Citizens Republic Bancorp Announces Fourth Quarter 2010 Results

FLINT, Mich., Jan. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Citizens Republic Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: CRBC) announced today a net loss from continuing operations of $106.2 million for the three months ended December 31, 2010, compared with net losses of $62.5 million for the third quarter of 2010 and $65.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2009.  After incorporating the $5.5 million accrued but unpaid dividend to the preferred shareholder, Citizens reported a net loss attributable to common shareholders of $111.7 million for the three months ended December 31, 2010, compared with $67.9 million for the third quarter of 2010 and $70.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2009.  Results for the fourth quarter of 2009 included net income from discontinued operations of $1.2 million.  Diluted net loss from continuing operations per share was $0.28 for the three months ended December 31, 2010, compared with $0.17 for the third quarter of 2010 and $0.18 for the fourth quarter of 2009.  For the year ended December 31, 2010, Citizens recorded a net loss from continuing operations of $289.1 million compared with a net loss from continuing operations of $505.7 million for 2009.

“Last quarter we announced a plan to accelerate the workout of certain problem assets.  We are pleased with the execution of that plan during the fourth quarter and expect to substantially complete it during the first quarter of 2011,” commented Cathleen H. Nash, president and chief executive officer.

“We reduced the level of non-performing assets by 35% during the quarter.  Our watchlist declined by almost 20% and delinquencies are down 25% and at their lowest level since December 2006.  We have significantly reduced our balance sheet risk while maintaining strong regulatory capital levels.  Our strong reserve for loan losses supports the remaining work we have to do this year,” added Ms. Nash.

“We produced solid operating results for the quarter.  Net interest margin increased 10 basis points to 3.42% compared to last quarter.  Pre-tax pre-provision profit totaled $32 million for the fourth quarter,” continued Ms. Nash.

“We are very pleased with the progress we made during 2010 in working through the stressed loans in our portfolio.  Non-performing assets at the end of the year are at half the level of last year.  Our actions should allow us to regain quarterly profitability by the third quarter of 2011,” Ms. Nash concluded.  

Key Points in the Quarter:

• In an effort to reduce overall problem asset levels, Citizens resolved $466.2 million of problem assets in the fourth quarter of 2010 through a combination of bulk sales and individual workouts, recording a provision for loan losses of $131.3 million and net charge-offs of $159.3 million.  
• Total delinquent loans at December 31, 2010 were $98.4 million, or 1.58% of total portfolio loans, a decrease of $33.1 million or 25.2% from September 30, 2010.  Total nonperforming assets at December 31, 2010 were $286.6 million, a decrease of $156.7 million or 35.3% from September 30, 2010.
• Net interest margin for the fourth quarter of 2010 was 3.42% compared with 3.32% for the third quarter of 2010.  
• Pre-tax pre-provision profit (non-GAAP) for the fourth quarter of 2010 totaled $32.1 million, compared with $36.2 million for the third quarter of 2010.  

Balance Sheet

Total assets at December 31, 2010 were $10.0 billion, a decrease of $673.3 million or 6.3% from September 30, 2010 and a decrease of $2.0 billion or 16.5% from December 31, 2009.  The declines were primarily due to reductions in total portfolio loans as a result of the accelerated resolution of problem assets, customer loan paydowns, loan charge-offs and weak customer demand.  The decrease from 2009 was also due to the sale of Citizens’ wholly-owned subsidiary, F&M Bank-Iowa (“F&M”) during the second quarter of 2010.

Money market investments at December 31, 2010 totaled $409.1 million, a decrease of $121.1 million or 22.8% from September 30, 2010 and a decrease of $277.2 million or 40.4% from December 31, 2009.  The decreases were primarily the result of using money market investments to payoff maturing wholesale funding.

Investment securities at December 31, 2010 totaled $2.5 billion, an increase of $153.9 million or 6.5% from September 30, 2010 and an increase of $333.3 million or 15.2% over December 31, 2009.  Increases in investment securities were largely due to reinvesting a portion of the loan portfolio paydowns.

The following table displays total portfolio loans at quarter end for each of the last five quarters. The following definitions are provided to clarify the types of loans included in each of the commercial real estate segments identified in the table.  Land hold loans are secured by undeveloped land which has been acquired for future development.  Land development loans are secured by land undergoing infrastructure improvements to create finished marketable lots for commercial or residential construction.  Construction loans are secured by commercial, retail and residential real estate in the construction phase with the intent to be sold or become an income producing property.  Income producing loans are secured by non-owner occupied real estate leased to one or more tenants.  Owner occupied loans are secured by real estate occupied by the owner.

