Reclassification

Certain amounts reported in prior years have been reclassified to conform to the current year’s presentation. These reclassifications had no effect on the Company’s results of operations, financial position, or net cash flow.

Basis of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and other entities in which it has a controlling financial interest. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Debt Securities

Securities are classified as available-for-sale when they might be sold before maturity. Unrealized holding gains and losses (for which no allowance for credit losses are recorded), net of tax, on securities available for sale are reported as a net amount in a separate component of stockholders’ equity until realized. Gains and losses on the sale of securities available for sale are determined using the specific-identification method. The amortization of premiums and the accretion of discounts are recognized in interest income using methods approximating the interest method over the period to maturity.

Loans

Loans are reported at unpaid principal balances, less unearned fees and the allowance for credit losses. Interest on all loans is recognized as income based upon the applicable rate applied to the daily outstanding principal balance of the loans. Interest income on nonaccrual loans is recognized on a cash basis or cost recovery basis until the loan is returned to accrual status. A loan may be returned to accrual status if the Company is reasonably assured of repayment of principal and interest and the borrower has demonstrated sustained performance for a period of at least six months. Loan fees, net of direct costs, are reflected as an adjustment to the yield of the related loan over the term of the loan. The Company does not have a concentration of loans to any one industry.

The accrual of interest on loans is discontinued when there is a significant deterioration in the financial condition of the borrower and full repayment of principal and interest is not expected or the principal or interest is more than 90 days past due, unless the loan is both well-collateralized and in the process of collection. Generally, all interest accrued but not collected for loans that are placed on nonaccrual status are reversed against current interest income. Interest collections on nonaccrual loans are generally applied as principal reductions. The Company determines past due or delinquency status of a loan based on contractual payment terms.

Troubled debt restructurings (“TDRs”) are concessions granted to borrowers in the normal course of business, which would not otherwise be considered, where the borrowers are experiencing financial difficulty. The concessions granted most frequently for TDRs involve reductions or delays in required payments of principal and interest for a specified time, the rescheduling of payments in accordance with a bankruptcy plan or the charge-off of a portion of the loan. In some cases, the conditions of the credit also warrant nonaccrual status, even after the restructure occurs. As part of the credit approval process, the restructured loans are evaluated for adequate collateral protection in determining the appropriate accrual status at the time of restructure. TDR loans may be returned to accrual status if there has been at least a six-month sustained period of repayment performance by the borrower.

Foreclosed Real Estate

Foreclosed real estate includes both formally foreclosed property and in-substance foreclosed property. At the time of foreclosure, foreclosed real estate is recorded at fair value less cost to sell, which becomes the property’s new basis. Any write downs based on the asset’s fair value at date of acquisition are charged to the allowance for credit losses. After foreclosure, these assets are carried at the lower of their new cost basis or fair value less cost to sell. Costs incurred in maintaining foreclosed real estate and subsequent adjustments to the carrying amount of the property are included in other operating expenses.

Leases

The Company leases certain office space and equipment under operating leases. In 2019, the Company adopted certain accounting standard updates related to accounting for leases which requires operating leases be recognized as a liability to make lease payments and as an asset representing the right to use the asset during the lease term, or “lease liability” and “right-of-use asset”, respectively. The lease liability is measured by the present value of remaining lease payments, discounted at the Company’s incremental borrowing rate. The Company reports its right-of-use assets in other assets and its lease liabilities in other liabilities.

Certain of the leases include one or more renewal options that extend the initial lease term 1 to 5 years. The exercise of lease renewal options is typically at the Company’s sole discretion; therefore, a majority of renewals to extend lease terms are not included in the right-of-use assets and lease liabilities as they are not reasonably certain to be exercised. Renewal options are regularly evaluated and when they are reasonably certain to be exercised, are included in lease terms.

None of the Company’s leases provide an implicit rate. The Company uses its incremental collateralized borrowing rate based on the information available at the lease commencement date in determining the present value of the lease payments.

The Company does not recognize short-term leases on its balance sheet. A short-term operating lease has an original term of 12 months or less and does not have a purchase option that is likely to be exercised.

Goodwill and Other Identifiable Intangible Assets 

Other identifiable intangible assets include a core deposit intangible recorded in connection with the acquisition of Metro Bancshares, Inc. The core deposit intangible is being amortized over 7 years and the estimated useful life is periodically reviewed for reasonableness.

