Basis of Presentation

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2022

Basis of Presentation

Basis of Presentation

Note 1:   Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Merchants Bancorp, a registered bank holding company (the “Company”) and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Merchants Bank of Indiana (“Merchants Bank”), Farmers-Merchants Bank of Illinois (“FMBI”) and Merchants Asset Management, LLC (“MAM”). Merchants Bank’s primary operating subsidiaries include Merchants Capital Corp. (‘MCC”), Merchants Capital Servicing, LLC (“MCS”), and Merchants Capital Investments, LLC (“MCI”). All direct and indirectly owned subsidiaries owned by Merchants Bancorp are collectively referred to as the “Company”.

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheet of the Company as of December 31, 2021, which has been derived from audited financial statements, and unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of the Company as of June 30, 2022 and for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, were prepared in accordance with the instructions for Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X and, therefore, do not include information or footnotes necessary for a complete presentation of financial position, results of operations and cash flows in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Accordingly, these condensed financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and notes thereto of the Company as of and for the year ended December 31, 2021 in its Annual Report on Form 10-K. Reference is made to the accounting policies of the Company described in the Notes to the Financial Statements contained in the Annual Report on Form 10-K.

In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) which are necessary for a fair presentation of the unaudited financial statements have been included to present fairly the financial position as of June 30, 2022 and the results of operations for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, and cash flows for the six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021. All interim amounts have not been audited and the results of operations for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022, herein are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations to be expected for the entire year.

Principles of Consolidation

The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements as of and for the period ended June 30, 2022 and 2021 include results from the Company, and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Merchants Bank, FMBI and MAM. Also included are Merchants Bank’s primary operating subsidiaries, MCC, MCS and MCI, as well as all direct and indirectly owned subsidiaries owned by Merchants Bancorp.

In addition, when the Company makes an equity investment in an entity for which it holds a variable interest, it is evaluated for consolidation requirements under Accounting Standards Update of Topic 810. Accordingly, the entity is assessed for potential consolidation under the variable interest entity (“VIE”) model and would only consolidate those entities for which it is a primary beneficiary. A primary beneficiary is defined as the party that has both the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the entity, and an interest that could be significant to the entity. To determine if an interest could be significant to the entity, both qualitative and quantitative factors regarding the nature, size and form of our involvement with the entity are evaluated. Alternatively, under the voting interest model, it would only consolidate those entities for which it has a controlling interest. Because the variable interest investments held by the Company as of June 30, 2022 are not deemed to be primary beneficiaries or controlling interests, the entities are not consolidated and the equity method or proportional method of accounting has been applied. The Company will analyze whether its entities are the primary beneficiary on an ongoing basis. Changes in facts and circumstances occurring since the previous primary beneficiary determination will be considered as part of this ongoing assessment. See Note 5: Variable Interest Entities (VIEs) for additional information about VIEs.

All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Deconsolidation

The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements included consolidated results from certain entities primarily involved in single-family debt financing until January 30, 2021, while the Company was deemed to be a primary beneficiary. On February 1, 2021, the Company’s single-family debt fund entities were restructured in such a way that its ownership and participation was significantly reduced with the inclusion of additional, unrelated investors and the Company was no longer classified as a primary beneficiary.  Accordingly, results from these entities were no longer consolidated after this date, in accordance with the consolidation guidelines of the Accounting Standards Update of Topic 810.

Following the deconsolidation, the carrying value of assets and liabilities of these entities were removed from the consolidated balance sheet, and the continuing investments were recorded at fair value at the date of deconsolidation. The total amount deconsolidated from the balance sheet included net assets of approximately $10 million, consisting primarily of $66.6 million in loans receivable, and $52.7 million in borrowings with Merchants Bank that was previously eliminated in consolidation.  The fair value of its continuing investments was approximately $10 million on the deconsolidation date and has been reported in Other Assets after deconsolidation. The estimated fair value was determined based on third-party evaluations of similar assets in the underlying business. The difference between the fair value of these deconsolidated entities and their carrying value was deemed to be immaterial, resulting in no gain or loss on deconsolidation. These continuing investments after deconsolidation are classified as variable interest entities, have not been consolidated, and are accounted for under the equity method of accounting. See Note 5: Variable Interest Entities (VIEs) for additional information about VIEs.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of 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 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.

