercial loans.  At December 31, 2016, an 18 month (six quarter) annualized historical loss experience was used for commercial loans and a 12 month (four quarter) historical loss experience period was applied to residential mortgage and consumer loan portfolios.  These historical loss percentages are adjusted (both upwards and downwards) for certain qualitative environmental factors, including economic trends, credit quality trends, valuation trends, concentration risk, quality of loan review, changes in personnel, competition, increasing interest rates, external factors and other considerations.

A loan is impaired when, based on current information and events, it is believed to be probable that the Company will be unable to collect all amounts due according to the contractual terms of the loan agreement.  Loans for which the terms have been modified and for which the borrower is experiencing financial difficulties, are considered troubled debt restructurings and classified as impaired.

Commercial and commercial real estate loans with relationship balances exceeding $500,000 and an internal risk grading of 6 or worse are evaluated for impairment.  If a loan is impaired, a portion of the allowance is allocated so that the loan is reported, net, at the present value of estimated future cash flows using the loan’s existing interest rate or at the fair value of collateral, less estimated costs to sell, if repayment is expected solely from the collateral.  Large groups of smaller balance homogeneous loans, such as consumer and residential real estate loans are collectively evaluated for impairment and, accordingly, they are not separately identified for impairment disclosures.

Troubled debt restructurings are also considered impaired with impairment generally measured at the present value of estimated future cash flows using the loan’s effective rate at inception or using the fair value of collateral, less estimated costs to sell, if repayment is expected solely from the collateral.

Transfers of Financial Assets:  Transfers of financial assets are accounted for as sales, when control over the assets has been relinquished.  Control over transferred assets is deemed to be surrendered when the assets have been isolated from the Company, the transferee obtains the right (free of conditions that constrain it from taking advantage of that right) to pledge or exchange the transferred assets, and the Company does not maintain effective control over the transferred assets through an agreement to repurchase them before their maturity.

Foreclosed Assets:  Assets acquired through or instead of loan foreclosure, primarily other real estate owned, are initially recorded at fair value less estimated costs to sell when acquired, establishing a new cost basis.  If fair value declines, a valuation allowance is recorded through expense.  Costs after acquisition are expensed unless they add value to the property.

Premises and Equipment:  Land is carried at cost.  Premises and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation.  Buildings and related components are depreciated using the straight‑line method with useful lives ranging from 5 to 40 years.  Furniture, fixtures and equipment are depreciated using the straight-line method with useful lives ranging from 3 to 15 years.  Maintenance, repairs and minor alterations are charged to current operations as expenditures occur and major improvements are capitalized.

Bank-Owned Life Insurance (BOLI):  The Bank has purchased life insurance policies on certain officers. Bank-owned life insurance is recorded at its currently realizable cash surrender value.  Changes in cash surrender value are recorded in other income.

Goodwill and Acquired Intangible Assets:  Goodwill resulting from business combinations represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of the net assets of businesses acquired.  Goodwill and intangible assets acquired in a purchase business combination and determined to have an indefinite useful life are not amortized, but tested for impairment at least annually.  Intangible assets with definite useful lives are amortized over their estimated useful lives to their estimated residual values.  The Company had no goodwill at December 31, 2016 and 2015.

Acquired intangible assets consist of core deposit and customer relationship intangible assets arising from acquisitions.  They are initially measured at fair value and then are amortized on an accelerated method over their estimated useful lives, which range from ten to sixteen years.  The Company had no acquired intangible assets at December 31, 2016 and 2015.

Long-term Assets:  Premises and equipment and other long-term assets are reviewed for impairment when events indicate their carrying amount may not be recoverable from future undiscounted cash flows.  If impaired, the assets are recorded at fair value.

Loan Commitments and Related Financial Instruments:  Financial instruments include off-balance sheet credit instruments, such as commitments to make loans and commercial letters of credit, issued to meet customer financing needs.  The face amount for these items represents the exposure to loss, before considering customer collateral or ability to repay.  Such financial instruments are recorded when they are funded.

Mortgage Banking Derivatives:  Commitments to fund mortgage loans (interest rate locks) to be sold into the secondary market and forward commitments for the future delivery of these mortgage loans are accounted for as derivatives not qualifying for hedge accounting.  Fair values of these mortgage derivatives are estimated based on changes in mortgage interest rates from the date the interest on the loan is locked.  At times, the Company enters into forward commitments for the future delivery of mortgage loans when interest rate locks are entered into, in order to hedge the change in interest rates resulting from its commitments to fund the loans.