Decreases in total portfolio loans in the fourth quarter of 2010 compared to the prior quarters reflect the efforts of the accelerated problem asset resolution initiatives undertaken during that quarter, continued weak customer demand from credit-worthy clients, paydowns as a result of normal client activity, and charge-offs.  In addition, the decline from December 31, 2009 in residential mortgage loans was primarily the result of transferring nonperforming residential mortgage loans to loans held for sale at the end of the first and third quarters of 2010.  More than 90% of new mortgage originations are sold into the secondary market, resulting in minimal new loans being retained in the residential mortgage portfolio.  

Loans held for sale at December 31, 2010 were $40.3 million, a decrease of $11.8 million or 22.7% from September 30, 2010 and a decrease of $39.9 million or 49.7% from December 31, 2009. The decrease from September 30, 2010 was primarily the result of a bulk loan sale of nonperforming residential mortgage loans with a book value of $9.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2010, which were transferred to loans held for sale at the end of the third quarter of 2010.  The variance from both prior periods reflects declines due to the sale of commercial loans held for sale, customer paydowns, workout activities, writedowns to reflect further fair-value declines for the underlying collateral, and transfers to ORE.  

Core deposits, which exclude all time deposits, totaled $4.9 billion at December 31, 2010, essentially the same levels that existed at September 30, 2010 and December 31, 2009.  Time deposits totaled $2.9 billion at December 31, 2010, a decrease of $298.9 million or 9.5% from September 30, 2010 and a decrease of $844.3 million or 22.8% from December 31, 2009.  The decrease from September 30, 2010 was primarily the result of a strategic reduction in brokered time deposits and rate sensitive single service retail time deposits.  The decrease from December 31, 2009 was due to the aforementioned factors and retail customers shifting balances from time deposits to savings accounts.  As a result of these changes in deposit balances, total deposits at December 31, 2010 were $7.7 billion, a decrease of $374.1 million or 4.6% from September 30, 2010 and a decrease of $773.9 million or 9.1% from December 31, 2009.  

Other interest-bearing liabilities, which include federal funds purchased and securities sold under agreements to repurchase, other short-term borrowings, and long-term debt, totaled $1.1 billion at December 31, 2010, a decrease of $153.4 million or 12.5% from September 30, 2010 and a decrease of $477.8 million or 30.8% from December 31, 2009.  The decreases were the result of a strategic reduction in long-term debt.  

Capital Adequacy and Liquidity

Shareholders’ equity at December 31, 2010 totaled $1.0 billion, a decrease of $145.3 million or 12.6% from September 30, 2010 and a decrease of $319.3 million or 24.0% from December 31, 2009.  The decreases were primarily the result of net losses incurred.

Citizens continues to maintain a strong capital position, and its regulatory capital ratios are above “well-capitalized” standards, as evidenced in the table below.

Citizens maintains a strong liquidity position, with substantial on- and off-balance sheet liquidity sources and a stable funding base comprised of approximately 78% deposits, 11% long-term debt, 10% equity, and 1% short-term liabilities.  Citizens’ loan-to-deposit ratio, another measure of liquidity, continues to improve with levels of 80.5%, 85.0%, and 91.6% at December 31, 2010, September 30, 2010, and December 31, 2009, respectively, as a result of the decrease in outstanding loans.  Securities available-for-sale and money market investments could be sold for cash to provide additional liquidity if necessary.  Citizens’ parent company cash totaled $68.1 million at December 31, 2010 as compared with $109.8 million at December 31, 2009.  The decrease was primarily the result of contributing $100.0 million from the parent company to the bank during the third quarter of 2010.  This decrease was partially offset by $50.0 million in cash received as a result of completing the sale of F&M during the second quarter of 2010.

