HIGHLAND HILLS, Ohio Metropolitan Financial Corp reported a first-quarter loss of $423,000, or 5 cents per share, compared with earnings of $607,000, or 8 cents per share, a year earlier.
The $1.7 billion-asset companys quarterly earnings fell each quarter last year and were only $44,000 in the fourth quarter.
Metropolitan said one contributing factor to the first-quarter loss was a cost increase associated with a complete systems conversion and a change in headquarters. It also blamed a decrease in net interest income caused by the narrower interest rate spread as compared with a year earlier.