Material estimates that are particularly susceptible to significant change relate to the determination of the allowance for credit losses on loans, servicing rights and fair values of financial instruments.

Significant Accounting Policies

The significant accounting policies followed by the Company for interim financial reporting are consistent with the accounting policies followed for annual financial reporting. However, on January 1, 2022, the Company adopted FASB Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments ("CECL"). The Company revised certain accounting policies and implemented certain accounting policy elections, related to the adoption of CECL, which are described below. All adjustments, which are of a normal recurring nature and are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair statement of the results for the periods reported, have been included in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

CECL replaces the previous "allowance for loan and lease losses" model for measuring credit losses, which encompassed allowances for current known and inherent losses within the portfolio, with an "expected loss" model for measuring credit losses, which encompasses allowances for losses expected to be incurred over the life of the included assets. The new CECL model requires the measurement of all expected credit losses for financial assets measured at amortized cost and certain off-balance sheet credit exposures (“OBCEs”) based on historical experiences, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts. CECL also requires enhanced disclosures related to the significant estimates and judgments used in estimating credit losses, as well as credit quality and underwriting standards of an organization's portfolio. In addition, CECL includes certain changes to the accounting for investment securities available for sale depending on whether management intends to sell the securities or believes that it is more likely than not they will be required to sell.

As of adoption date on January 1, 2022, the Company recorded a $3.6 million decrease, net of taxes, to retained earnings for the cumulative effect of adopting CECL. The transition adjustment included a $0.3 million increase to retained earnings related to allowance for credit losses on loans (“ACL-Loans”) and a $5.2 million decrease to retained earnings related to allowance for OBCEs (“ACL-OBCEs”). The following table summarizes the impact of the adoption of CECL on the Company’s balance sheet as of January 1, 2022.

			Impact of			January 1, 2022
			CECL			Post-CECL
	December 31, 2021		Adoption		Adoption
Assets:	(In thousands)
MTG WHLOC	$	1,955	$	41	$	1,996
RES RE		4,170		275		4,445
MF FIN		14,084		520		14,604
HC FIN		4,461		139		4,600
CML & CRE		5,879		(1,277)		4,602
AG & AGRE		657		(18)		639
CON & MAR		138		21		159
ACL - Loans	$	31,344	$	(299)	$	31,045
Liabilities:
ACL - OBCEs (in Other Liabilities)	$	—	$	5,176	$	5,176
Stockholders' Equity:
Retained earnings, net of tax	$	657,149	$	(3,648)	$	653,501

ACL-Loans - the ACL-Loans is a valuation account that is deducted from the loans’ amortized cost basis to present the net amount expected to be collected on loans over the contractual term. Loans are charged off against the allowance when the uncollectibility of the loan is confirmed. Expected recoveries do not exceed the aggregate of amounts previously charged off and expected to be charged off. Adjustments to the ACL-Loans are reported in the income statement as a provision for credit loss. Further information regarding the policies and methodology used to estimate the ACL-Loans is detailed in Note 4: Loans and Allowance for credit losses on loans of these Notes to Consolidated Condensed Financial Statements.

ACL-OBCEs – the ACL–OBCEs is a liability account representing expected credit losses over the contractual period for which the Company is exposed to credit risk resulting from a contractual obligation to extend credit. No allowance is recognized if the Company has the unconditional right to cancel the obligation. OBCEs primarily consist of amounts available under outstanding lines of credit. For the period of exposure, the estimate of expected credit losses considers both the likelihood that funding will occur and the amount expected to be funded over the estimated remaining life of the commitment. The likelihood and expected amount of funding are based on historical utilization rates. The amount of the allowance represents management’s best estimate of expected credit losses on commitments expected to be funded over the contractual life of the commitment. The ACL–OBCEs is adjusted through the income statement as a component of provision for credit loss.

The Company adopted CECL using the modified retrospective method for loans and OBCEs. Therefore, results for reporting periods beginning after January 1, 2022 are presented in accordance with CECL, while prior period amounts continue to be reported in accordance with previously applicable Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”).

Reclassifications

Certain reclassifications may have been made to the 2021 financial statements to conform to the financial statement presentation as of and for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022. These reclassifications had no effect on net income.