Net Interest Margin and Net Interest Income

Net interest margin was 3.42% for the fourth quarter of 2010 compared with 3.32% for the third quarter of 2010 and 3.13% for the fourth quarter of 2009. For the year ended December 31, 2010, net interest margin was 3.31%, compared with 2.90% for the same period of 2009.  The increase in net interest margin over the third quarter of 2010 was primarily the result of declining deposit costs, the repricing of fixed rate funding to a lower rate, and reduced costs of carrying non-performing loans, partially offset by lower reinvestment rates in the investment and loan portfolios.  The increases in net interest margin in the three months and year ended December 31, 2010 over the comparable periods in 2009 were primarily the result of expanding commercial and consumer loan spreads, declining deposit costs, reductions in high-cost funding, and wholesale funding repricing to lower fixed rates, partially offset by the effect of replacing declining loan balances with lower-yielding investment securities and money market investments.  

Net interest income was $81.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2010, essentially unchanged over the third quarter of 2010 and the fourth quarter of 2009. For the year ended December 31, 2010, net interest income was $329.1 million, an increase of $18.6 million or 6.0% over the same period of 2009. The increase over 2009 was primarily the result of the higher net interest margin, partially offset by decreases in average earning assets. The decreases in average earning assets were due to weak loan demand in the current Midwest economic environment, partially offset by increases in investment securities and money market investments.  

Credit Quality

The quality of Citizens’ loan portfolio is impacted by numerous factors, including the economic environment in the markets in which Citizens operates.  Citizens carefully monitors its loans in an effort to identify and mitigate any potential credit quality issues and losses in a proactive manner.  Citizens performs quarterly reviews of the non-watch commercial credit portfolio focusing on industry segments and asset classes that have or may be expected to experience stress due to economic conditions.  This process seeks to validate the credit’s risk rating, underwriting structure and exposure management under current and stressed economic scenarios while strengthening these relationships and improving communication with these clients.  

The following tables represent four qualitative aspects of the loan portfolio that illustrate the overall level of quality and risk inherent in the loan portfolio.

• Delinquency Rates by Loan Portfolio – Loans where the contractual payment is 30 to 89 days past due and interest is still accruing.  While these loans are actively worked to bring them current, past due loan trends may be a leading indicator of potential future nonperforming loans and charge-offs.
• Commercial Watchlist – Commercial loans that, while still accruing interest, we believe may be at risk due to general economic conditions or changes in a borrower’s financial status and therefore require increased oversight.  Watchlist loans that are in nonperforming status are included in the nonperforming assets table below.  
• Nonperforming Assets – Loans that are in nonaccrual status, loans past due 90 days or more on which interest is still accruing, restructured loans, nonperforming loans that are held for sale, and other repossessed assets acquired.  The commercial loans included in this table are reviewed as part of the watchlist process in addition to the loans displayed in the commercial watchlist table below.  
• Net Charge-Offs – The portion of loans that have been charged-off during each quarter.

The decreases in total delinquencies were primarily the result of continued emphasis on proactively managing and resolving delinquent commercial and consumer loans.  This marks the first time in four years that 30-89 day delinquent loans have been less than $100 million.

As part of its overall credit underwriting and review process and loss mitigation strategy, Citizens carefully monitors commercial and commercial real estate credits that are current in terms of principal and interest payments but may deteriorate in quality as economic conditions decline.  Commercial relationship officers monitor their clients’ financial condition and initiate changes in loan ratings based on their findings.  Loans that have migrated within the loan rating system to a level that requires increased oversight are considered watchlist loans (generally consistent with the regulatory definition of special mention, substandard, and doubtful loans) and include loans that are accruing or nonperforming (included in the other tables in this section).  Citizens utilizes the watchlist process as a proactive credit risk management practice to help mitigate the migration of commercial loans to nonperforming status and potential loss.  Once a loan is placed on the watchlist, it is reviewed quarterly by the chief credit officer, senior credit officers, senior market managers, and commercial relationship officers to assess cash flows, collateral valuations, guarantor liquidity, and other pertinent trends.  During these meetings, action plans are implemented or reviewed to address emerging problem loans or to remove loans from the portfolio.  Additionally, loans viewed as substandard or doubtful are transferred to Citizens’ special loans or small business workout groups and are subjected to more intensive monitoring and workout activity.

Watchlist credits declined $259.7 million from the third quarter of 2010, primarily due to the accelerated resolution of problem assets in the fourth quarter, along with a decrease in the level of new inflows.  Watchlist credits as of December 31, 2010 declined $354.6 million from the previous year, primarily as a result of the aforementioned resolution activities.

