MutualFirst Announces 2008 Earnings

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Muncie, Indiana -MutualFirst Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: MFSF), the holding company of MutualBank (the (the "Bank"), announced today net income for the year ended December 31, 2008 of $835,000, or $.15 for both basic and diluted earnings per common share. This compared to net income in 2007 of $4.2 million, or $1.03 for basic and $1.02 for diluted earnings per common share.  Annualized return on average assets was .07% and return on average tangible equity was 1.06% for year end 2008 compared to .44% and 5.86% respectively, for the same period last year.

Assets totaled $1.4 billion at December 31, 2008, an increase from December 31, 2007 of $447.2 million, or 46.5%. Gross loans, excluding loans held for sale, increased $317.5 million, or 39.2%, due primarily to the acquisition of $383.1 million of net loans from MFB Corp in the third quarter of 2008.  Consumer loans increased $42.9 million, or 19.0%, residential mortgage loans held in the portfolio increased $88.7 million, or 20.0%, and commercial loans increased $185.9 million, or 130.2%.  Mortgage loans held for sale decreased $104,000 and mortgage loans sold during the year 2008 totaled $92.9 million.  The increased loan balances are due primarily to the purchase of MFB Corp in the third quarter of 2008.  Total net loans, excluding the amount of acquired loans, declined $65.6 million primarily due to the sale of $58.4 million of fixed rate mortgage loans in the third quarter of 2008.  Investment securities available for sale increased $33.7 million, or 77.1%, compared to December 31, 2007 due primarily to $23.9 million acquired with MFB Corp.  Investment securities held to maturity increased $9.7 million due to the redemption in kind securities received in the third quarter of 2008.

The net loss for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2008 of $1.9 million, or $.29 for basic and diluted earnings per common share was due primarily to provision for loan losses of $4.8 million, or $.46 per common share, net of tax.  This compared to net income for the comparable period in 2007 of $893,000, or $.22 for basic and diluted earnings per common share.  Annualized return on assets was a negative .55% and return on average tangible equity was a negative 8.39% for the fourth quarter of 2008 compared to .37% and 4.96%, respectively, for the same period last year. 

Other contributors to the loss for the quarter were an other than temporary charge on certain trust preferred securities of $1.2 million, a mortgage servicing rights impairment charge of $500,000 and a loss on the sale of a subsidiary of $329,000, or a total of $.19 per share, net of tax.  Operating income before provision for loan losses and the additional items discussed above for the three months ended December 31, 2008 was $2.5 million, net of tax, or $.36 per share.  "MutualBank is not immune to the economic environment," said David W. Heeter, President and CEO, "We feel that we took prudent actions in the fourth quarter to strengthen our reserves to reflect the markets we serve."

Allowance for loan losses increased $6.8 million, including $3.0 million acquired with MFB Corp, to $15.1 million at December 31, 2008 when compared to December 31, 2007.  Specific loan loss reserves have increased $658,000, while general loan loss reserves have increased $6.1 million since December 31, 2007.  Net charge offs for the year 2008 were $3.2 million, or .34% of average loans on an annualized basis, compared to $2.0 million, or .25% of average loans for the comparable period in 2007. The increase was primarily due to increased charge offs on commercial real estate during 2008.  As of December 31, 2008 the allowance for loan losses as a percentage of loans receivable and non-performing loans was 1.34% and 69.41%, respectively, compared to 1.03% and 79.72%, respectively, at December 31, 2007.  "The current credit environment continues to challenge the banking industry and we continue to prudently manage the asset quality in our loan portfolio," added Heeter. 

Total deposits were $962.5 million at December 31, 2008, an increase of $296.1 million at December 31, 2007.  This increase was due primarily to the assumption of $331.1 million in deposits from MFB Corp in the third quarter of 2008.  Total borrowings increased $82.5 million to $279.1 million at December 31, 2008 from $196.6 million at December 31, 2007 due primarily to the assumption of $96.4 million in borrowings from MFB Corp.

