ORGANIZATION AND OPERATIONS (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2013

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation and Change in Reporting Entity

Basis of Presentation and Change in Reporting Entity

The merger of Legacy VantageSouth into Crescent State Bank was a merger of commonly controlled companies and was accounted for in a manner similar to a pooling of interests transaction. Thus, the Company's financial statements have been retrospectively adjusted to combine the financial statement balances of Crescent and Legacy VantageSouth beginning on November 18, 2011, the date the two companies became commonly controlled by Piedmont. Periods prior to the date of common control reflect Legacy VantageSouth's historical balances, which were retrospectively adjusted for the combination with Rowan, since it was the first company acquired by Piedmont. Due to the application of push-down accounting to Legacy VantageSouth's financial results on February 1, 2012, the date at which Legacy VantageSouth became substantially wholly-owned by Piedmont, balances and activity in the Company’s consolidated financial statements prior to the this date have been labeled with “Predecessor Company” while balances and activity subsequent to the this date have been labeled with “Successor Company.”

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts and transactions of the Company and the Bank. These consolidated financial statements have been retrospectively adjusted for the change in reporting entity described above. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation.

Use of Estimates, Policy

Use of Estimates and Assumptions

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Change in Accounting Estimate

Due to rapidly declining loss rates in the Company's loan portfolio and in peer loan portfolios in recent quarters, in the second quarter of 2013, the Company expanded the time period of historical losses it uses to determine reserve rates for loans evaluated collectively in its allowance for loan losses ("ALLL") model from two to three years. The Company believes that this change was necessary to maintain an adequate ALLL based on its evaluation of portfolio risk and market conditions. This change in accounting estimate to expand the historical loss period from two to three years increased the provision for non-acquired loans by $168 in the second quarter of 2013.

In the fourth quarter of 2013, the Company combined its ALLL models for both non-acquired loans and purchased non-impaired loans into a single model. Prior to this change, the Company maintained separate models for these two loan groupings and based its calculation of reserve rates for non-acquired loans on peer loss rates. Because of the significant changes the Company made to credit risk management practices when it completed its various troubled bank acquisitions in recent years, management did not view historical losses from the acquired loan portfolios as the best basis for determining reserves on the non-acquired (or originated) portfolio. These peer loss rates were used as a proxy for charge-off rates on the Company's non-acquired loan portfolio in a manner similar to a de novo bank portfolio. Though there are still minimal charge-offs on the non-acquired portfolio and the enhanced credit risk management practices still prevail, the Company believes that the fourth quarter of 2013 was an appropriate time to discontinue use of peer loss data in its ALLL model. One reason for this change is that sufficient time has elapsed since the Company's first bank acquisition such that non-acquired loan performance is now factored into the entire three-year historical loss period used for the combined ALLL model. The combined ALLL model bases reserve rates by loan type and risk grade on trailing three-year historical losses, which includes historical predecessor losses from all acquired banks over this period. This change in accounting estimate decreased the provision for loan losses by $432 in the fourth quarter of 2013.