Nonperforming assets decreased from the third quarter of 2010 and fourth quarter of 2009, primarily due to our efforts to reduce overall problem asset levels and work through our stressed commercial real estate and residential mortgage portfolios.  The nonperforming commercial loan outflows were $256.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2010, primarily due to a combination of individual workouts and a bulk sale.  In addition, the decrease in nonperforming held for sale assets in the fourth quarter of 2010 was primarily the result of the aforementioned bulk sale of residential loans.

The increases in net charge-offs as compared with the third quarter of 2010 and the fourth quarter of 2009 were primarily the result of the resolution of certain problem assets through both bulk sale and individual workout efforts.  Approximately $62.0 million in charge-offs were related to the transfer of certain nonperforming commercial loans to held for sale during the fourth quarter of 2010 that were then subsequently sold.

The allowance for loan losses was $296.0 million or 134.4% of nonperforming portfolio loans at December 31, 2010, compared with $324.0 million or 89.0% at September 30, 2010 and $338.9 million or 71.4% at December 31, 2009.  The decreases in amount were primarily the result of an overall decrease in loan balances, an improvement in risk mix of the commercial portfolio, and the continuing stability in both portfolio and economic trends, as well as lower reserves identified for specific commercial loans.  These decreases were partially offset by an incremental risk allocated allowance recorded in the fourth quarter of 2010 associated with the accelerated workout of commercial real estate loans.

The allowance as a percentage of nonperforming loans at December 31, 2010 increased from September 30, 2010 and December 31, 2009 primarily as a result of loss reserves having remained relatively stable while nonperforming loans declined 35.3% and 51.8%, respectively.  While nonperforming loans declined over both periods, other factors that affect the risk allocated allowance such as credit metrics, delinquencies, the depressed real estate market and the accelerated workout of commercial real estate loans made it appropriate to maintain the allowance at this level.

After determining what Citizens believes is an appropriate allowance for loan losses based on the risk in the portfolio, the provision for loan losses is calculated as a result of the net effect of the quarterly change in the allowance for loan losses and the quarterly net charge-offs.  The provision for loan losses was $131.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2010, compared with $89.6 million in the third quarter of 2010 and $84.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2009.  The increases were primarily due to the additional charge-offs related to the aforementioned sale of nonperforming commercial loans and the incremental risk allocated allowance during the fourth quarter of 2010.

Noninterest Income

Noninterest income for the fourth quarter of 2010 was $24.0 million, a decrease of $1.9 million or 7.4% from the third quarter of 2010 and an increase of $9.8 million or 68.3% over the fourth quarter of 2009.  Noninterest income for the year ended December 31, 2010 totaled $94.7 million, an increase of $31.5 million or 49.9% over the same period of 2009.  

The decrease in noninterest income over the third quarter of 2010 included higher losses on loans held for sale, a decrease in other income and lower deposit service charges, partially offset by higher mortgage and other loan income and higher trust fees.  The increase in losses on loans held for sale was primarily the result of the sale of commercial real estate loans in the fourth quarter of 2010, partially offset by a gain on the sale of residential mortgage loans in the same quarter.  The decrease in other income was primarily the result of lower unrealized gains on deferred compensation plans and interest income received in the third quarter of 2010 for refunds of previous years’ tax returns, partially offset by an increase in interest rate swap income recognition in the fourth quarter of 2010.  The decrease in service charges on deposit accounts was primarily the result of lower customer transaction volume.  The increase in mortgage and other loan income was primarily the result of higher residential mortgage origination volume.  The increase in trust fees was directly related to improved conditions in the debt and equity markets.

The increase in noninterest income over the fourth quarter of 2009 was primarily the result of lower losses on loans held for sale and an increase in other income.  The decrease in losses on loans held for sale was primarily the result of additional writedowns incurred in the fourth quarter of 2009 to reflect market-value declines for the underlying collateral.  The increase in other income was primarily the result of interest rate swap income recognition.

The increase in noninterest income over the year ended 2009 was primarily a result of the net loss on the extinguishment of debt in connection with the exchange offers completed on September 30, 2009 as well as higher gains on investment securities in 2010.

Noninterest Expense

Noninterest expense for the fourth quarter of 2010 was $77.2 million, an increase of $2.5 million or 3.3% from the third quarter of 2010 and a decrease of $4.1 million or 5.1% from the fourth quarter of 2009.  Noninterest expense for the year ended December 31, 2010 totaled $307.1 million, a decrease of $278.1 million or 47.5% from the same period of 2009.  The year ended December 31, 2009 included a $256.3 million goodwill impairment charge.

