BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2016
BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES	NOTE 1 – BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES The Consolidated Financial Statements (unaudited) of First BanCorp. (the “Corporation”) have been prepared in conformity with the accounting policies stated in the Corporation's Audited Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Corporation's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015. Certain information and note disclosures normally included in the financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted from these statements pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC and, accordingly, these financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Audited Consolidated Financial Statements of the Corporation for the year ended December 31, 2015, which are included in the Corporation's 2015 Annual Report on Form 10-K. All adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) that are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair presentation of the statement of financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the interim periods have been reflected. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The results of operations for the quarter ended March 31, 2016 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the entire year. Adoption of new accounting requirements and recently issued but not yet effective accounting requirements The Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) has issued the following accounting pronouncements and guidance relevant to the Corporation's operations: In May 2014, the FASB updated the Accounting Standards Codification (the “Codification” or the “ASC”) to create a new, principles-based revenue recognition framework. The Update is the culmination of efforts by the FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board to develop a common revenue standard for GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards. The core principal of the guidance is that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. This guidance describes a 5-step process that entities can apply to achieve the core principle of revenue recognition and requires disclosures sufficient to enable users of financial statements to understand the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers and the significant judgments used in determining that information. The new framework is effective for public business entities for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those reporting periods, as a result of the FASB's recent amendment to the standard to defer the effective date by one year. Early adoption is permitted for interim periods beginning after December 15, 2016. The Corporation is currently evaluating the impact that the adoption of this guidance will have on the presentation and disclosures in its financial statements. In June 2014, the FASB updated the Codification to provide guidance for determining compensation cost when an employee's compensation award is eligible to vest regardless of whether the employee is rendering service on the date the performance target is achieved. This Update is effective for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2015. The adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on the Corporation's financial statements. In August 2014, the FASB updated the Codification to provide guidance in GAAP about management's responsibility to evaluate whether there is substantial doubt about an entity's ability to continue as a going concern and to provide related footnote disclosures. Management's evaluation should be based on relevant conditions and events that are known and reasonably knowable at the date that the financial statements are issued. If conditions or events raise substantial doubt about an entity's ability to continue as a going concern, but the substantial doubt is alleviated as a result of consideration of management's plans, the entity should disclose information that enables users of the financial statements to understand such determination. The Update is effective for all business entities for annual periods ending after December 15, 2016, and for annual periods and interim periods thereafter. Early application is permitted. The Corporation expects the adoption of this guidance will have no impact on the Corporation's financial position, results of operations, comprehensive income, cash flows and disclosures. In November 2014, the FASB updated the Codification to clarify how current GAAP should be interpreted in evaluating the economic characteristics and risk of a host contract in a hybrid financial instrument that is issued in the form of a share. In addition, the Update was issued to clarify that, in evaluating the nature of a host contract, an entity should assess the substance of the relevant terms and features (that is, the relative strength of the debt-like or equity-like terms and features given the facts and circumstances) when considering how to weight those terms and features. The effects of initially adopting this Update should be applied on a modified retrospective basis to existing hybrid financial instruments issued in the form of a share as of the beginning of the fiscal year for which the amendments are effective. Retrospective application is permitted to all relevant prior periods. This Update is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2015. The adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on the Corporation's financial statements. In January 2015, the FASB updated the Codification to eliminate from GAAP the concept of extraordinary items as part of its initiative to reduce complexity in accounting standards (the Simplification Initiative). Under current GAAP, an event or transaction is presumed to be an ordinary and usual activity of the reporting entity unless evidence clearly supports its classification as an extraordinary item. In order to be classified as an extraordinary item, the event or transaction must be: (i) unusual in nature and (ii) infrequent in occurrence. Before the Update was issued, an entity was required to segregate these items from the results of ordinary operations and show the items separately in the income statement, net of tax, after income from continuing operations. This Update is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2015. The adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on the Corporation's financial statements. In February 2015, the FASB updated the Codification to eliminate the deferral of the requirements of Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2009-17 for certain interests in investment funds and provide a scope for exception for certain investments in money market funds. While the Update is aimed at asset managers, it will affect all reporting entities involved with limited partnerships or similar entities. In some cases, consolidation conclusions will change. In other cases, reporting entities will need to provide additional disclosure about entities that currently are not considered Variable Interest Entities (“VIEs”) but will be considered VIEs under the new guidance when they have a variable interest in those VIEs. Regardless of whether conclusions change or additional disclosure requirements are triggered, reporting entities will need to re-evaluate limited partnerships and similar entities for consolidation and revise their documentation. For public business entities, the Update is effective for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2015. A reporting entity must apply the amendments retrospectively. The adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on the Corporation's financial statements. In April 2015, the FASB updated the Codification to clarify that customers should determine whether a cloud computing arrangement includes the license of software by applying the same guidance cloud service providers use to make this determination. Examples of cloud computing arrangements include software as a service, platform as a service, infrastructure as a service and other hosting arrangements. If a hosting arrangement includes a software license for internal use software, the software license should be accounted for by the customer under ASC 350-40. A license of software other than internal use software would be accounted for by the customer under other GAAP (e.g., a research and development cost and software to be sold, leased or otherwise marketed). A software license included in a hosting arrangement would be accounted for separately from any service contract in the arrangement. Hosting arrangements that do not include software licenses should be accounted for as service contracts. The Update also eliminates the existing requirement for customers to account for software licenses they acquire by analogizing to the guidance on leases. Instead, customers will account for software licenses that are in the scope of ASC 350-40 in the same manner as licenses of