NOTE 1 – SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Principles of Consolidation: The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Macatawa Bank Corporation ("the Company", "our", "we") 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 stock of Macatawa Statutory Trust I and Macatawa Statutory Trust II. These are grantor trusts that issued trust preferred securities and are not consolidated with the Company under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Basis of Presentation: The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring accruals) believed necessary for a fair presentation have been included.

Operating results for the three month period ended March 31, 2017 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2017. For further information, refer to the consolidated financial statements and related notes included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016.

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.

Allowance for Loan Losses: The allowance for loan losses (allowance) is a valuation allowance for probable incurred credit losses inherent in our loan portfolio, increased by the provision for loan losses and recoveries, and decreased by charge-offs of loans. Management believes the allowance for loan losses balance 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 relevant 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. Management continues its collection efforts on previously charged-off balances and applies recoveries as additions to the allowance for loan losses.

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 factors. The Company maintains a loss migration analysis that tracks loan losses and recoveries based on loan class and the loan risk grade assignment for commercial loans. At March 31, 2017, an 18 month annualized historical loss experience was used for commercial loans and a 12 month historical loss experience period was applied to residential mortgage loans and consumer loans. These historical loss percentages are adjusted (both upwards and downwards) for certain qualitative factors, including economic trends, credit quality trends, valuation trends, concentration risk, quality of loan review, changes in personnel, 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 a concession has been made, 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 and the loan is reported 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 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.

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.

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.

We recognize 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. We recognize interest and penalties related to income tax matters in income tax expense.

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 March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the total notional amount of such agreements was $43.5 million and $48.1 million and resulted in a derivative asset with a fair value of $383,000 and $494,000, respectively, which were included in other assets and a derivative liability of $383,000 and $494,000, respectively, which were included in other liabilities.

Reclassifications: Some items in the prior period 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”) 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 was not material as no stock awards vested in the three months ended March 31, 2017, but could cause some volatility in income tax expense in future periods where stock awards vest.

FASB issued ASU No. 2017-08, Premium Amortization on Purchased Callable Debt Securities.  This ASU changes generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) to require premiums on purchased callable debt securities to be amortized to the earliest call date.  Previous GAAP allowed entities to amortize to contractual maturity or to call date.  The amendments in this ASU are effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018, with early adoption permitted.  As the Company has consistently amortized premiums on its purchased callable debt securities, the Company has elected to early adopt this ASU effective January 1, 2017.  There was no impact of adoption of this ASU by the Company.

 

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. 2016-13, 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.