The increase in noninterest expense from the third quarter of 2010 was primarily the result of higher other expense and higher other loan expense, partially offset by a decrease in losses on other real estate.  The increase in other expenses was primarily the result of a reduction of telephone expense incurred in the third quarter of 2010 related to a refund of excise tax on telephone expenses incurred prior to 2006, higher fraud and other losses and additional use tax expense.  The increase in other loan expense was primarily the result of higher provision for off-balance sheet credit losses as well as higher mortgage processing fees as a result of higher residential mortgage origination volume.  The decline in losses on other real estate was primarily the result of additional writedowns incurred in the third quarter of 2010 to reflect fair-value declines for the underlying collateral.

The decrease in noninterest expense from the fourth quarter of 2009 was primarily the result of lower losses on other real estate, partially offset by increases in salaries and employee expense and occupancy expense.  The decline in losses on other real estate was primarily the result of additional writedowns incurred in the fourth quarter of 2009 to reflect fair-value declines for the underlying collateral.  The increase in salaries and benefits was primarily the result of higher severance expense and benefits related to those agreements, higher commission-based compensation, as well as higher pension costs.

The decrease in noninterest expense in the year ended December 31, 2010 compared to 2009 was primarily the result of the goodwill impairment charge of $256.3 million in the second quarter of 2009, lower salaries and employee benefits, and lower other loan expenses.  The decline in salaries and employee benefits was primarily due to lower staffing levels in 2010 and suspending employer contributions to the 401(k) plan in 2009.  Lower other loan expense was primarily the result of lower commercial and residential mortgage origination volume and foreclosure-related expenses.

Citizens had 2,026 full-time equivalent employees at December 31, 2010 compared with 2,039 at September 30, 2010 and 2,053 at December 31, 2009.  

Income Tax Provision (Benefit)

The income tax provision for the fourth quarter of 2010 was $3.4 million, compared with a provision of $5.6 million for the third quarter of 2010 and a benefit of $3.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2009. Income tax provision for the year ended December 31, 2010 totaled $12.9 million, compared with a benefit of $29.6 million from the same period of 2009.  The variances were primarily the result of alternative minimum tax calculations.  

Pre-Tax Pre-Provision Profit (non-GAAP)

The following table displays pre-tax pre-provision profit (non-GAAP) for each of the last five quarters.

Other Developments

On January 19, 2011, Citizens received a notice from The Nasdaq Stock Market stating that the minimum bid price of Citizens’ common stock continued to be below $1.00 per share and that Citizens had therefore not regained compliance with Nasdaq Marketplace Rule 5450(a)(1) following receipt of the previously disclosed initial notification of noncompliance from The Nasdaq Stock Market, dated July 19, 2010.  The notification letter does not affect the listing of Citizens’ common stock on The Nasdaq Capital Market at this time and it will continue to trade under the symbol CRBC.

The notification letter states that Citizens will be afforded an additional 180 calendar days, or until July 18, 2011, to regain compliance with the minimum closing bid price requirement.  To regain compliance, the closing bid price of Citizens’ common stock must meet or exceed $1.00 per share for at least ten consecutive business days.  If Citizens does not regain compliance by July 18, 2011, Nasdaq will provide a written notification that Citizens’ common stock will be delisted.  Citizens may appeal the determination to delist at that time and submit a plan of compliance to The Nasdaq Stock Market, which would temporarily stay any delisting action.  

Citizens intends to actively monitor the bid price for its common stock and is considering available options to resolve the deficiency and regain compliance with the Nasdaq minimum bid price requirement.

Conference Call

Citizens’ senior management will review the quarter’s results in a conference call at 10:00 a.m. ET on Friday, January 28, 2011.  A live audio webcast is available on Citizens’ investor relations page at www.citizensbanking.com or by calling (800) 862-9098 (conference ID: Citizens Republic).  To participate in the conference call, please connect approximately 10 minutes prior to the scheduled conference time.

The call will be archived for 90 days at www.citizensbanking.com. In addition, a digital recording will be available approximately two hours after the completion of the conference call until February 4, 2011.  To listen to the replay, please dial (800) 723-0528.

