MBank's year-end results include good income, added employees

Manistique-based mBank had a really good year in 2011, despite taking on the responsibility and some of the financial burden of the once-failing Manistique Papers.

That move actually solidified mBank in the eyes of some U.P. residents as a committed, homegrown bank that would treat its customers--and communities--right. It's now active in the process of negotiating with a buyer to keep the mill open, which is planned for early 2012.

Regardless of the reasons, mBank and its holding company, Mackinac Financial Corporation, reported a net income of $1.45 million for 2011. That's a big change from its results in 2010, which ended up with a net loss of $1.2 million.

mBank itself recorded a net income of $2.7 million for 2011, which compares well to it's much smaller net income of $83,000 in 2010.

President and CEO Kelly George says the reasons include improvements in several categories, like better credit quality, core deposit growth, and a decrease in loan losses and write-offs.

The bank's Texas Ratio, a measure of its credit asset performance, dropped to 18.43 percent in 2011, making it one of the lowest of the 15 largest public banks in Michigan. George says this also should mean better results in 2012.

Deposits at mBank locations grew by $58 million, mostly in the Upper Peninsula and northern lower Michigan, but with growth in all the bank's markets. The bank was able to repay higher-cost wholesale deposits with that growth, making its overall financial portfolio more stable.

Loan production was another high point of the report, as mBank did about $173 million in new loans, between commercial lending and consumer mortgages. $95 million of that was in the U.P.

"The continued use of the various government lending programs such as the SBA, USDA, and also the MEDC, have enabled the Corporation to be a catalyst for the on-going rehabilitation of a state that was significantly damaged by the recession and real estate downturn in the late 2000's, by providing the needed capital and lending resources to help clients grow and purchase stable Michigan businesses," says George. "We have also allocated additional resources and lending focus on growing and providing increased funding for consumers to acquire, or refinance their primary residence, and other retail related assets."

And, a bright spot on the report for at least a few U.P. families: mBank added the equivalent of six new full-time employees throughout 2011.

Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Kelly George, mBank