Note 17 - Fair Value Measurements

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2013

Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]

Fair Value Disclosures [Text Block]

17. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

ASC 820, formerly SFAS 157, Fair Value Measurement, provides a framework for measuring fair value and defines fair value as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. ASC 820 also establishes a fair value hierarchy which requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. ASC 820 describes three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value:

Level 1	Unadjusted, quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities at the measurement date.
Level 2	Observable inputs other than Level 1 prices, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data at the measurement date for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.
Level 3	Unobservable inputs that reflect management’s best estimate of what market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability at the measurement date.

Financial instruments are broken down by recurring or nonrecurring measurement status. Recurring assets are initially measured at fair value and are required to be remeasured at fair value in the financial statements at each reporting date. Assets measured on a nonrecurring basis are assets that, due to an event or circumstance, were required to be remeasured at fair value after initial recognition in the financial statements at some time during the reporting period.

The following is a description of inputs and valuation methodologies used for assets recorded at fair value on a recurring basis and recognized in the accompanying statements of financial condition at December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, as well as the general classification of such assets pursuant to the valuation hierarchy.

Securities Available for Sale

Investment securities available for sale are recorded at fair value on a recurring basis. The fair values used by the Company are obtained from an independent pricing service, which represent either quoted market prices for the identical asset or fair values determined by pricing models, or other model-based valuation techniques, that consider observable market data, such as interest rate volatilities, LIBOR yield curve, credit spreads and prices from market makers and live trading systems. Recurring Level 2 securities include mortgage-backed securities, corporate debt securities, and municipal bonds. Inputs used for valuing Level 2 securities include observable data that may include dealer quotes, benchmark yields, market spreads, live trading levels and market consensus prepayment speeds, among other things. Additional inputs include indicative values derived from the independent pricing service’s proprietary computerized models. No securities were included in the Recurring Level 3 category at or for the years ended December 31, 2013 or 2012.

The following table presents major categories of assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012 (in thousands):

	Fair Value		Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
December 31, 2013
Available for sale investment securities:
Municipal securities	$	41,924	$	--	$	41,924	$	--
Mortgage-backed securities		28,904		--		28,904		--
Total	$	70,828	$	--	$	70,828	$	--
December 31, 2012
Available for sale investment securities:
Municipal securities	$	45,393	$	--	$	45,393	$	--
Corporate debt securities		7,932		--		7,932		--
Total	$	53,325	$	--	$	53,325	$	--

The following is a description of valuation methodologies used for significant assets measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis.

Impaired Loans Receivable

Loans which meet certain criteria are evaluated individually for impairment. A loan is considered impaired when, based upon current information and events, it is probable the Bank will be unable to collect all amounts due, including principal and interest, according to the contractual terms of the loan agreement.  Substantially all of the Bank’s impaired loans at December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012 are secured by real estate.  Impaired loans are individually measured for impairment by comparing the carrying value of the loan to the discounted cash flows or the fair value of the collateral, less estimated selling costs, as appropriate. Fair value is estimated through current appraisals, real estate brokers’ opinions or listing prices.  Fair values may be adjusted by management to reflect current economic and market conditions and, as such, are classified as Level 3.   Fair value adjustments are made by partial charge-offs and adjustments to the allowance for loan and lease losses.

Real Estate Owned, net

REO represents real estate acquired as a result of foreclosure or by deed in lieu of foreclosure and is carried at the lower of cost or fair value less estimated selling costs.  Fair value is estimated through current appraisals, real estate brokers’ opinions or listing prices.  As these properties are actively marketed, estimated fair values may be adjusted by management to reflect current economic and market conditions and, as such, are classified as Level 3.  Fair value adjustments are recorded in earnings during the period such adjustments are made. REO loss provisions recorded during the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012 were $0.7 million and $1.4 million, respectively.

The following table presents major categories of assets measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis for the years ended December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012 (in thousands). The assets disclosed in the following table represent REO properties or collateral-dependent impaired loans that were remeasured at fair value during the year with a resulting valuation adjustment or fair value write-down.

	Fair Value		Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
December 31, 2013
Impaired loans	$	16,264	$	--	$	--	$	16,264
REO, net		5,895		--		--		5,895
December 31, 2012
Impaired loans	$	18,855	$	--	$	--	$	18,855
REO, net		10,891		--		--		10,891