The Company has recorded $13.6 million of goodwill at December 31, 2020 in connection with the acquisition of Metro Bancshares, Inc. in 2015. The Company tests its goodwill for impairment annually unless interim events or circumstances make it more likely than not that an impairment loss has occurred. Impairment is defined as the amount by which the implied fair value of the goodwill is less than the goodwill’s carrying value. Impairment losses, if incurred, would be charged to operating expense. For the purposes of evaluating goodwill, the Company has determined that it operates only one reporting unit.

Revenue Recognition

Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASC 606”), provides guidance for reporting revenue from the entity’s contracts to provide goods or services to customers. The guidance requires recognition of revenue to depict the transfer of goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration that it expects to be entitled to receive in exchange for those goods or services recognized as performance obligations are satisfied.

The majority of revenue-generating transactions are excluded from the scope of ASC 606, including revenue generated from financial instruments, such as securities and loans. Revenue-generating transactions that are within the scope of ASC 606, classified within non-interest income, are described as follows:

Other non-interest income primarily includes income on bank owned life insurance contracts, letter of credit fees and gains on sale of loans held for sale, none of which are within the scope of ASC 606.

Stock-Based Compensation

At December 31, 2020, the Company had a stock-based compensation plan for grants of equity compensation to key employees and directors.  The plan has been accounted for under the provisions of FASB ASC 718-10, Compensation – Stock Compensation, with respect to employee stock options and under the provisions of FASB ASC 505-50, Equity-Based Payments to Non-Employees, with respect to non-employee stock options.  Specifically, awards to employees are accounted for using the fair value-based method of accounting.  Stock compensation costs are recognized prospectively for all new awards granted under the stock-based compensation plans.  Compensation expense related to share options is calculated using a method that is based on the underlying assumptions of the Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing model and is charged to expense over the requisite service period (e.g. vesting period).  Compensation expense related to restricted stock awards is based upon the fair value of the awards on the date of grant and is charged to earnings over the requisite service period of the award.

Loan Commitments and Related Financial Instruments

Financial instruments, which include credit card arrangements, commitments to make loans and standby letters of credit, are issued to meet customer financing needs. The face amount for these items represents the exposure to loss before considering customer collateral or ability to repay. Such financial instruments are recorded when they are funded. Instruments such as stand-by letters of credit are considered financial guarantees in accordance with FASB ASC 460-10. The fair value of these financial guarantees is not material.

The allowance for credit losses on loan commitments is a liability account, calculated in accordance with ASC 326, representing expected credit losses over the contractual period for which the Company is exposed to credit risk resulting from a contractual obligation to extend credit.  No allowance is recognized if the Company has the unconditional right to cancel the obligation.  Adjustments to the allowance are reported in our income statement as a component of credit loss expenses.

Comprehensive Income

Comprehensive income consists of net income and other comprehensive income. Accumulated comprehensive income, which is recognized as a separate component of equity, includes unrealized gains and losses on securities available for sale.

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, which is essentially the final rule on use of the so-called CECL model, or current expected credit losses.  Among other things, ASC 326 requires the measurement of all expected credit losses for financial assets held at the reporting date based on historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts that affect the collectability of the reported amount.  Financial institutions and other organizations will now use forward-looking information to better inform their credit loss estimates.  In addition, the ASU amends the accounting for credit losses on available-for-sale debt securities and purchased financial assets with credit deterioration.  The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”), enacted on March 27, 2020, gave financial institutions the option to delay adoption of CECL.  The Company elected to delay its adoption of the update until the earlier of the date the national emergency concerning COVID-19 terminates or December 31, 2020, with an effective retrospective adoption date of January 1, 2020.  Amounts reported for periods beginning on or after January 1, 2020 are presented under ASC 326, except quarterly periods in 2020, as shown in Note 23, which were not restated under CECL and all prior period information is presented in accordance with previously applicable GAAP.  Based on prevailing economic conditions and forecasts as of January 1, 2020, the Company recognized a cumulative net increase to retained earnings of $1.1 million, net of tax, attributable to a decrease in the allowance for credit losses of $2.0 million, an increase in the allowance for off balance sheet credit exposures of $0.5 million, and a decrease in deferred tax assets of $0.4 million.  This was the result of implementing a more quantitative methodology. The commercial, financial, and agricultural loan category decreased $8.2 million due to the portfolio primarily consisting of loans with generally short contractual maturities.  This was partially offset by an increase of $6.2 million in the real estate – construction loan category due to the application of peer loss rates within the discounted cash flow pool reserve methodology. Peer historical loss rates were utilized to better align with loss expectations given the Company’s low historical loss experience in this category. See Note 3 – Loans, which shows the impact of adopting ASC 326 by loan segment.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). The FASB issued this ASU to increase transparency and comparability among organizations by recognizing lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet by lessees for those leases classified as operating leases under current U.S. GAAP and disclosing key information about leasing arrangements. The amendments in this ASU are effective for public business entities for annual periods and interim periods within those annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018. Early application of this ASU is permitted for all entities. The Company adopted the amendments in this ASU by applying the alternative transition method allowing comparative periods to not be restated and any cumulative effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings to be recognized as of January 1, 2019. The Company elected the three practical expedients allowed by the amendments as follows: 1) forego an assessment of whether any existing contracts are or contain leases, 2) forego an assessment of the classification of existing leases as to whether they are operating leases or capital leases, and 3) forego an assessment of direct costs for any existing leases. Upon adoption on January 1, 2019 the Company recorded a right-of-use asset of approximately $15.3 million and lease liability of approximately $15.3 million. See Note 6 – Leases.