other intangible assets. Entities have the option of applying the guidance (1) prospectively to all arrangements entered into or materially modified after the effective date or (2) retrospectively. Entities that elect prospective application are required to disclose the reason for the change in accounting principle, the transition method, and a description of the financial statement line items affected by the change. Entities that elect retrospective application must disclose the information required by ASC 250. For public business entities, the guidance is effective for annual periods, including interim periods within those annual periods, beginning after December 15, 2015. The adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on the Corporation's financial statements. In May 2015, the FASB updated the Codification to provide guidance on disclosures for investments in certain entities that calculate net asset value (NAV) per share (or its equivalent). This Update removes the requirement to categorize within the fair value hierarchy all investments for which fair value is measured using the net asset value per share practical expedient and modifies certain disclosure requirements. This guidance is effective for interim and annual reporting periods in fiscal years beginning after December 31, 2015, and requires retrospective adoption. The adoption of this pronouncement did not have an impact on the Corporation's financial statements. In September 2015, the FASB updated the Codification to simplify the accounting for adjustments made to provisional amounts recognized in a business combination by eliminating the requirement to retrospectively account for those adjustments. This Update allows the acquirer to recognize adjustments to provisional amounts that are identified during the measurement period in the reporting period in which the adjustment amounts are determined. The acquirer must record, in the same period's financial statements, the effect on earnings of changes in depreciation, amortization, or other income effects, if any, as a result of the change to the provisional amounts, calculated as if the accounting had been completed at the acquisition date. Also, this Update requires entities to present separately on the face of the income statement or disclose in the notes the portion of the amount recorded in current-period earnings by line item that would have been recorded in previous reporting periods if the adjustment to the provisional amounts had been recognized as of the acquisition date. Prior to this Update, GAAP required that, during the measurement period, the acquirer retrospectively adjust the provisional amounts recognized at the acquisition date with a corresponding adjustment to goodwill. The acquirer also had to revise comparative information for prior periods presented in financial statements as needed, including revising depreciation, amortization, or other income effects as a result of changes made to provisional amounts. For public business entities, the amendments in this Update are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2015, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The amendments in this Update should be applied prospectively to adjustments to provisional amounts that occur after the effective date of this Update with earlier application permitted for financial statements that have not been issued. The adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on the Corporation's financial statements. In January 2016, the FASB updated the Codification to require an entity to: (i) measure equity investments at fair value through net income, with certain exceptions, (ii) present in other comprehensive income (“OCI”) the changes in instrument-specific credit risk for financial liabilities measured using the fair value option, (iii) present financial assets and financial liabilities by measurement category and form of financial asset, (iv) calculate the fair value of financial instruments for disclosure purposes based on an exit price, and (v) assess a valuation allowance on deferred tax assets related to unrealized losses of available-for-sale debt securities in combination with other deferred tax assets. The Update provides an election to subsequently measure certain nonmarketable equity investments at cost less any impairment, adjusted for certain observable price changes. The Update also requires a qualitative impairment assessment of such equity investments and amends certain fair value disclosure requirements. For public companies, the Update is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017. Early adoption is only permitted for the provision related to instrument-specific credit risk and the fair value disclosure exemption provided to nonpublic entities. The Corporation is currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of this guidance on its consolidated financial statements. In February 2016, the FASB updated the Codification to provide guidance for the financial reporting about leasing transactions. Under the new guidance, a lessee will be required to recognize assets and liabilities for leases with lease terms of more than 12 months. Consistent with current GAAP, the recognition, measurement, and presentation of expenses and cash flows arising from a lease by a lessee primarily will depend on its classification as a finance or operating lease. However, unlike current GAAP, which requires only capital leases to be recognized on the balance sheet, the guidance will require both types of leases to be recognized on the balance sheet. The guidance will also require disclosures to help investors and other financial statement users better understand the amount, timing, and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. These disclosures include qualitative and quantitative disclosures intended to provide additional information about the amounts recorded in the financial statements. The guidance on leases will take effect for public companies for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2018. Early application is permitted. The Corporation is currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of this guidance on its consolidated financial statements. In March 2016, the FASB updated the Codification to simplify certain aspects of the accounting for share-based payment transactions. The main provisions in this Update include: (i) recognition of all tax benefits and tax deficiencies (including tax benefits of dividends on share-base payment awards) as income tax expense or benefit in the income statement, (ii) classification of the excess tax benefit along with other income tax cash flows as an operating activity, (iii) an entity-wide accounting policy election to either estimate the number of awards that are expected to vest (current GAAP) or account for forfeitures when they occur, (iv) a threshold to qualify for equity classification which permits withholding up to the maximum statutory tax rates in the applicable jurisdictions, (v) classification of cash paid by an employer as a financing activity when the payment results from the withholding of shares for tax withholding purposes. In addition to those simplifications, the amendments eliminate the guidance in ASC 718 that was indefinitely deferred shortly after the issuance of FASB Statement No. 123 (revised 2004), Share-Based Payment. This should not result in a change in practice because the guidance that is being superseded was never effective. For public business entities, the amendments in this Update are effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods within those annual periods. The Corporation is currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of this guidance on its consolidated financial statements. In March 2016, the FASB updated the Codification to require an equity method investor to add the cost of acquiring the additional interest in the investee to the current basis of the investor's previously held interest and adopt the equity method of accounting as of the date the investment becomes qualified for equity method accounting. Therefore, upon qualifying for the equity method of accounting, no retroactive adjustment of the investment is required. Also, this Update requires that an entity that has an available-for sale equity security that becomes qualified for the equity method of accounting recognize through earnings the unrealized holding gain or loss in accumulated other comprehensive income at the date the investment becomes qualified for use of the equity method. The amendments in this Update are effective for all entities for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2016. The amendments should be applied prospectively upon their effective date to increases in the level of ownership interest or degree of influence that result in the adoption of the equity method. Earlier application is permitted. The Corporation is currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of this guidance, if any, on its consolidated financial statements.

BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2016

BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

NOTE 1 – BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The Consolidated Financial Statements (unaudited) of First BanCorp. (the “Corporation”) have been prepared in conformity with the accounting policies stated in the Corporation's Audited Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Corporation's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015. Certain information and note disclosures normally included in the financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted from these statements pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC and, accordingly, these financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Audited Consolidated Financial Statements of the Corporation for the year ended December 31, 2015, which are included in the Corporation's 2015 Annual Report on Form 10-K. All adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) that are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair presentation of the statement of financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the interim periods have been reflected. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

The results of operations for the quarter ended March 31, 2016 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the entire year.

Adoption of new accounting requirements and recently issued but not yet effective accounting requirements

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) has issued the following accounting pronouncements and guidance relevant to the Corporation's operations:

In May 2014, the FASB updated the Accounting Standards Codification (the “Codification” or the “ASC”) to create a new, principles-based revenue recognition framework. The Update is the culmination of efforts by the FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board to develop a common revenue standard for GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards. The core principal of the guidance is that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. This guidance describes a 5-step process that entities can apply to achieve the core principle of revenue recognition and requires disclosures sufficient to enable users of financial statements to understand the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers and the significant judgments used in determining that information. The new framework is effective for public business entities for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those reporting periods, as a result of the FASB's recent amendment to the standard to defer the effective date by one year. Early adoption is permitted for interim periods beginning after December 15, 2016. The Corporation is currently evaluating the impact that the adoption of this guidance will have on the presentation and disclosures in its financial statements.

In June 2014, the FASB updated the Codification to provide guidance for determining compensation cost when an employee's compensation award is eligible to vest regardless of whether the employee is rendering service on the date the performance target is achieved. This Update is effective for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2015. The adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on the Corporation's financial statements.

In August 2014, the FASB updated the Codification to provide guidance in GAAP about management's responsibility to evaluate whether there is substantial doubt about an entity's ability to continue as a going concern and to provide related footnote disclosures. Management's evaluation should be based on relevant conditions and events that are known and reasonably knowable at the date that the financial statements are issued. If conditions or events raise substantial doubt about an entity's ability to continue as a going concern, but the substantial doubt is alleviated as a result of consideration of management's plans, the entity should disclose information that enables users of the financial statements to understand such determination. The Update is effective for all business entities for annual periods ending after December 15, 2016, and for annual periods and interim periods thereafter. Early application is permitted. The Corporation expects the adoption of this guidance will have no impact on the Corporation's financial position, results of operations, comprehensive income, cash flows and disclosures.

