Note 1: Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Financial Statement Presentation

When preparing these unaudited consolidated financial statements of First Busey Corporation and its subsidiaries (“First Busey,” “Company,” “we,” or “our”), a Nevada corporation, we have assumed that you have read the audited consolidated financial statements included in our 2018 Form 10-K. These interim unaudited consolidated financial statements serve to update our 2018 Form 10-K and may not include all information and notes necessary to constitute a complete set of financial statements.

We prepared these unaudited consolidated financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). We have eliminated intercompany accounts and transactions. We have also reclassified certain prior year amounts to conform to the current period presentation. These reclassifications did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial condition or results of operations.

In our opinion, the unaudited consolidated financial statements reflect all normal, recurring adjustments needed to present fairly our results for the interim periods. The results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the full year or any other interim period.

The Company has evaluated subsequent events for potential recognition and/or disclosure through the date the unaudited consolidated financial statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q were issued. There were no significant subsequent events for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 through the issuance date of these unaudited consolidated financial statements that warranted adjustment to or disclosure in the unaudited consolidated financial statements.

Use of Estimates

In preparing the accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP, the Company’s management is required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and the disclosures provided. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Material estimates which are particularly susceptible to significant change in the near term relate to the fair value of investment securities, fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed in business combinations, goodwill, and the determination of the allowance for loan losses.

Leases

A determination is made at inception if an arrangement contains a lease. For arrangements that contain a lease, the Company recognizes the lease on the balance sheet as a right of use asset and corresponding lease liability. Lease-related assets, or right of use assets, are recognized on the lease commencement date at amounts equal to the respective lease liabilities, adjusted for prepaid lease payments, initial direct costs, and lease incentives received. Lease-related liabilities are recognized at the present value of the remaining contractual fixed lease payments, discounted using our incremental borrowing rate. Operating lease expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term, while variable lease payments are expensed as incurred.

Topic 842 requires the use of the rate implicit in the lease whenever this rate is readily determinable. If not readily determinable, the Company utilizes its incremental borrowing rate at lease inception, on a collateralized basis, over a similar term. For operating leases existing prior to January 1, 2019, the Company used a borrowing rate that corresponded to the remaining lease term.

The Company’s lease agreements often include one or more options to renew at the Company’s discretion. If at lease inception, the Company considers the exercising of a renewal option to be reasonably certain, the Company will include the extended term in the calculation of the right-of-use asset and lease liability.

Impact of recently adopted accounting standards

Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-02, "Leases (Topic 842)." ASU 2016-02 intends to increase transparency and comparability among organizations by recognizing all lease transactions (with original terms in excess of 12 months) on the Consolidated Balance Sheet as a lease liability and a right-of-use asset. The guidance also requires qualitative and quantitative disclosures of the amount, timing and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. In July 2018, ASU 2018-11, "Leases (Topic 842): Targeted Improvements" was issued to allow companies to choose to recognize the cumulative effect of applying the new standard to leased assets and liabilities as an adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings rather than recasting prior year results upon adoption of the standard.

ASU 2019-01, "Leases (Topic 842): Codification Improvements." In 2016, The FASB issued ASU 2016- 02, “Leases (Topic 842)”, to increase transparency and comparability among organizations by recognizing lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet and disclosing essential information about leasing transactions. ASU 2019-01 clarifies the guidance in ASU 2016-02 and/or corrects unintended application of the guidance. For public business entities, this guidance is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted and the Company adopted this guidance during the first quarter of 2019. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

On January 1, 2019, the Company adopted ASU No. 2016-02 “Leases (Topic 842) and all subsequent ASUs that modified Topic 842. The Company made the following elections for all leases in connection with the adoption of this guidance:

The Company elected the package of practical expedients to not reassess prior conclusions related to contracts containing leases, lease classification and initial direct costs;

The Company did not elect the hindsight practical expedient;

The Company elected the optional transition method that allows companies to use the effective date as the date of initial application on transition. As a result, the Company did not adjust comparative period financial information or make the newly required lease disclosures for periods before the effective date;

The Company elected not to apply the above guidance to short-term leases;

The Company elected to separate the lease components from the nonlease components and exclude the nonlease components from the right-of-use asset and lease liability; and

The Company did not elect the land easement practical expedient.

At the date of adoption, the Company recorded approximately $11.6 million on its Consolidated Balance Sheets to reflect the right of use asset and associated lease liability. The Company utilized its incremental borrowing rate, on a collateralized basis, for the remaining contractual lease term.

ASU 2017-08, "Receivables - Nonrefundable Fees and Other Costs (Subtopic 310-20), Premium Amortization on Purchased Callable Debt Securities." ASU 2017-08 shortens the amortization period for certain callable debt securities held at a premium, requiring the premium to be amortized to the earliest call date. ASU 2017-08 does not require an accounting change for securities held at a discount; the discount continues to be amortized to maturity. This guidance was effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

ASU 2017-12, "Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities." ASU 2017-12 amends Topic 815 to reduce the cost and complexity of applying hedge accounting and expands the types of relationships that qualify for hedge accounting. The guidance eliminates the requirement to separately measure and report hedge ineffectiveness, requires all items that affect earnings to be presented in the same income statement line as the hedged item, provides for applying hedge accounting to additional hedging strategies, provides for new approaches to measuring the hedged item in fair value hedges of interest rate risk, and eases the requirements for effective testing and hedge documentation. This guidance was effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. During the first quarter of 2019, when the Company adopted this guidance and reassessed classification of certain investments and transferred $573.6 million of securities from held to maturity to available for sale.

ASU 2018-07, "Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting." ASU 2018-07 expands the scope of Topic 718 to include share-based payment transactions for acquiring goods and services from nonemployees. This guidance was effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

ASU 2016-13, "Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments." ASU 2016-13 implements a change from the current impaired loss model to an expected credit loss model over the life of an instrument, including loans and securities held to maturity. The expected credit loss model is expected to result in earlier recognition of losses. ASU 2016-13 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 including interim periods with those years. The Company has developed and is executing a project plan to implement this guidance. The project plan includes an assessment of data, development of CECL methodologies, model validation, and parallel runs to assess the impact of CECL calculations on its consolidated financial statements and evaluation of related disclosures.