In March 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-08, Receivables – Nonrefundable Fees and Other Costs (Subtopic 310-20), Premium Amortization on Purchased Callable Debt Securities. The amendments shorten the amortization period for certain callable debt securities held at a premium. Specifically, the amendments require the premium to be amortized to the earliest call date. The amendments do not require an accounting change for securities held at a discount; the discount continues to be amortized to maturity. The amendments in this ASU were effective for public business entities for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2018. Early adoption was permitted. The amendments were to be applied on a modified retrospective basis, with a cumulative-effect adjustment directly to retained earnings as of the beginning of the period of adoption. The amendments in this ASU did not impact the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements, as it has always amortized premiums to the first call date.

In June 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-07, Compensation – Stock Compensation (Topic 718), Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting. These amendments expand the scope of Topic 718, Compensation - Stock Compensation, which previously only included share-based payments to employees, to include share-based payments issued to nonemployees for goods or services. Consequently, the accounting for share-based payments to nonemployees and employees will be substantially aligned. The ASU supersedes Subtopic 505-50, Equity – Equity-Based Payments to Non-Employees. The amendments in this ASU were effective for public business entities for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2018. Early adoption was permitted, but no earlier than a company’s adoption date of Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. The Company adopted this ASU effective January 1, 2019; however, the amendments did not have an impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements because it does not have any unvested stock-based payment awards currently outstanding to nonemployees.

In July 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework – Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement. This ASU eliminated, added-to or modified certain disclosure requirements for fair value measurements. Among the changes, entities no longer are required to disclose the amount of and reasons for transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy, however, entities are required to disclose the range and weighted average used to develop significant unobservable inputs for Level 3 fair value measurements. ASU No. 2018-13 was effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019. As ASU No. 2018-13 only revised disclosure requirements, it did not have a material impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In  March 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting. The update provides temporary optional guidance to ease the potential burden in accounting for reference rate reform. The guidance provides optional expedients and exceptions for applying generally accepted accounting principles to contract modifications and hedging relationships, subject to meeting certain criteria, that reference LIBOR or another reference rate expected to be discontinued. The guidance is intended to help stakeholders during the global market-wide reference rate transition period. Therefore, it will be effective for a limited time, starting  March 12, 2020 through  December 31, 2022. The Company has identified a replacement reference rate established by the American Financial Exchange. This rate is based on an active market of daily fund trading among participant banks. The Company will apply the guidance provided by this ASU in transitioning to the new reference rate.

In  August 2020, FASB issued ASU 2020-06, Debt-Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Topic 470) and Derivatives and Hedging – Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Topic 815): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity. The update is intended to simplify accounting for convertible instruments by removing major separation models required under current U.S. GAAP. Consequently, more convertible debt instruments will be reported as a single liability instrument and more convertible preferred stock as a single equity instrument with no separate accounting for embedded conversion features. The update removes certain settlement conditions that are required for equity contracts to qualify for the derivative scope exception, which will permit more equity contracts to qualify for it. The update also simplifies the diluted earnings per share calculation in certain areas. The update is effective for the Company for its fiscal year beginning after  December 15, 2021, including interim periods within those years. Early adoption will be permitted. The Company does not currently have any convertible debt instruments outstanding so does not believe that the update will have an impact on its financial statements.