Changes in the fair values of these interest rate lock and forward commitment derivatives are included in net gains on mortgage loans.  The net fair value of mortgage banking derivatives was approximately $51,000 and $38,000 at December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

 

Derivatives:  Certain of our commercial loan customers have entered into interest rate swap agreements directly with the Bank.  At the same time the Bank enters into a swap agreement with its customer, the Bank enters into a corresponding interest rate swap agreement with a correspondent bank at terms mirroring the Bank’s interest rate swap with its commercial loan customer.   This is known as a back-to-back swap agreement.  Under this arrangement the Bank has two freestanding interest rate swaps, both of which are carried at fair value.  As the terms mirror each other, there is no income statement impact to the Bank.  At December 31, 2016, the total notional amount of such agreements was $48.1 million and resulted in a derivative asset with a fair value of $494,000 which was included in other assets and a derivative liability of $494,000 which was included in other liabilities.  At December 31, 2015, the total notional amount of such agreements was $43.9 million and resulted in a derivative asset with a fair value of $790,000 which was included in other assets and a derivative liability of $790,000 which was included in other liabilities.

Income Taxes:  Income tax expense is the sum of the current year income tax due or refundable and the change in deferred tax assets and liabilities.  Deferred tax assets and liabilities are the expected future tax consequences of temporary differences between the carrying amounts and tax bases of assets and liabilities, computed using enacted tax rates.  A valuation allowance, if needed, reduces deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.

The Company recognizes a tax position as a benefit only if it is "more likely than not" that the tax position would be sustained in a tax examination, with a tax examination being presumed to occur.  The amount recognized is the largest amount of tax benefit that is greater than 50% likely of being realized on examination.  For tax positions not meeting the "more likely than not" test, no tax benefit is recorded.

The Company recognizes interest and/or penalties related to income tax matters in income tax expense.

Earnings Per Common Share :  Basic earnings per common share is net income divided by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period.  All outstanding unvested restricted stock awards that contain rights to nonforfeitable dividends are considered participating securities for this calculation and are included in both basic and diluted earnings per share. Diluted earnings per common share includes the dilutive effect of additional potential common shares issuable under stock options.  In the event of a net loss, our unvested restricted stock awards are excluded from both basic and diluted earnings per share.

Comprehensive Income:  Comprehensive income consists of net income and other comprehensive income (loss).  Other comprehensive income (loss) includes unrealized gains and losses on securities available for sale.

Loss Contingencies:  Loss contingencies, including claims and legal actions arising in the ordinary course of business, are recorded as liabilities when the likelihood of loss is probable and an amount or range of loss can be reasonably estimated.

Restrictions on Cash:  Cash on hand or on deposit with the Federal Reserve Bank of $5,610,000 and $5,181,000 at December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively, was required to meet regulatory reserve and clearing requirements.

Stock Splits and Dividends:  Stock dividends in excess of 20% are reported as stock splits, resulting in no adjustment to the Company’s equity accounts.  Stock dividends for 20% or less are reported by transferring the fair value, as of the ex‑dividend date, of the stock issued from retained earnings to common stock.  Fractional share amounts are paid in cash with a reduction in retained earnings. All share and per share amounts are retroactively adjusted for stock splits and dividends.

Dividend Restriction:  Banking regulations require maintaining certain capital levels and impose limitations on dividends paid by the Bank to the Company and by the Company to shareholders.

 

Fair Values of Financial Instruments:  Fair values of financial instruments are estimated using relevant market information and other assumptions, as more fully disclosed separately.  Fair value estimates involve uncertainties and matters of significant judgment regarding interest rates, credit risk, prepayments and other factors, especially in the absence of broad markets for particular items.  Changes in assumptions or in market conditions could significantly affect the estimates.  The fair value estimates of existing on-and off-balance sheet financial instruments do not include the value of anticipated future business or the values of assets and liabilities not considered financial instruments.

Segment Reporting:  The Company, through the branch network of the Bank, provides a broad range of financial services to individuals and companies in western Michigan.  These services include demand, time and savings deposits; lending; ATM and debit card processing; cash management; and trust and brokerage services.  While the Company’s management team monitors the revenue streams of the various Company products and services, operations are managed and financial performance is evaluated on a Company-wide basis.  Accordingly, all of the Company’s banking operations are considered by management to be aggregated in one operating segment – commercial banking.

Reclassifications:  Some items in the prior year financial statements were reclassified to conform to the current presentation.

Adoption of New Accounting Standards:  The Financial Accounting Standards Board “FASB” issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2015-03, Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs.  This ASU requires that debt issuance costs be reported in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the face amount of the related liability, consistent with the presentation of debt discounts. Further, the ASU requires the amortization of debt issuance costs to be reported as interest expense. Similarly, debt issuance costs and any discount or premium are considered in the aggregate when determining the effective interest rate on the debt. The new guidance was effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2015, and interim periods within those fiscal years. The new guidance must be applied retrospectively. The impact of adoption of this ASU by the Company was not material.

