Securities

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2014

SecuritiesAbstract

Securities

(2) Securities. Securities have been classified according to management’s intent. The carrying amount of securities and approximate fair values are as follows (in thousands):

			Gross		Gross
	Amortized		Unrealized		Unrealized			Fair
	Cost		Gains		Losses			Value
Securities Available for Sale:
At March 31, 2014:
Mortgage-backed securities	$	10,785	$	326	$	(68	)	$	11,042
U.S. Government and agency securities		20,348		126		(177	)		20,298
	$	31,133	$	452	$	(245	)	$	31,340
Securities Available for Sale:
At December 31, 2013:
Mortgage-backed securities	$	10,425	$	269	$	(69	)	$	10,625
U.S. Government and agency securities		12,561		37		(233	)		12,365
	$	22,986	$	306	$	(302	)	$	22,990

The amortized cost and carrying value of securities at March 31, 2014 by contractual maturity are shown below. Expected maturities will differ from contractual maturities because the issuers of the securities may have the right to call or prepay obligations with or without cost of prepayment penalties. Securities not due at a single maturity date are shown separately (in thousands):

	Securities Available for Sale
	Amortized		Fair
	Cost		Value
Due in five through ten years	$	670	$	673
Due in ten years or more		19,678		19,625
Mortgage-backed securities		10,785		11,042
	$	31,133	$	31,340

Securities with gross unrealized losses at March 31, 2014, aggregated by investment category and length of time that individual securities have been in a continuous loss position, are as follows (in thousands):

	Less Than Twelve Months
	Gross
	Unrealized			Fair
	Losses			Value
Securities Available for Sale:
Mortgage-backed securities	$	(68	)	$	3,606
U.S. Government and agency securities		(177	)		11,347
	$	(245	)	$	14,953

The unrealized losses on investment securities were caused by market conditions. It is expected that the securities would not be settled at a price less than the book value of the investments. Because the decline in fair value is attributable to market conditions and not credit quality, and because the Company has the ability and intent to hold these investments until a market price recovery or maturity, these investments are not considered other-than-temporarily impaired.

Management evaluates securities for other-than-temporary impairment at least on a quarterly basis, and more frequently when economic or market concerns warrant such evaluation. A security is impaired if the fair value is less than its carrying value at the financial statement date. When a security is impaired, the Company determines whether this impairment is temporary or other-than-temporary. In estimating other-than-temporary impairment (“OTTI”) losses, management assesses whether it intends to sell, or it is more likely than not that it will be required to sell, a security in an unrealized loss position before recovery of its amortized cost basis. If either of these criteria is met, the entire difference between amortized cost and fair value is recognized in operations. For securities that do not meet the aforementioned criteria, the amount of impairment recognized in operations is limited to the amount related to credit losses, while impairment related to other factors is recognized in other comprehensive loss. Management utilizes cash flow models to segregate impairments to distinguish between impairment related to credit losses and impairment related to other factors. To assess for OTTI, management considers, among other things, (i) the severity and duration of the impairment; (ii) the ratings of the security; (iii) the overall transaction structure (the Company’s position within the structure, the aggregate, near-term financial performance of the underlying collateral, delinquencies, defaults, loss severities, recoveries, prepayments, cumulative loss projections, and discounted cash flows); and (iv) the timing and magnitude of a break in modeled cash flows.

In evaluating mortgage-backed securities with unrealized losses, management utilizes various resources, including input from independent third party firms to perform an analysis of expected future cash flows. The process begins with an assessment of the underlying collateral backing the mortgage pools. Management develops specific assumptions using as much market data as possible and includes internal estimates as well as estimates published by rating agencies and other third-party sources. The data for the individual borrowers in the underlying mortgage pools are generally segregated by state, FICO score at issue, loan to value at issue and income documentation criteria. Mortgage pools are evaluated for current and expected levels of delinquencies and foreclosures, based on where they fall in the proscribed data set of FICO score, geographics, LTV and documentation type and a level of loss severity is assigned to each security based on its experience. The above-described historical data is used to develop current and expected measures of cumulative default rates as well as ultimate loss frequency and severity within the underlying mortgages. This reveals the expected future cash flows within the mortgage pool. The data described above is then input to an industry recognized model to assess the behavior of the particular security tranche owned by the Company. Significant inputs in this process include the structure of any subordination structures, if applicable, and are dictated by the structure of each particular security as laid out in the offering documents. The forecasted cash flows from the mortgage pools are input through the security structuring model to derive expected cash flows for the specific security owned by the Company to determine if the future cash flows are expected to exceed the book value of the security. The values for the significant inputs are updated on a regular basis.