Stockholders' equity increased $66.7 million, or 76.6%, from $87.0 million at December 31, 2007, to $153.7 million at December 31, 2008.  The increase was due primarily to stock issued to acquire MFB Corp of $39.8 million, preferred stock issued to the United States Treasury Department of $32.4 million, net income of $835,000, and Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) and RRP shares earned of $364,000. This increase was partially offset by the repurchase of 154,000 shares of common stock for $1.8 million and dividend payments of $3.5 million.  Also, the market value of securities available for sale compared to their book value decreased $1.5 million from a loss of $414,000 at December 31, 2007 to a loss of $1.9 million at December 31, 2008.  As of December 31, 2008, the Bank's risk-based capital ratio was 13.31%, well in excess of "well-capitalized" levels as defined by all regulatory standards. The Company's tangible equity to tangible asset ratio was 6.38%.

Net interest income before the provision for loan losses increased $4.4 million from $6.2 million for the three months ended December 31, 2007 to $10.5 million for the three months ended December 31, 2008. The reasons for the increase were a $367.3 million, or 42.2%, increase in average interest earning assets and a 57 basis point increase in the net interest margin from 2.84% for the three months ended December 31, 2007 to 3.41% for the same period in 2008.  The increase in average interest earning assets was due primarily to the acquisition of MFB Corp in the third quarter of 2008.  

Net interest income before the provision for loan losses increased $9.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2008 compared to the year ended December 31, 2007. The reasons for the increase were similar to those stated above. Average interest earning assets increased $175.5 million, or 20.3% and the net interest margin increased by 43 basis points from 2.79% for the year ended December 31, 2007 to 3.22% for the same period in 2008. 

The provision for loan losses for the fourth quarter of 2008 was $4.8 million, compared to $843,000 for last year's comparable period. Non-performing loans to total loans at December 31, 2008 were 1.93% compared to 1.29% at December 31, 2007.   Non-performing assets to total assets were 1.89% at December 31, 2008 compared to 1.35% at December 31, 2007. 

The provision for loan losses for the year ended December 31, 2008 was $7.0 million, compared to $2.2 million for last year's comparable period.  The reason for the increase is higher loan balances and more non-performing loans during 2008.

Non-interest income decreased $899,000 to $1.2 million, or 43.2%, for the three months ended December 31, 2008 compared to the same period in 2007.  The decrease was due primarily to $1.2 million write down on two trust preferred securities, a $329,000 loss on the sale of a title insurance subsidiary, and a $500,000 impairment charge on mortgage servicing rights.  Without the extraordinary decreases mentioned above, operating non-interest income increased $1.1 million for the three months ended December 31, 2008 compared to the same period in 2007.  The increase was due primarily to increases in fees and service charges on deposit accounts of $661,000, increases in commission income of $364,000, and increases in earnings on cash surrender value of life insurance of $135,000.  All of these increases were due primarily to the acquisition of MFB in the third quarter of 2008.

For the year ended December 31, 2008 non-interest income decreased $1.2 million, or 16.1%, to $6.5 million compared to $7.8 million for the same period in 2007. The reasons for the decrease are similar to those mentioned above along with losses related to the sale of the AMF Ultra Funds of $2.6 million and a write-down of a Lehman's corporate bond of $200,000 in the third quarter of 2008.  These decreases were offset by increases in fees and service charges on deposit accounts of $1.4 million and commission income of $795,000 due primarily to the acquisition of MFB in the third quarter of 2008.

Non-interest expense increased $4.1 million for the three months ended December 31, 2008 compared to the same period in 2007. Increases in current quarter non-interest expense compared to the same period in 2007 include increases in salaries and employee benefits of $1.8 million, increases in occupancy expense of $337,000, increases in data processing expense of $77,000, increases in professional fees of $80,000, increases in marketing of $193,000 and increases in other expenses of $1.6 million, due primarily to increased intangible amortization and software expense relating to trust services.  These increases were primarily due to the acquisition of MFB Corp. 

Non-interest expense increased $9.0 million to $34.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2008 compared to $25.2 million for the same period in 2007 primarily due to the acquisition of MFB Corp.

MutualFirst Financial, Inc. and MutualBank are headquartered in Muncie, Indiana with thirty-three full service retail financial centers offices in Delaware, Elkhart, Grant, Kosciusko, Randolph, St. Joseph and Wabash counties.  MutualBank also has trust offices in Carmel and Crawfordsville, Indiana and a loan origination office in New Buffalo, Michigan.

Statements contained in this release, which are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements, as that term is defined in the Private Securities Reform Act of 1995.  Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors, which include, but are not limited to changes in interest rates; the loss of deposits and loan demand to competitors; substantial changes in financial markets; changes in real estate values and the real estate market; or regulatory changes.