Junior Subordinated Debt Owed to Unconsolidated Trusts	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2018
Junior Subordinated Debt Owed to Unconsolidated Trusts
Junior Subordinated Debt Owed to Unconsolidated Trusts	Note 9: Junior Subordinated Debt Owed to Unconsolidated Trusts First Busey maintains statutory trusts for the sole purpose of issuing and servicing trust preferred securities and related trust common securities. The proceeds from such issuances were used by the trusts to purchase junior subordinated notes of the Company, which are the sole assets of each trust. Concurrent with the issuance of the trust preferred securities, the Company issued guarantees for the benefit of the holders of the trust preferred securities. The trust preferred securities are instruments that qualify, and are treated by the Company, as Tier 1 regulatory capital. The Company owns all of the common securities of each trust. The trust preferred securities issued by each trust rank equally with the common securities in right of payment, except that if an event of default under the indenture governing the notes has occurred and is continuing, the preferred securities will rank senior to the common securities in right of payment. In connection with the Pulaski acquisition in 2016, the Company acquired similar statutory trusts maintained by Pulaski and the fair value adjustment is being accreted over the weighted average remaining life. The Company had $71.1 million and $71.0 million of junior subordinated debt owed to unconsolidated trusts at June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively. The trust preferred securities are subject to mandatory redemption, in whole or in part, upon repayment of the junior subordinated notes at par value at the stated maturity date or upon redemption. Each trust’s ability to pay amounts due on the trust preferred securities is solely dependent upon the Company making payment on the related junior subordinated notes. The Company’s obligations under the junior subordinated notes and other relevant trust agreements, in aggregate, constitute a full and unconditional guarantee by the Company of each trust’s obligations under the trust preferred securities issued by each trust. The Company has the right to defer payment of interest on the notes, in which case the distributions on the trust preferred securities will also be deferred, for up to five years, but not beyond the stated maturity date. Under current banking regulations, bank holding companies are allowed to include qualifying trust preferred securities in their Tier 1 Capital for regulatory capital purposes, subject to a 25% limitation to all core (Tier 1) capital elements, net of goodwill and other intangible assets less any associated deferred tax liability. As of June 30, 2018, 100% of the trust preferred securities qualified as Tier 1 capital under the final rule adopted in March 2005. The Dodd-Frank Act mandated the Federal Reserve to establish minimum capital levels for holding companies on a consolidated basis as stringent as those required for FDIC-insured institutions. A result of this change is that the proceeds of hybrid instruments, such as trust preferred securities, are being excluded from capital over a phase-out period. However, if such securities were issued prior to May 19, 2010 by bank holding companies with less than $15.0 billion of assets, they may be retained, subject to certain restrictions. Because the Company has assets of less than $15.0 billion, it is able to maintain its trust preferred proceeds as capital, but the Company has to comply with new capital mandates in other respects and will not be able to raise capital in the future through the issuance of trust preferred securities.

Note 9: Junior Subordinated Debt Owed to Unconsolidated Trusts

First Busey maintains statutory trusts for the sole purpose of issuing and servicing trust preferred securities and related trust common securities. The proceeds from such issuances were used by the trusts to purchase junior subordinated notes of the Company, which are the sole assets of each trust. Concurrent with the issuance of the trust preferred securities, the Company issued guarantees for the benefit of the holders of the trust preferred securities. The trust preferred securities are instruments that qualify, and are treated by the Company, as Tier 1 regulatory capital. The Company owns all of the common securities of each trust. The trust preferred securities issued by each trust rank equally with the common securities in right of payment, except that if an event of default under the indenture governing the notes has occurred and is continuing, the preferred securities will rank senior to the common securities in right of payment. In connection with the Pulaski acquisition in 2016, the Company acquired similar statutory trusts maintained by Pulaski and the fair value adjustment is being accreted over the weighted average remaining life. The Company had $71.1 million and $71.0 million of junior subordinated debt owed to unconsolidated trusts at June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively.

The trust preferred securities are subject to mandatory redemption, in whole or in part, upon repayment of the junior subordinated notes at par value at the stated maturity date or upon redemption. Each trust’s ability to pay amounts due on the trust preferred securities is solely dependent upon the Company making payment on the related junior subordinated notes.

The Company’s obligations under the junior subordinated notes and other relevant trust agreements, in aggregate, constitute a full and unconditional guarantee by the Company of each trust’s obligations under the trust preferred securities issued by each trust. The Company has the right to defer payment of interest on the notes, in which case the distributions on the trust preferred securities will also be deferred, for up to five years, but not beyond the stated maturity date.

Under current banking regulations, bank holding companies are allowed to include qualifying trust preferred securities in their Tier 1 Capital for regulatory capital purposes, subject to a 25% limitation to all core (Tier 1) capital elements, net of goodwill and other intangible assets less any associated deferred tax liability. As of June 30, 2018, 100% of the trust preferred securities qualified as Tier 1 capital under the final rule adopted in March 2005.

The Dodd-Frank Act mandated the Federal Reserve to establish minimum capital levels for holding companies on a consolidated basis as stringent as those required for FDIC-insured institutions. A result of this change is that the proceeds of hybrid instruments, such as trust preferred securities, are being excluded from capital over a phase-out period. However, if such securities were issued prior to May 19, 2010 by bank holding companies with less than $15.0 billion of assets, they may be retained, subject to certain restrictions. Because the Company has assets of less than $15.0 billion, it is able to maintain its trust preferred proceeds as capital, but the Company has to comply with new capital mandates in other respects and will not be able to raise capital in the future through the issuance of trust preferred securities.