In November 2014, the FASB updated the Codification to clarify how current GAAP should be interpreted in evaluating the economic characteristics and risk of a host contract in a hybrid financial instrument that is issued in the form of a share. In addition, the Update was issued to clarify that, in evaluating the nature of a host contract, an entity should assess the substance of the relevant terms and features (that is, the relative strength of the debt-like or equity-like terms and features given the facts and circumstances) when considering how to weight those terms and features. The effects of initially adopting this Update should be applied on a modified retrospective basis to existing hybrid financial instruments issued in the form of a share as of the beginning of the fiscal year for which the amendments are effective. Retrospective application is permitted to all relevant prior periods. This Update is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2015. The adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on the Corporation's financial statements.

In January 2015, the FASB updated the Codification to eliminate from GAAP the concept of extraordinary items as part of its initiative to reduce complexity in accounting standards (the Simplification Initiative). Under current GAAP, an event or transaction is presumed to be an ordinary and usual activity of the reporting entity unless evidence clearly supports its classification as an extraordinary item. In order to be classified as an extraordinary item, the event or transaction must be: (i) unusual in nature and (ii) infrequent in occurrence. Before the Update was issued, an entity was required to segregate these items from the results of ordinary operations and show the items separately in the income statement, net of tax, after income from continuing operations. This Update is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2015. The adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on the Corporation's financial statements.

In February 2015, the FASB updated the Codification to eliminate the deferral of the requirements of Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2009-17 for certain interests in investment funds and provide a scope for exception for certain investments in money market funds. While the Update is aimed at asset managers, it will affect all reporting entities involved with limited partnerships or similar entities. In some cases, consolidation conclusions will change. In other cases, reporting entities will need to provide additional disclosure about entities that currently are not considered Variable Interest Entities (“VIEs”) but will be considered VIEs under the new guidance when they have a variable interest in those VIEs. Regardless of whether conclusions change or additional disclosure requirements are triggered, reporting entities will need to re-evaluate limited partnerships and similar entities for consolidation and revise their documentation. For public business entities, the Update is effective for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2015. A reporting entity must apply the amendments retrospectively. The adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on the Corporation's financial statements.

In April 2015, the FASB updated the Codification to clarify that customers should determine whether a cloud computing arrangement includes the license of software by applying the same guidance cloud service providers use to make this determination. Examples of cloud computing arrangements include software as a service, platform as a service, infrastructure as a service and other hosting arrangements. If a hosting arrangement includes a software license for internal use software, the software license should be accounted for by the customer under ASC 350-40. A license of software other than internal use software would be accounted for by the customer under other GAAP (e.g., a research and development cost and software to be sold, leased or otherwise marketed). A software license included in a hosting arrangement would be accounted for separately from any service contract in the arrangement. Hosting arrangements that do not include software licenses should be accounted for as service contracts. The Update also eliminates the existing requirement for customers to account for software licenses they acquire by analogizing to the guidance on leases. Instead, customers will account for software licenses that are in the scope of ASC 350-40 in the same manner as licenses of other intangible assets. Entities have the option of applying the guidance (1) prospectively to all arrangements entered into or materially modified after the effective date or (2) retrospectively. Entities that elect prospective application are required to disclose the reason for the change in accounting principle, the transition method, and a description of the financial statement line items affected by the change. Entities that elect retrospective application must disclose the information required by ASC 250. For public business entities, the guidance is effective for annual periods, including interim periods within those annual periods, beginning after December 15, 2015. The adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on the Corporation's financial statements.

In May 2015, the FASB updated the Codification to provide guidance on disclosures for investments in certain entities that calculate net asset value (NAV) per share (or its equivalent). This Update removes the requirement to categorize within the fair value hierarchy all investments for which fair value is measured using the net asset value per share practical expedient and modifies certain disclosure requirements. This guidance is effective for interim and annual reporting periods in fiscal years beginning after December 31, 2015, and requires retrospective adoption. The adoption of this pronouncement did not have an impact on the Corporation's financial statements.

