Description of Business, Basis of Presentation, Significant Accounting Policies and Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

(a) Description of Business

Heritage Financial Corporation ("Heritage" or the “Company”) is a bank holding company that was incorporated in the State of Washington in August 1997. The Company is primarily engaged in the business of planning, directing and coordinating the business activities of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Heritage Bank (the “Bank”). The Bank is a Washington-chartered commercial bank and its deposits are insured by the FDIC. The Bank is headquartered in Olympia, Washington and conducts business from its 59 branch offices located throughout Washington State and the greater Portland, Oregon area. The Bank’s business consists primarily of commercial lending and deposit relationships with small businesses and their owners in its market areas and attracting deposits from the general public. The Bank also makes real estate construction and land development loans, consumer loans and originates first mortgage loans on residential properties primarily located in its market areas.

The Company has expanded its footprint through mergers and acquisitions. The largest of these transactions was the strategic merger with Washington Banking Company (“Washington Banking”) and its wholly owned subsidiary bank, Whidbey Island Bank ("Whidbey"). Effective May 1, 2014, Washington Banking merged with and into Heritage and Whidbey merged with and into Heritage Bank and this transaction is referred to herein as the "Washington Banking Merger". In connection with the Washington Banking Merger, Heritage also acquired as a subsidiary the Washington Banking Master Trust, a Delaware statutory business trust ('Trust"). Pursuant to the merger agreement, Heritage assumed the performance and observance of the covenants to be performed by Washington Banking under an indenture relating to $25.0 million in trust preferred securities issued in 2007 and the due and punctual payment of the principal of and premium and interest on such trust preferred securities. For additional information, see Note (8) Junior Subordinated Debentures.

(b) Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”) for interim financial information and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. It is recommended that these unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying Notes be read with the audited Consolidated Financial Statements and the accompanying Notes included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 (“2016 Annual Form 10-K”). In management's opinion, all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. Operating results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2017. In preparing the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, management is required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses and related disclosures. Management believes that the judgments, estimates and assumptions used in the preparation of the financial statements are appropriate based on the facts and circumstances at the time. Actual results, however, could differ from those estimates.

The significant accounting policies used in preparation of the Company's Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements are disclosed in the 2016 Annual Form 10-K. There have not been any material changes in the Company's significant accounting policies from those contained in the 2016 Annual Form 10-K, except for accounting policies for stock-based compensation relating to the issuance of restricted stock units, including grants subject to performance-based and market-based vesting conditions, adopted January 1, 2017 as discussed below.

Stock-Based Compensation

Compensation cost is recognized for stock options, restricted stock awards and restricted stock units issued to employees and directors, based on the fair value of these awards at the date of grant. Compensation cost is recognized over the requisite service period, generally defined as the vesting period, on a straight-line basis. Compensation cost for restricted stock units with market-based vesting is recognized over the service period to the extent the restricted stock units are expected to vest. With the adoption of FASB ASU 2016-09 on January 1, 2017, forfeitures are recognized as they occur.

The market price of the Company’s common stock at the date of grant is used to fair value the restricted stock awards and restricted stock units. The fair value of stock options granted is estimated based on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing model. Certain restricted stock unit grants are subject to performance-based vesting as well as other approved vesting conditions and cliff vest based on those conditions, and the fair value is estimated using a Monte Carlo simulation pricing model. The assumptions used in the Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing model and the Monte Carlo simulation pricing model include the expected term based on the valuation date and the remaining contractual term of the award; the risk-free interest rate based on the U.S. Treasury curve at the valuation date of the award; the expected dividend yield based on expected dividends being payable to the holders; and the expected stock price volatility over the expected term based on the historical volatility over the equivalent historical term.

(d) Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

FASB Accounting Standards Update ("ASU" or "Update") 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, was issued in May 2014. Under this Update, FASB created a new Topic 606 which is in response to a joint initiative of FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board to clarify the principles for recognizing revenue and to develop a common revenue standard for U.S. GAAP and international financial reporting standards that would:


•	Remove inconsistencies and weaknesses in revenue requirements.


•	Provide a more robust framework for addressing revenue issues.


•	Improve comparability of revenue recognition practices across entities, industries, jurisdictions and capital markets.


•	Provide more useful information to users of financial statements through improved disclosure requirements.


•	Simplify the preparation of financial statements by reducing the number of requirements to which an entity must refer.

The original effective date for this Update was deferred in FASB ASU 2015-14 below.

FASB ASU 2015-14, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), was issued in August 2015 and defers the effective date of the above-mentioned FASB ASU 2014-09 for certain entities. Public business entities, certain not-for-profit entities and certain employee benefit plans should apply the guidance in Update 2014-09 to annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim reporting periods within that reporting period. Earlier application is now permitted, but only as of annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim reporting periods within that reporting period. The Company expects to adopt the revenue recognition guidance on January 1, 2018 using the modified retrospective approach. A significant amount of the Company’s revenues are derived from net interest income on financial assets and liabilities, which are excluded from the scope of the amended guidance. With respect to noninterest income and related disclosures, the Company is in its preliminary stages of identifying and evaluating the revenue streams and underlying revenue contracts within the scope of the guidance. The Company is expecting to begin developing processes and procedures during 2017 to ensure it is fully compliant with these amendments. To date, the Company has not yet identified any significant changes in the timing of revenue recognition when considering the amended accounting guidance; however, the Company’s implementation efforts are ongoing and such assessments may change prior to the January 1, 2018 implementation date.

