Commitments, Contingencies and Guarantees

Commitments to Extend Credit & Standby and Commercial Letters of Credit

The following represents the Company’s commitments to extend credit, standby letters of credit and commercial letters of credit:



	March 31, 2020		December 31, 2019
	(In Thousands)
Commitments to extend credit	$	25,333,070	$	27,725,965
Standby and commercial letters of credit	1,033,885		996,830

Commitments to extend credit are agreements to lend to customers as long as there is no violation of any condition established in the contract. Commitments generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses and may require payment of a fee. Since many of the commitments are expected to expire without being drawn upon, the total commitment amounts do not necessarily represent future cash requirements.

Standby and commercial letters of credit are commitments issued by the Company to guarantee the performance of a customer to a third party. These guarantees are primarily issued to support public and private borrowing arrangements, including commercial paper, bond financing and similar transactions, and expire in decreasing amounts with terms ranging from one to four years.

The credit risk involved in issuing letters of credit and commitments is essentially the same as that involved in extending loan facilities to customers. The fair value of the letters of credit and commitments typically approximates the fee received from the customer for issuing such commitments. These fees are deferred and are recognized over the commitment period. At March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the recorded amount of these deferred fees was $8 million and $7 million, respectively. The Company holds various assets as collateral supporting those commitments for which collateral is deemed necessary. At March 31, 2020, the maximum potential amount of future undiscounted payments the Company could be required to make under outstanding standby letters of credit was $1.0 billion. At March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the Company had allowance for credit losses related to letters of credit and unfunded commitments recorded in accrued expenses and other liabilities on the Company’s Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet of $101 million and $67 million, respectively. See Note 1, Basis of Presentation, for discussion of the impact of the adoption of ASC 326 on the allowance for credit losses related to letters of credit and unfunded commitments.

Loan Sale Recourse

The Company has potential recourse related to specific FNMA securitizations. At March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the amount of potential recourse was $19 million and $18 million, respectively, of which the Company had reserved $690 thousand and $693 thousand which is recorded in accrued expenses and other liabilities on the Company's Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets for the respective periods.

The Company also issues standard representations and warranties related to mortgage loan sales to government-sponsored agencies. Although these agreements often do not specify limitations, the Company does not believe that any payments related to these representations and warranties would materially change the financial condition or results of operations of the Company. At March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the Company had $1.7 million and $1.2 million, respectively, of reserves in accrued expenses and other liabilities on the Company’s Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets related to potential losses from loans sold.

Legal and Regulatory Proceedings

In the ordinary course of business, the Company is subject to legal proceedings, including claims, litigation, investigations and administrative proceedings, all of which are considered incidental to the normal conduct of business. The Company believes it has substantial defenses to the claims asserted against it in its currently outstanding legal proceedings and, with respect to such legal proceedings, intends to defend itself vigorously. Set forth below are descriptions of certain of the Company’s legal proceedings.

In January 2014, the Bank was named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed in the District Court of Dallas County, Texas, David Bagwell, individually and as Trustee of the David S. Bagwell Trust, et al. v. BBVA USA, et al., wherein the plaintiffs (who are the borrowers and guarantors of the underlying loans) allege that BBVA USA wrongfully sold their loans to a third party after representing that it would not do so. The plaintiffs seek unspecified monetary relief. Following trial in December 2017, the jury rendered a verdict in favor of the plaintiffs totaling $98 million. On June 27, 2018, the court entered a judgment in favor of the plaintiffs in the amount of $96 million, which includes prejudgment interest. The Bank has appealed and will vigorously contest the judgment on appeal. The Company believes there are substantial defenses to these claims and intends to defend them vigorously.

In October 2016, BSI was named as a defendant in a putative class action lawsuit filed in the District Court of Harris County, Texas, St. Lucie County Fire District Firefighters' Pension Trust, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated v. Southwestern Energy Company, et al., wherein the plaintiffs allege that Southwestern Energy Company, its officers and directors, and the underwriting defendants (including BSI) made inaccurate and misleading statements in the registration statement and prospectus related to a securities offering. The plaintiffs seek unspecified monetary relief. The Company believes there are substantial defenses to these claims and intends to defend them vigorously.