Discontinued Operations

As a result of the sale of Citizens’ wholly-owned subsidiary, F&M during the second quarter of 2010, the financial condition and operating results for this subsidiary have been segregated from the financial condition and operating results of Citizens’ continuing operations throughout this release and, as such, are presented as a discontinued operation.  While all prior periods have been revised retrospectively to align with this treatment, these changes do not affect Citizens’ reported consolidated financial condition or net income for any of the prior periods.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to results presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), this release includes non-GAAP financial measures such as tangible equity to tangible assets ratio, tangible common equity to tangible assets ratio, Tier 1 common equity ratio, pre-tax pre-provision profit, net interest margin, and the efficiency ratio. Citizens believes these non-GAAP financial measures provide additional information that is useful to investors in understanding the underlying performance of Citizens, its business, and performance trends and such measures help facilitate performance comparisons with others in the banking industry. Non-GAAP financial measures have inherent limitations, are not required to be uniformly applied and are not audited. Readers should be aware of these limitations and should be cautious as to their use of such measures. To mitigate these limitations, Citizens has procedures in place to ensure that these measures are calculated using the appropriate GAAP or regulatory components in their entirety and to ensure that Citizens’ performance is properly reflected to facilitate consistent period-to-period comparisons. Although Citizens believes the above non-GAAP financial measures disclosed in this release enhance investors’ understanding of its business and performance, these non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation, or as a substitute for GAAP basis financial measures.

Tangible Equity, Tangible Common Equity and Tier 1 Common Equity Ratios (non-GAAP financial measures)

Citizens believes the exclusion of goodwill and other intangible assets to create “tangible assets” and “tangible equity” facilitates the comparison of period to period results for ongoing business operations. Citizens’ management internally assesses the company’s performance based, in part, on these non-GAAP financial measures. The tangible common equity ratio and Tier 1 common equity ratio have become a focus of some investors and management believes that these ratios may assist investors in analyzing Citizens’ capital position absent the effects of intangible assets and preferred stock. Because tangible common equity and Tier 1 common equity are not formally defined by GAAP or codified in the federal banking regulations, these measures are considered to be non-GAAP financial measures. Because analysts and banking regulators may assess Citizens’ capital adequacy using tangible common equity and Tier 1 common equity, Citizens believes that it is useful to provide investors the ability to assess its capital adequacy on the same bases. Tier 1 common equity is often expressed as a percentage of net risk-weighted assets. Under the risk-based capital framework, a bank’s balance sheet assets and credit equivalent amounts of off-balance sheet items are assigned to one of four broad risk categories. The aggregated dollar amount in each category is then multiplied by the risk weight assigned to that category. The resulting weighted values from each of the four categories are added together and this sum is the risk-weighted assets total that, as adjusted, comprises the denominator of certain risk-based capital ratios. Tier 1 capital is then divided by this denominator (net risk-weighted assets) to determine the Tier 1 capital ratio. Adjustments are made to Tier 1 capital to arrive at Tier 1 common equity as shown in the Non-GAAP Reconciliation Table later in this release. The amounts disclosed as net risk-weighted assets are calculated consistent with banking regulatory requirements.

Pre-tax Pre-Provision Profit (non-GAAP financial measure)

Pre-tax pre-provision profit (“PTPP”), as defined by Citizens’ management represents total revenue (total net interest income and noninterest income) excluding any securities gains/losses, fair-value adjustments on loans held for sale, interest rate swaps, and bank owned life insurance, less noninterest expense excluding any goodwill impairment charges, credit writedowns, fair-value adjustments and special assessments.  While certain of these items are an integral part of Citizens’ banking operations, in each case, the excluded items are items that management believes are particularly impacted by economic stress or significant changes in the credit cycle and are therefore likely to make it more difficult to understand our underlying performance trends and the ability of our banking operations to generate revenue.  Net interest income, noninterest income and noninterest expense are all calculated in accordance with GAAP and are presented in the consolidated statement of operations.  While noninterest income and noninterest expense are adjusted for the specific items listed above in the calculation of PTPP, these adjustments represent the excluded items in their entirety for each period presented to better facilitate period to period comparisons.

Viewed together with Citizens’ GAAP results, PTPP provides management, investors and others with a useful metric to evaluate and better understand trends in Citizens’ period-to-period earnings power and ability to generate capital to cover credit losses, in each case exclusive of the effects of the current and recent economic stress and the credit cycle.  As recent results for the banking industry demonstrate, loan charge-offs, related credit provision, and credit writedowns can vary significantly from period to period, making a measure that helps isolate the impact of credit costs on profitability all the more important to investors.  The “Credit Quality” section of this release isolates the challenges and issues related to the credit quality of Citizens’ loan portfolio and their impact on Citizens’ earnings as reflected in the provision for loan losses.  

