In a flurry of activity, Mutual Savings Bank, Bay City, Mich., last week named a new chief executive officer, decided to remain independent, and reported a $1.7 million third-quarter loss.
The $888 million-asset thrift last week named Robert N. Shuster chief executive officer after chairman and chief executive Wendell L. Evans Jr., resigned to pursue other opportunities.
Thomas T. Princing, an independent director of Mutual, was elected chairman of the board.
Charles E. McCuistion, Mutual's president and chief operating officer, declined to comment further on Mr. Evans' plans.
But bank consultant Justin L. Moran of Grosse Pointe, Mich., said Mr. Evans is a career fix-it man who never permanently moved his home to Bay City.
The Office of Thrift Supervision brought Mr. Evans, Mr. McCuistion, and two others to Mutual in 1990 after capital troubles led to a run on the bank.
Mutual suffered a $20 million loss in 1987 and they were its sixth management group in two years, Mr. McCuistion said.
"We've worked hard over the past four years to get it turned around," he said. "We're ready to go on now with the next phase. We know Mr. Shuster will be able to help us."
Mr. Shuster previously was president of Central Holding Co., Mt. Clemens, Mich., until Standard Federal Bank, Troy, Mich., acquired it in April. He then was a Standard Federal vice president.
He had helped clean up Central Holdings' problems from mortgage and real estate franchises, Mr. Moran said. Central sold to Standard Federal for $5 a share.
"Shuster is certainly the guy to get their financials in order," Mr. Moran said of Mutual.
Mutual, which went public in 1992, has had ongoing problems from hedging and derivatives activities.
The company reported a thira-quarter net loss of $1.7 million, or $0.40 per share, compared to earnings of $973,559, or 32 cents a share in third-quarter 1993.
The earnings decline resulted from a sharp fall off in mortgage originations and a $2 million accounting-driven tax expense to increase the valuation reserve against the bank's deferred tax asset, Mr. McCuistion said.
The unknowns in Mutual's derivatives portfolio probably prevented it from getting a desirable bid after the company hired an investment banking firm in April to explore a possible sale, Mr. Moran said.
"You really couldn't quantify the downside risk," he said.
Mutual recently decided to pursue an independent course and continue to focus on cutting costs and improving operating efficiencies, Mr. McCuistion said.
Deeming the company's loan portfolio "excellent," he said Mutual focused on mortgage lending in 1992 and 1993 and recently has expanded into consumer, home-improvement, and home-equity lending.