The Company and the Bank have been named in two proceedings involving David L. Powell: one that was filed in January 2017 with the Federal Conciliation and Arbitration Labor Board of Mexico City, Mexico, David Lannon Powell Finneran v. BBVA USA Bancshares, Inc., et al., and one that was filed in April 2018 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, David L. Powell, et al. v. BBVA USA. Powell alleges discrimination and wrongful termination in both proceedings, and seeks unspecified monetary relief. The Company believes there are substantial defenses to these claims and intends to defend them vigorously.

In March 2019, the Company and its subsidiary, Simple Finance Technology Corp., were named as defendants in a putative class action lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Amitahbo Chattopadhyay v. BBVA USA Bancshares, Inc., et al. Plaintiff claims that Simple and the Company only permit United States citizens to open Simple accounts (which are exclusively originated through online channels). Plaintiff alleges that this constitutes alienage discrimination and violations of California's Unruh Act. The Company believes that there are substantial defenses to these claims and intends to defend them vigorously.

In July 2019, the Company was named as a defendant in a putative class action lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Ferguson v. BBVA USA Bancshares, Inc., wherein the plaintiffs allege certain investment options within the Company’s employee retirement plan violate provisions of ERISA. The plaintiffs seek unspecified monetary relief. The Company believes there are substantial defenses to these claims and intends to defend them vigorously.

In April 2020, the Bank was named in a putative class action lawsuit filed in the District Court of Bexar County, Texas styled Zamora-Orduna Realty Group LLC v. BBVA USA, wherein plaintiffs allege the Bank tortiously failed to process certain loan requests submitted in connection with the federal Paycheck Protection Program. The plaintiffs seek an amount not less than $10 million along with other demands for unspecified monetary relief. The Company believes there are substantial defenses to these claims and intends to defend them vigorously.

The Company is or may become involved from time to time in information-gathering requests, reviews, investigations and proceedings (both formal and informal) by various governmental regulatory agencies, law enforcement authorities and self-regulatory bodies regarding the Company’s business. Such matters may result in material adverse consequences, including without limitation adverse judgments, settlements, fines, penalties, orders, injunctions, alterations in the Company’s business practices or other actions, and could result in additional expenses and collateral costs, including reputational damage, which could have a material adverse impact on the Company’s business, consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

The Company assesses its liabilities and contingencies in connection with outstanding legal proceedings utilizing the latest information available. Where it is probable that the Company will incur a loss and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated, the Company records a liability in its consolidated financial statements. These legal reserves may be increased or decreased to reflect any relevant developments. Where a loss is not probable or the amount of a probable loss is not reasonably estimable, the Company does not accrue legal reserves. At March 31, 2020, the Company had accrued legal reserves in the amount of $24 million. Additionally, for those matters where a loss is reasonably possible and the amount of loss is reasonably estimable, the Company estimates the amount of losses that it could incur beyond the accrued legal reserves. Under U.S. GAAP, an event is “reasonably possible” if “the chance of the future event or events occurring is more than remote but less than likely” and an event is “remote" if “the chance of the future event or events occurring is slight.” For a limited number of legal matters in which the Company is involved, the Company is able to estimate a range of reasonably possible losses in excess of related reserves, if any. Management currently estimates these losses to range from $0 to approximately $76 million. This estimated range of reasonably possible losses is based on information available at March 31, 2020. The matters underlying the estimated range will change from time to time, and the actual results may vary significantly from this estimate. Those matters for which an estimate is not possible are not included within this estimated range; therefore, this estimated range does not represent the Company’s maximum loss exposure.

While the outcome of legal proceedings and the timing of the ultimate resolution are inherently difficult to predict, based on information currently available, advice of counsel and available insurance coverage, the Company believes that it has established adequate legal reserves. Further, based upon available information, the Company is of the opinion that these legal proceedings, individually or in the aggregate, will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition or results of operations. However, in the event of unexpected future developments, it is possible that the ultimate resolution of those matters, if unfavorable, may be material to the Company’s results of operations for any particular period, depending, in part, upon the size of the loss or liability imposed and the operating results for the applicable period.

Income Tax Review

The Company is subject to review and examination from various tax authorities. The Company is currently under examination by a number of states, and has received notices of proposed adjustments related to state income taxes due for prior years. Management believes that adequate provisions for income taxes have been recorded.