FASB ASU 2016-01, Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities (Subtopic 825-10), was issued in January 2016, to enhance the reporting model for financial instruments to provide users of financial statements with more decision-useful information. This Update contains several provisions, including but not limited to 1) requiring equity investments, with certain exceptions, to be measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income; 2) simplifying the impairment assessment of equity investments without readily determinable fair values by requiring a qualitative assessment to identify impairment; 3) eliminating the requirement to disclose the method(s) and significant assumptions used to estimate fair value; and 4) requiring separate presentation of financial assets and liabilities by measurement category and form of financial asset on the balance sheet or the accompanying notes to the financial statements. The Update also changes certain financial statement disclosure requirements, including requiring disclosures of the fair value of financial instruments be made on the basis of exit price. The Update is effective for public entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company does not expect the adoption of this Update will have a significant impact on the Company’s statements of financial condition or income. Management is in the planning stages of developing processes and procedures to comply with the disclosures requirements of this Update, which could impact the disclosures the Company makes related to fair value of its financial instruments.

FASB ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), was issued in February 2016, to increase transparency and comparability of leases among organizations and to disclose key information about leasing arrangements. The Update sets out the principles for the recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure of leases for both lessees and lessors. The Update requires lessees to apply a dual approach, classifying leases as either a finance or operating lease. This classification will determine whether the lease expense is recognized based on an effective interest method or on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. A lessee is also required to record a right-of-use asset and a lease liability for all leases with a term greater than 12 months regardless of their classification. All cash payments will be classified within operating activities in the statement of cash flows. In transition, lessees and lessors are required to recognize and measure leases at the beginning of the earliest period presented using a modified retrospective approach. The Update is effective for public entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company anticipates adopting the Update on January 1, 2019. Upon adoption of the guidance, the Company expects to report increased assets and increased liabilities on its Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition as a result of recognizing right-of-use assets and lease liabilities related to certain banking offices and certain equipment under noncancelable operating lease agreements, which currently are not reflected in its Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition. The Company is anticipating electing an accounting policy to not recognize lease assets and lease liabilities for leases with a term of twelve months or less. The Company was committed to $14.7 million of minimum lease payments under noncancelable operating lease agreements at December 31, 2016. The Company does not expect the adoption of this amendment will have a significant impact to its Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

FASB ASU 2016-08, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Principal versus Agent Considerations, was issued in March 2016 and it clarifies the implementation guidance of the above-mentioned FASB ASU 2014-09 as it relates to principal versus agent considerations. The Update addresses identifying the unit of account and nature of the goods or services as well as applying the control principle and interactions with the control principle. The amendments to the Update do not change the core principle of the guidance. The effective date, transition requirements and impact on the Company's Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for this Update are the same as those described in FASB ASU 2015-14 above.

FASB ASU 2016-09, Stock Compensation (Topic 718), issued in March 2016, is intended to simplify several aspects of the accounting for share-based payment award transactions. For public business entities, the guidance is effective for annual periods after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within those annual periods with early adoption permitted. Certain amendments are required to be applied using a modified retrospective transition method by means of a cumulative-effect adjustment to equity as of the beginning of the period in which the guidance is adopted. Other amendments are applied retroactively (such as presentation of employee taxes paid on the statement of cash flows) or prospectively (such as recognition of excess tax benefits on the income statement). The Company adopted this standard effective January 1, 2017. The Company made an accounting policy election to account for forfeitures as they occur and this change resulted in a cumulative adjustment that was immaterial to all periods presented. Changes to the statement of cash flows have been applied prospectively and the Company recorded excess tax benefits in its income tax expense. Adoption of all other changes under this Update did not have a material impact on the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

FASB ASU 2016-10, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Identifying Performance Obligations and Licensing, was issued in April 2016 which clarifies the implementation guidance of the above-mentioned FASB ASU 2014-09 as it relates to identifying performance obligations and licensing. The effective date, transition requirements and impact on the Company's Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for this Update are the same as those described in FASB ASU 2015-14 above.

FASB ASU 2016-12, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Narrow-scope Improvements and Practical Expedients, was issued in May 2016. The amendments in this Update do not change the core principle of the guidance in Topic 606. Rather, the amendments in this Update affect only the narrow aspects of Topic 606. The effective date, transition requirements and impact on the Company's Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for this Update are the same as those described in FASB ASU 2015-14 above.