A portion of the compensation awarded to Citizens’ Named Executive Officers and certain other management employees for their performance in 2009 and 2010 is measured against a PTPP performance target (as defined above) as Citizens believes that PTPP is a key measurement that helps keep revenue generation as a focus for its business and a particularly valuable measure during challenging credit cycles. Based on 2009 full-year results, the total cash compensation award linked to PTPP was $0.1 million. Additionally during 2009, approximately 234,000 shares of restricted stock were granted, which vest only if both the PTPP performance condition and the GAAP net income performance condition are met. Based on 2010 full year results, the total potential cash compensation award linked to PTPP is $1.1 million, payable in early 2011. Additionally, during 2010, approximately 1,129,000 shares of restricted stock and restricted stock units were granted which have a two-year vesting period based partially on PTPP results and partially on total provision expense. The grants are designed so that a portion of the compensation is based on provision expense while the remainder does not depend on management’s performance with regard to managing loan losses, securities impairments, and other asset impairments.

Like all non-GAAP metrics, PTPP’s usefulness is inherently limited.  Because Citizens’ calculation of PTPP may differ from the calculation of similar measures used by other bank holding companies, PTPP should be used to determine and evaluate period to period trends in Citizens’ performance and in comparison to Citizens’ loan charge-offs, related credit provision, and credit writedowns, rather than in comparison to non-GAAP metrics used by other companies.  In addition, investors should bear in mind that income tax expense (benefit), the provision for loan losses, and the other items excluded from revenues and expenses in the PTPP calculation are recurring and integral expenses to Citizens’ banking operations, and that these expenses will still accrue under GAAP, thereby reducing GAAP earnings and, ultimately, shareholders’ equity.

Net Interest Margin and Efficiency Ratio (non-GAAP financial measures)

In accordance with industry standards, certain designated net interest income amounts are presented on a taxable equivalent basis, including the calculation of net interest margin and the efficiency ratio. Citizens believes the presentation of net interest margin on a taxable equivalent basis using a 35% effective tax rate allows comparability of net interest margin with industry peers by eliminating the effect of the differences in portfolios attributable to the proportion represented by both taxable and tax-exempt investments. See the Selected Quarterly Information Table, the Non-GAAP Reconciliation Table, and the Average Balances, Yields and Rates Table later in this release for additional information.

Corporate Profile

Citizens Republic Bancorp, Inc. is a diversified financial services company providing a wide range of commercial, consumer, mortgage banking, trust and financial planning services to a broad client base.  Citizens serves communities in Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Indiana with 218 offices and 252 ATMs.  Citizens is the largest bank holding company headquartered in Michigan with roots dating back to 1871 and is the 52^nd largest bank holding company headquartered in the United States.  More information about Citizens is available at www.citizensbanking.com.  

Safe Harbor Statement

Discussions and statements in this release that are not statements of historical fact, including without limitation, statements that include terms such as “will,” “may,” “should,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “project,” “intend,” and “plan,” and statements regarding Citizens’ future financial and operating results, plans, objectives, expectations and intentions, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Citizens’ control or are subject to change.  No forward-looking statement is a guarantee of future performance and actual results could differ materially.  As an example, although we expect to substantially complete our problem assets resolution efforts in the first quarter of 2011, clients may be unwilling or unable to repay Citizens on a timely basis or renegotiate their loans, or there may be no market for Citizens to exit these loans or economic conditions could result in a more significant increase in nonperforming loans than expected.  If any of these conditions occurs, Citizens may not be able to substantially complete the resolution of problem assets during the expected time frame, which could have a negative impact on its capital, results of operations and financial position, and could delay Citizens’ return to profitability.

Other factors that could cause or contribute to actual results differing materially for Citizens’ expectations include risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in Citizens’ annual and quarterly filings with the SEC, which are available at the SEC’s web site www.sec.gov. Other factors not currently anticipated may also materially and adversely affect Citizens’ results of operations, cash flows, financial position and prospects.  There can be no assurance that future results will meet expectations.  While Citizens believes that the forward-looking statements in this release are reasonable, you should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement.  In addition, these statements speak only as of the date made.  Citizens does not undertake, and expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter any statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

SOURCE Citizens Republic Bancorp, Inc.