BASIS OF PRESENTATION (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2015

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of First Northern Community Bancorp (the “Company”) have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Articles 9 and 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. The results of operations for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of results expected for the full year. These condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP also requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expense during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. All material intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements:

In January 2014, FASB issued ASU 2014-01, Investments – Equity Method and Joint Ventures. The amendments in this ASU permit reporting entities to make an accounting policy election to account for their investments in qualified affordable housing projects using the proportional amortization method if certain conditions are met. Disclosures for a change in accounting principle are required upon transition. The amendments should be applied retrospectively to all periods presented. A reporting entity that uses the effective yield method to account for its investments in qualified affordable housing projects before the date of adoption may continue to apply the effective yield method for those preexisting investments. 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, 2014. Early adoption is permitted. The adoption of this update did not have a significant impact on its consolidated financial statements.

In January 2014, FASB issued ASU 2014-04, Receivables – Troubled Debt Restructurings by Creditors. The amendments in this ASU clarify that an in substance repossession or foreclosure occurs, and a creditor is considered to have received physical possession of residential real estate property collateralizing a consumer mortgage loan, upon either (1) the creditor obtaining legal title to the residential real estate property upon completion of a foreclosure or (2) the borrower conveying all interest in the residential real estate property to the creditor to satisfy that loan through completion of a deed in lieu of foreclosure or through a similar legal agreement. Additionally, the amendments require interim and annual disclosure of both (1) the amount of foreclosed residential real estate property held by the creditor and (2) the recorded investment in consumer mortgage loans collateralized by residential real estate property that are in the process of foreclosure according to local requirements of the applicable jurisdiction. 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, 2014. An entity can elect to adopt the amendments in this ASU using either a modified retrospective transition method or a prospective transition method. Early adoption is permitted. The adoption of this update did not have a significant impact on its consolidated financial statements.

In January, 2014, FASB issued ASU 2014-05, Service Concession Arrangements. The amendments specify that an operating entity should not account for a service concession arrangement that is within the scope of this ASU as a lease in accordance with Topic 840. An operating entity should refer to other Topics as applicable to account for various aspects of a service concession arrangement. The amendments also specify that the infrastructure used in a service concession arrangement should not be recognized as property, plant, and equipment of the operating entity. The amendments in this ASU should be applied on a modified retrospective basis to service concession arrangements that exist at the beginning of an entity’s fiscal year of adoption. The modified retrospective approach requires the cumulative effect of applying this ASU to arrangements existing at the beginning of the period of adoption to be recognized as an adjustment to the opening retained earnings balance for the annual period of adoption. The amendments are effective for a public business entity for annual periods, and interim periods within those annual periods, beginning after December 15, 2014. The adoption of this update did not have a significant impact on its consolidated financial statements.

In August, 2014, FASB issued ASU 2014-14, Receivables- Troubled Debt Restructuring by Creditors: Classification of Certain Government-Guaranteed Mortgage Loans upon Foreclosure. The amendment affects creditors that hold government-guaranteed mortgage loans, including those guaranteed by the FHA and the VA. It requires that a mortgage loan be derecognized and a separate other receivable be recognized upon foreclosure if the following conditions are present:

·	The loan has a government guarantee that is not separable from the loan before foreclosure.

·	At the time of foreclosure, the creditor has the intent to convey the real estate property to the guarantor and make a claim on the guarantee, and the creditor has the ability to recover under that claim.

·	At the time of foreclosure, any amount of the claim that is determined on the basis of the fair value of the real estate is fixed.

Upon foreclosure, the separate other receivable should be measured based on the amount of the loan balance (principal and interest) expected to be recovered from the guarantor. The amendments are effective for a public business entity for annual periods and interim periods within those annual periods, beginning after December 15, 2014. The adoption of this update did not have a significant impact on its consolidated financial statements.

In August, 2014, FASB issued ASU 2014-15, Presentation of Financial Statements- Going Concern: Disclosure of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern. The amendment defines management’s responsibility to evaluate whether there is substantial doubt about an organization’s ability to continue as a going concern and to provide related footnote disclosures. Under GAAP, financial statements are prepared under the presumption that the reporting organization will continue to operate as a going concern, except in limited circumstances. The going concern basis of accounting is critical to financial reporting because it establishes the fundamental basis for measuring and classifying assets and liabilities. Currently, GAAP lacks guidance about management’s responsibility to evaluate whether there is substantial doubt about the organization’s ability to continue as a going concern or to provide related footnote disclosures. This ASU provides guidance to an organization’s management, with principles and definitions that are intended to reduce diversity in the timing and content of disclosures that are commonly provided by organizations today in the financial statement footnotes. The amendments are effective for a public business entity for annual periods ending after December 15, 2016, and interim periods within those annual periods, beginning after December 15, 2016. The Company does not expect the adoption of this update to have a significant impact on its consolidated financial statements.

Reclassifications

Certain reclassifications have been made to prior period balances in order to conform to the current year presentation. There was no impact to the net income, earnings per share, or stockholders’ equity as a result of reclassifications.