UPDATE 1-Macatawa Bank Q4 trails analysts' view, to cut jobs
* Q4 shr loss wider than estimates
* To cut staff by about 10 pct
* Management to forego 2008 bonus
* Employees to miss 2009 pay hikes
Jan 26 (Reuters) - Macatawa Bank Corp (MCBC.O) posted a wider-than-expected loss for the fourth quarter on higher expnses and said it would reduce staff by about 10 percent.
The Holland, Michigan-based company also said its management will forego bonuses in 2008 and all employees will forego annual pay hikes in 2009. Quarterly loss was $35.1 million, or $2.11 a share, compared with a loss of $2.6 million, or 15 cents a share, last year. The company said fourth-quarter results included non-cash impairment charges of $27 million. Three analysts on average expected the company to post a loss of 15 cents a share, excluding special items, according to Reuters Estimates.
Non-interest expense jumped three-fold to $43.9 million, including the impairment charge.
Net interest income fell $1.2 million to $13.5 million and net interest margin fell 24 basis points to 2.74 percent.
Shares of Macatawa, which operates 26 branch offices, closed at $2.72 Monday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Amiteshwar Singh in Bangalore; Editing by Anil D'Silva)
