LEASES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Leases [Abstract]

Lessee, Operating Leases [Text Block]

NOTE 29 – LEASES

The Corporation accounts for its leases in accordance with ASC 842, “Leases” (“ASC Topic 842”), which it adopted on January 1, 2019. ASC Topic 842 requires the Corporation to record liabilities for future lease obligations as well as assets representing the right to use the underlying lease asset. The Corporation’s operating leases are primarily related to the Corporation’s branches and leased commercial space for ATMs. Our leases mainly have terms ranging from two years to thirty years, some of which include options to extend the leases for up to seven years. Liabilities to make future lease payments are recorded in accounts payable and other liabilities, while ROU assets are recorded in other assets in the Corporation’s consolidated statements of financial condition. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Corporation did not have a lease that qualifies as a finance lease.

Operating lease cost for the year ended December 31, 2020 amounted to $13.8 million (2019 - $10.7 million), recorded in occupancy and equipment in the consolidated statement of income.

The Corporation assumed operating leases in the BSPR acquisition on September 1, 2020. The liability and related ROU assets recorded upon the assumption of these leases was approximately $52.1 million. Lease liabilities assumed in the BSPR acquisition were measured based on the net present value of remaining future lease payments, with considerations given to options to extend or renew each lease. Remaining future lease payments were discounted at the Corporation’s estimated incremental borrowing rate as of the date of acquisition.

Supplemental balance sheet information related to leases as of the indicated dates was as follows:
	As of		As of
	December 31,		December 31,
	2020		2019
(Dollars in thousands)
ROU asset	$	103,186	$	61,327
Operating lease liability	$	106,502	$	64,259
Operating lease weighted-average remaining lease term (in years)		8.5		10.8
Operating lease weighted-average discount rate		2.25%		3.29%

Generally, the Corporation cannot practically determine the interest rate implicit in the lease. Therefore, the Corporation uses its incremental borrowing rate as the discount rate for the lease.

Supplemental cash flow information related to leases is as follows:
	Year Ended		Year Ended
	December 31,		December 31,
	2020		2019
(In thousands)
Operating cash flow from operating leases (1)	$	13,464	$	10,219
ROU assets obtained in exchange for operating lease liabilities (2)		1,328		10,762

Represents cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of operating lease liabilities.Represents non-cash activity and, accordingly, is not reflected in the consolidated statements of cash flows. Excludes the aforementioned $52.1 million of ROU assets and related liabilities assumed in the BSPR acquisition.

Maturities under lease liabilities as of December 31, 2020, were as follows:
	Amount
(In thousands)
2021	$	19,062
2022		17,945
2023		16,018
2024		14,507
2025		13,363
2026 and later years		37,783
Total lease payments		118,678
Less: imputed interest		(12,176)
Total present value of lease liability	$	106,502