News & Announcements

September 30, 2009

Macatawa Bank Expands Partnership with Dave Ramsey

Macatawa Bank Expands Partnership with Dave Ramsey
Offers Services to Customers, Businesses and Employees

Holland, Michigan, September 30, 2009 – As part of its ongoing commitment to promote financial wellness, Macatawa Bank Corp. (NASDAQ: MCBC) will now offer financial expert Dave Ramsey’s commonsense approach to money management to customers, businesses and employees in Ottawa, Kent and Allegan counties.

The Holland-based community bank is expanding its partnership with Ramsey to offer financial products, services and workshops based on his Financial Peace model. Ramsey is a personal money management expert, popular author and radio personality of the nationally syndicated “The Dave Ramsey Show.” The new offerings represent a significant expansion of the relationship between the Dave Ramsey Group and the Bank.

Additionally, Macatawa is currently sponsoring and underwriting the expense and placement of Foundations in Personal Finance into 61 area high schools. This approved curriculum was developed by the Ramsey organization specifically for high school students and the financial challenges they face.

Beginning in October, Macatawa Bank will offer:
• Ramsey’s popular Financial Peace University, a 13-week personal finance education course, to new and existing customers
• Financial Peace Workplace, customized on-site workshops for businesses with 200+ employees
• Financial Peace Workplace for Macatawa Bank’s 400+ employees in its 26 full-service branches and corporate headquarters in Holland

“Macatawa Bank is committed to promoting financial literacy and wellness,” said President and CEO Ron Haan. “We are very pleased to expand our relationship with the Dave Ramsey team in a program that will bring his popular financial and money management courses to more people in our area.

“There has never been a better time to refresh or learn the principles of saving, investing, credit and budgeting. With the help of Dave Ramsey’s proven approach, Macatawa Bank is able to offer a strong financial literacy education program.”

Macatawa Bank will offer three Financial Peace University series beginning the week of Oct. 5 at 6:30 p.m. at:
• Holland in the community room of its 141 E. 8th Street branch on Mondays beginning Oct. 5
• Grand Rapids in the training room of its 3177 Knapp Street NE branch on the East Beltline on Tuesdays beginning Oct. 6
• Wyoming in the training room of its 5271 Clyde Park Ave. branch on Tuesdays beginning Oct. 6.

Financial Peace University will be held over 13 weeks and will feature video lessons by Dave Ramsey, as well as classroom discussion and interaction. The course is designed to teach families how to get out of debt, stay out of debt and build wealth. To date, more than 750,000 people across the United States have graduated from an FPU course. The average attendee will eliminate approximately $5,300 in debt and save $2,700 during the three-month period.

The program is free to new customers who open a Macatawa Bank Freedom package, which features a Freedom Goal 4 It savings plan and a Freedom checking account. Customers will also receive a lifetime membership to Financial Peace University, all books and course materials, including an audio CD library and a copy of Ramsey’s popular Financial Peace Revisited. The program is also open to existing customers who expand their current relationship with Macatawa Bank.

Financial Peace Workplace will be offered on-site to businesses with more than 200 employees, as well as to all Macatawa Bank employees. The multi-week course is designed to help educate employees on day-to-day financial issues. The course utilizes a curriculum specifically customized for the business that reinforces the employee-sponsored benefits.

Topics include budgeting, debt elimination, retirement planning, disability and long-term insurance options and related topics. It has a special goal-setting component authored by Zig Zigler, nationally known personal development sales trainer and motivational speaker.

Macatawa’s relationship with Dave Ramsey began in January when the Bank became one of the primary sponsors of his financial seminar on debt reduction and wealth building at the Van Andel Arena. He will return to Grand Rapids on February 25 with his Total Money Makeover program, with Macatawa Bank again sponsoring the event.

Macatawa took the second step in its partnership with Ramsey as students went back to school. The Bank is sponsoring Ramsey’s Foundations in Personal Finance at public, charter and private high schools in the three-county area. Macatawa Bank is the first in the Michigan to offer the curriculum free of charge to the schools.

The courses, which are aligned with state and national teaching standards, are designed to teach sound financial principles so students can avoid financial difficulties as they become adults. The curriculum focuses on:
• Saving and investing, including building a nest egg for college
• Credit and debt
• Financial responsibility and money management, including budgeting and checking accounts
• Careers and employment taxes
• Insurance
• Real estate and mortgages
• Philanthropy

About Macatawa Bank
Headquartered in Holland, Mich., Macatawa Bank Corporation offers a full range of banking, investment and trust services to individuals, businesses and governmental entities from a network of 26 full-service branches located throughout communities in Kent, Ottawa and northern Allegan counties. Services include commercial, consumer and real estate financing; business and personal deposit services; ATMs and Internet banking services; trust and employee benefit plan services and various investment services. The Corporation emphasizes its local management team and decision making, along with providing customers excellent service and superior financial products.

About Dave Ramsey
Dave Ramsey is a personal money management expert, an extremely popular national radio personality and author of the New York Times best sellers The Total Money Makeover, Financial Peace and More Than Enough. He is also host of “The Dave Ramsey Show” on the Fox Business Network. Through his proven plan, Ramsey helps people eliminate debt and credit cards, learn to budget, avoid bankruptcy, build wealth and find financial peace. Ramsey founded The Lampo Group, Inc. to provide financial counseling, through various means, to the public. More information is available at http://www.DaveRamsey.com.