INDEPENDENT BANK CORP /MI/ - Quarter Report: 2022 June (Form 10-Q)

(Unaudited)

In March 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2020-04, ‘‘Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848), Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting’’. This new ASU provides temporary optional expedients and exceptions to GAAP guidance on contract modifications and hedge accounting to ease the financial reporting burdens of the expected market transition from LIBOR and other interbank offered rates to alternative reference rates. Entities can elect not to apply certain modification accounting requirements to contracts affected by reference rate reform, if certain criteria are met. Entities that make such elections would not have to remeasure contracts at the modification date or reassess a previous accounting determination.  Entities can elect various optional expedients that would allow them to continue applying hedge accounting for hedging relationships affected by reference rate reform, if certain criteria are met.

We have formed a cross-functional project team to lead this transition from LIBOR to a planned adoption of reference rates which could include Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”), amongst others. We utilized the timeline guidance published by the Alternative Reference Rates Committee to develop and achieve internal milestones during this transitional period.  We have discontinued the use of new LIBOR-based loans as of December 31, 2021, according to regulatory guidelines. We also discontinued the use of new LIBOR based interest rate derivatives as of December 31, 2021.  The amended guidance under Topic 848 and our ability to elect its temporary optional expedients and exceptions are effective for us through December 31, 2022.  We expect to adopt the LIBOR transition relief allowed under this standard.

In March, 2022, the FASB issued ASU 2022-02, “Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326): Troubled Debt Restructuring and Vintage Disclosures”. This ASU eliminates the troubled debt restructuring (“TDR”) accounting model for creditors that have already adopted Topic 326, which is commonly referred to as the current expected credit loss (“CECL”) model. In lieu of the TDR accounting model, creditors now will apply the general loan modification guidance in Subtopic 310-20 to all loan modifications, including modifications made for borrowers experiencing financial difficulty. Under the general loan modification guidance, a modification is treated as a new loan only if the terms of the new loan are at least as favorable to the lender as the terms for comparable loans to other customers with similar collection risks, and modifications to the terms of the original loan are more than minor. If either condition is not met, the modification is accounted for as the continuation of the old loan with any effect of the modification treated as a prospective adjustment to the loan’s effective interest rate. In addition, this ASU requires the disclosure of gross charge-offs recorded in the current period for financing receivables by origination year. For entities that have adopted Topic 326, ASU 2022-02 takes effect in reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2022, with early adoption permitted. We are currently assessing the impact of this ASU on our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

Securities held to maturity (“HTM”) consist of the following:

(1)	Represents the remaining unrealized loss to be accreted on securities that were transferred from AFS to HTM on April 1, 2022.

On April 1, 2022, we transferred certain securities AFS with an amortized cost and unrealized loss at the date of transfer of $418.1 million and $26.5 million, respectively to HTM. The transfer was made at fair value, with the unrealized loss becoming part of the purchase discount which will be accreted over the remaining life of the securities. The other comprehensive loss component is separated from the remaining available for sale securities and is accreted over the remaining life of the securities transferred. We have the ability and intent to hold these securities until they mature, at which time we expect to receive full value for these securities.

The ACL on securities HTM is a contra asset valuation account that is deducted from the carrying amount of securities HTM to present the net amount expected to be collected. Securities HTM are charged off against the ACL when deemed uncollectible. Adjustments to the ACL are reported in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations in provision for credit loss. We measure expected credit losses on securities HTM on a collective basis by major security type with each type sharing similar risk characteristics, and considers historical credit loss information that is adjusted for current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts. Accrued interest receivable on securities HTM totaled $1.7 million at June 30, 2022, and is excluded from the estimate of credit losses and is included in accrued income and other assets in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition. With regard to U.S. Government-sponsored agency and mortgage-backed securities (residential and commercial), all these securities are issued by a U.S. government-sponsored entity and have an implicit or explicit government guarantee; therefore, no allowance for credit losses has been recorded for these securities. With regard to obligations of states and political subdivisions, private label-mortgage-backed, corporate and trust preferred securities HTM, we consider (1) issuer bond ratings, (2) historical loss rates for given bond ratings, (3) the financial condition of the issuer, and (4) whether issuers continue to make timely principal and interest payments under the contractual terms of the securities. Historical loss rates associated with securities having similar grades as those in our portfolio have been insignificant. Furthermore, as of June 30, 2022, there were no past due principal and interest payments associated with these securities. An allowance for credit losses of $158,000 was recorded on non U.S. agency securities HTM based on applying the long-term historical credit loss rate, as published by Moody’s, for similarly rated securities.