In September 2015, the FASB updated the Codification to simplify the accounting for adjustments made to provisional amounts recognized in a business combination by eliminating the requirement to retrospectively account for those adjustments. This Update allows the acquirer to recognize adjustments to provisional amounts that are identified during the measurement period in the reporting period in which the adjustment amounts are determined. The acquirer must record, in the same period's financial statements, the effect on earnings of changes in depreciation, amortization, or other income effects, if any, as a result of the change to the provisional amounts, calculated as if the accounting had been completed at the acquisition date. Also, this Update requires entities to present separately on the face of the income statement or disclose in the notes the portion of the amount recorded in current-period earnings by line item that would have been recorded in previous reporting periods if the adjustment to the provisional amounts had been recognized as of the acquisition date. Prior to this Update, GAAP required that, during the measurement period, the acquirer retrospectively adjust the provisional amounts recognized at the acquisition date with a corresponding adjustment to goodwill. The acquirer also had to revise comparative information for prior periods presented in financial statements as needed, including revising depreciation, amortization, or other income effects as a result of changes made to provisional amounts. For public business entities, the amendments in this Update are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2015, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The amendments in this Update should be applied prospectively to adjustments to provisional amounts that occur after the effective date of this Update with earlier application permitted for financial statements that have not been issued. The adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on the Corporation's financial statements.

In January 2016, the FASB updated the Codification to require an entity to: (i) measure equity investments at fair value through net income, with certain exceptions, (ii) present in other comprehensive income (“OCI”) the changes in instrument-specific credit risk for financial liabilities measured using the fair value option, (iii) present financial assets and financial liabilities by measurement category and form of financial asset, (iv) calculate the fair value of financial instruments for disclosure purposes based on an exit price, and (v) assess a valuation allowance on deferred tax assets related to unrealized losses of available-for-sale debt securities in combination with other deferred tax assets. The Update provides an election to subsequently measure certain nonmarketable equity investments at cost less any impairment, adjusted for certain observable price changes. The Update also requires a qualitative impairment assessment of such equity investments and amends certain fair value disclosure requirements. For public companies, the Update is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017. Early adoption is only permitted for the provision related to instrument-specific credit risk and the fair value disclosure exemption provided to nonpublic entities. The Corporation is currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of this guidance on its consolidated financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB updated the Codification to provide guidance for the financial reporting about leasing transactions. Under the new guidance, a lessee will be required to recognize assets and liabilities for leases with lease terms of more than 12 months. Consistent with current GAAP, the recognition, measurement, and presentation of expenses and cash flows arising from a lease by a lessee primarily will depend on its classification as a finance or operating lease. However, unlike current GAAP, which requires only capital leases to be recognized on the balance sheet, the guidance will require both types of leases to be recognized on the balance sheet. The guidance will also require disclosures to help investors and other financial statement users better understand the amount, timing, and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. These disclosures include qualitative and quantitative disclosures intended to provide additional information about the amounts recorded in the financial statements. The guidance on leases will take effect for public companies for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2018. Early application is permitted. The Corporation is currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of this guidance on its consolidated financial statements.

In March 2016, the FASB updated the Codification to simplify certain aspects of the accounting for share-based payment transactions. The main provisions in this Update include: (i) recognition of all tax benefits and tax deficiencies (including tax benefits of dividends on share-base payment awards) as income tax expense or benefit in the income statement, (ii) classification of the excess tax benefit along with other income tax cash flows as an operating activity, (iii) an entity-wide accounting policy election to either estimate the number of awards that are expected to vest (current GAAP) or account for forfeitures when they occur, (iv) a threshold to qualify for equity classification which permits withholding up to the maximum statutory tax rates in the applicable jurisdictions, (v) classification of cash paid by an employer as a financing activity when the payment results from the withholding of shares for tax withholding purposes. In addition to those simplifications, the amendments eliminate the guidance in ASC 718 that was indefinitely deferred shortly after the issuance of FASB Statement No. 123 (revised 2004), Share-Based Payment. This should not result in a change in practice because the guidance that is being superseded was never effective. For public business entities, the amendments in this Update are effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods within those annual periods. The Corporation is currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of this guidance on its consolidated financial statements.

In March 2016, the FASB updated the Codification to require an equity method investor to add the cost of acquiring the additional interest in the investee to the current basis of the investor's previously held interest and adopt the equity method of accounting as of the date the investment becomes qualified for equity method accounting. Therefore, upon qualifying for the equity method of accounting, no retroactive adjustment of the investment is required. Also, this Update requires that an entity that has an available-for sale equity security that becomes qualified for the equity method of accounting recognize through earnings the unrealized holding gain or loss in accumulated other comprehensive income at the date the investment becomes qualified for use of the equity method. The amendments in this Update are effective for all entities for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2016. The amendments should be applied prospectively upon their effective date to increases in the level of ownership interest or degree of influence that result in the adoption of the equity method. Earlier application is permitted. The Corporation is currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of this guidance, if any, on its consolidated financial statements.