Michigan Bank to Trade Over the Counter to Cut Costs

Monarch Community Bancorp in Coldwater, Mich., is set to start trading its stock over the counter to cut costs.

The $209 million-asset company will transfer trading of its shares to the Nasdaq OTCQB from the Nasdaq National Market, effective Sept. 19. Monarch said in a press release Monday that the move would reduce expenses, but preserve liquidity for its shareholders.

"Companies of our size derive very little advantage in stock liquidity from being listed on the Nasdaq National Market," Richard J. DeVries, the company's president and chief executive, said in a press release. "We feel an ongoing obligation to justify every expense and determined that the cost of this listing could not be justified."

The company lost $372,000 in the second quarter, compared to a $70,000 a year earlier. Monarch's noninterest expenses were $5.9 million in the second quarter, largely offsetting $6.5 million in interest and noninterest income.