FASB issued ASU 2015-05, Customer’s Accounting for Fees Paid in a Cloud Computing Arrangement.  This ASU provides guidance related to the accounting for internal-use software accessed through a hosting arrangement (e.g., cloud computing, software as a service, etc.) only if both of the following criteria are met: (1) the customer has the contractual right to take possession of the software at any time during the hosting period without significant penalty (there is no significant penalty if the customer has the ability to take delivery of the software without incurring significant cost and the ability to use the software separately without significant loss of utility or value); and (2) it is feasible for the customer to either run the software on its own hardware or contract with another party unrelated to the vendor to host the software. If both of the criteria are present in a hosting arrangement, then the arrangement contains a software license and the customer should generally capitalize and subsequently amortize the cost of the license. If both of the criteria are not present, the customer should account for the arrangement as a service contract (i.e., expense fees as incurred). The new guidance was effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2015, and interim periods within those fiscal years.  The impact of adoption of this ASU by the Company was not material.

Newly Issued Not Yet Effective Standards:  FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606).  The amendments in this Update create a new topic in the Codification, Topic 606. In addition to superseding and replacing nearly all existing U.S. GAAP revenue recognition guidance, including industry-specific guidance, ASC 606 establishes a new control-based revenue recognition model, changes the basis for deciding when revenue is recognized over time or at a point in time, provides new and more detailed guidance on specific topics and expands and improves disclosures about revenue.  In addition, ASU 2014-09 adds a new Subtopic to the Codification, ASC 340-40, Other Assets and Deferred Costs: Contracts with Customers, to provide guidance on costs related to obtaining a contract with a customer and costs incurred in fulfilling a contract with a customer that are not in the scope of another ASC Topic.   The new guidance does not apply to certain contracts within the scope of other ASC Topics, such as lease contracts, insurance contracts, financing arrangements, financial instruments, guarantees other than product or service warranties, and nonmonetary exchanges between entities in the same line of business to facilitate sales to customers. The amendments are effective for annual periods and interim periods within those annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017.  This ASU may require us to change how we recognize certain recurring revenue streams within trust and investment management fees, however, we do not expect these changes to have a significant effect on our financial statements.

 

FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases. The new standard establishes a right-of-use (ROU) model that requires a lessee to record a ROU asset and a lease liability on the balance sheet for all leases with terms longer than 12 months. Leases will be classified as either finance or operating, with classification affecting the pattern of expense recognition in the income statement.  The new standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. A modified retrospective transition approach is required for lessees for capital and operating leases existing at, or entered into after, the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented in the financial statements, with certain practical expedients available.  As the Company owns most of its branch locations, this ASU will apply primarily to operating leases and the impact of adoption of this ASU by the Company is not expected to be material.

FASB issued ASU No. 2016-09, Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting.  This ASU simplifies several aspects of the accounting for employee share-based payment transactions for both public and nonpublic entities, including the following: Accounting for income taxes, classification of excess tax benefits on the statement of cash flows, forfeitures, statutory tax withholding requirements, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities and classification of employee taxes paid on the statement of cash flows when an employer withholds shares for tax-withholding purposes.  The amendments are effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and for interim periods within those annual periods.  The impact of adoption of this ASU by the Company is not expected to be material, but could cause some volatility in income tax expense in periods where stock awards vest.

FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments.  This ASU provides financial statement users with more decision-useful information about the expected credit losses on financial instruments and other commitments to extend credit held by a reporting entity at each reporting date by replacing the incurred loss impairment methodology in current GAAP with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to inform credit loss estimates.  The new guidance eliminates the probable initial recognition threshold and, instead, reflects an entity’s current estimate of all expected credit losses. The new guidance broadens the information that an entity must consider in developing its expected credit loss estimate for assets measured either collectively or individually to include forecasted information, as well as past events and current conditions. There is no specified method for measuring expected credit losses, and an entity is allowed to apply methods that reasonably reflect its expectations of the credit loss estimate. Although an entity may still use its current systems and methods for recording the allowance for credit losses, under the new rules, the inputs used to record the allowance for credit losses generally will need to change to appropriately reflect an estimate of all expected credit losses and the use of reasonable and supportable forecasts. Additionally, credit losses on available-for-sale debt securities will now have to be presented as an allowance rather than as a write-down. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and for interim periods within those years.  The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this new ASU on its consolidated financial statements.

FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments (a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force).  This ASU addresses concerns regarding diversity in practice in how certain cash receipts and cash payments are presented and classified in the statement of cash flows.  In particular, this ASU addresses eight specific cash flow issues in an effort to reduce this diversity in practice: (1) debt prepayment or debt extinguishment costs; (2) settlement of zero-coupon bonds; (3) contingent consideration payments made after a business combination; (4) proceeds from the settlement of insurance claims; (5) proceeds from the settlement of corporate-owned life insurance policies, including bank-owned life insurance policies; (6) distributions received from equity method investees; (7) beneficial interests in securitization transactions; and (8) separately identifiable cash flows and application of the predominance principle.  The amendments are effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, and for interim periods within those annual periods.  The impact of adoption of this ASU by the Company is not expected to be material.