Goodwill and other intangible assets

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Goodwill and other intangible assets [Abstract]

Goodwill and other intangible assets

8.     Goodwill and other intangible assets

In accordance with GAAP, the Company does not amortize goodwill, however, core deposit and other intangible assets are amortized over the estimated life of each respective asset. Total amortizing intangible assets were comprised of the following:

	Gross  Carrying Amount		Accumulated Amortization		Net Carrying Amount
	(In thousands)
December 31, 2011
Core deposit	$	755,794	$	626,453	$	129,341
Other		177,268		130,215		47,053
Total	$	933,062	$	756,668	$	176,394
December 31, 2010
Core deposit	$	701,000	$	576,986	$	124,014
Other		119,968		118,065		1,903
Total	$	820,968	$	695,051	$	125,917

Amortization of core deposit and other intangible assets was generally computed using accelerated methods over original amortization periods of five to ten years. The weighted-average original amortization period was approximately eight years. The remaining weighted-average amortization period as of December 31, 2011 was approximately five years. Amortization expense for core deposit and other intangible assets was $61,617,000, $58,103,000 and $64,255,000 for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. Estimated amortization expense in future years for such intangible assets is as follows:

	(In thousands)
Year ending December 31:
2012	$	60,631
2013		46,912
2014		33,825
2015		20,938
2016		10,052
Later years		4,036
	$	176,394

In accordance with GAAP, the Company completed annual goodwill impairment tests as of October 1, 2011, 2010 and 2009. For purposes of testing for impairment, the Company assigned all recorded goodwill to the reporting units originally intended to benefit from past business combinations, which has historically been the Company’s core relationship business reporting units. Goodwill was generally assigned based on the implied fair value of the acquired goodwill applicable to the benefited reporting units at the time of each respective acquisition. The implied fair value of the goodwill was determined as the difference between the estimated incremental overall fair value of the reporting unit and the estimated fair value of the net assets assigned to the reporting unit as of each respective acquisition date. To test for goodwill impairment at each evaluation date, the Company compared the estimated fair value of each of its reporting units to their respective carrying amounts and certain other assets and liabilities assigned to the reporting unit, including goodwill and core deposit and other intangible assets. The methodologies used to estimate fair values of reporting units as of the acquisition dates and as of the evaluation dates were similar. For the Company’s core customer relationship business reporting units, fair value was estimated as the present value of the expected future cash flows of the reporting unit. Based on the results of the goodwill impairment tests, the Company concluded that the amount of recorded goodwill was not impaired at the respective testing dates.

A summary of goodwill assigned to each of the Company’s reportable segments as of December 31, 2011 and 2010 for purposes of testing for impairment is as follows:

	(In thousands)
Business Banking	$	748,907
Commercial Banking		907,524
Commercial Real Estate		349,197
Discretionary Portfolio		—
Residential Mortgage Banking		—
Retail Banking		1,144,404
All Other		374,593
Total	$	3,524,625