FASB ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments: Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, was issued in June 2016. Commonly referred to as the current expected credit loss model ("CECL"), this Update requires financial assets measured at amortized cost basis to be presented at the net amount expected to be collected. The allowance for credit losses is a valuation account that is deducted from the amortized cost basis of the financial asset to present the net carrying value at the amount expected to be collected on the financial asset. The measurement of expected credit losses is based on relevant information about past events including historical experience, current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts that affect the collectibility of the reported amount. The amendment affects loans, debt securities, trade receivables, net investments in leases, off-balance-sheet credit exposures, reinsurance receivables and any other financial asset not excluded from the scope that have the contractual right to receive cash. The Update replaces the incurred loss impairment methodology, which generally only considered past events and current conditions, with a methodology that reflects the expected credit losses and required consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to estimate all expected credit losses. The Update additionally addresses purchased assets and introduces the purchased financial asset with a more-than-insignificant amount of credit deterioration since origination ("PCD"). The accounting for these PCD assets is similar to the existing accounting guidance of FASB Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 310-30, Loans and Debt Securities Acquired with Deteriorated Credit Quality, for purchased credit impaired ("PCI") assets, except the subsequent improvements in estimated cash flows will be immediately recognized into income, similar to the immediate recognition of subsequent deteriorations in cash flows. Current guidance only allows for the prospective recognition of these cash flow improvements. Because the terminology has been changed to a "more-than-insignificant" amount of credit deterioration, the presumption is that more assets might qualify for this accounting under the Update than those under current guidance. For public business entities, the Update is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years with early adoption permitted for fiscal years after December 15, 2018. An entity will apply the Update through a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the first reporting period in which the guidance is adopted. A prospective transition approach is required for debt securities. An entity that has previously applied the guidance of FASB ASC 310-30 will prospectively apply the guidance in this Update for PCD assets. A prospective transition approach should be used for PCD assets where upon adoption, the amortized cost basis should be adjusted to reflect the addition of the allowance for credit losses. The Company is anticipating adopting the Update on January 1, 2020. Upon adoption, the Company expects a change in the processes and procedures to calculate the allowance for loan losses, including changes in assumptions and estimates to consider expected credit losses over the life of the loan versus the current accounting practice that utilizes the incurred loss model. The new guidance may result in an increase in the allowance for loan losses which will also reflect the new requirement to include the nonaccretable principal differences on PCI loans; however, the Company is still in the process of determining the magnitude of the increase and its impact on the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. In addition, the current accounting policy and procedures for other-than-temporary impairment on investment securities available for sale will be replaced with an allowance approach. The Company created a CECL steering committee which will begin developing and implementing processes and procedures to ensure it is fully compliant with the amendments at the adoption date.

FASB ASU 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 213): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments, was issued in August 2016. The Update addresses eight specific cash flow issues with the objective of reducing the existing diversity in practice. For public business entities, the guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted and must be applied using a retrospective transitional method to each period presented. The Company has evaluated the new guidance and does not anticipate that its adoption of this Update on January 1, 2018 will have a significant impact on its Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

FASB ASU 2017-03, Accounting Changes and Error Corrections (Topic 250) and Investments—Equity Method and Joint Ventures (Topic 323): Amendments to SEC Paragraphs Pursuant to Staff Announcements at the September 22, 2016 and November 17, 2016 EITF Meetings (SEC Update), was issued in January 2017. The SEC staff view is that a registrant should evaluate FASB ASC Updates that have not yet been adopted to determine the appropriate financial disclosures about the potential material effects of the updates on the financial statements when adopted. If a registrant does not know or cannot reasonably estimate the impact of an update, then in addition to making a statement to that effect, the registrant should consider additional qualitative financial statement disclosures to assist the reader in assessing the significance of the impact. The staff expects the additional qualitative disclosures to include a description of the effect of the accounting policies expected to be applied compared to current accounting policies. Also, the registrant should describe the status of its process to implement the new standards and the significant implementation matters yet to be addressed. The amendments specifically addressed recent FASB ASC amendments to Topic 326, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses; Topic 842, Leases; and Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers; although, the amendments apply to any subsequent amendments to guidance in the FASB ASC. The Company adopted the amendments in this Update during the fourth quarter of 2016 and appropriate disclosures have been included in this Note for each recently issued accounting standard.

FASB ASU 2017-04, Goodwill (Topic 350), was issued in January 2017 and eliminates Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test. Under the amendments, an entity should perform its goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount. An entity should recognize an impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value. The loss recognized, however, should not exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. Additionally, an entity should consider income tax effects from any tax deductible goodwill on the carrying amount of the reporting unit when measuring the goodwill impairment loss, if applicable. The Update is effective for annual periods or any interim goodwill impairment tests beginning after December 15, 2019 using a prospective transition method and early adoption is permitted. The Company does not expect the Update will have a material impact on its Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

FASB ASU 2017-09, Compensation--Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Scope of Modification Accounting was issued in May 2017 to provide clarity as to when to apply modification accounting when there is a change in the terms or conditions of a share-based payment award. According to this Update, an entity should account for the effects of a modification unless the fair value, vesting conditions and balance sheet classification of the award is the same after the modification as compared to the original award prior to the modification. The standard is effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, with early adoption permitted. The Company does not expect the Update will have a material impact on its Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.