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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

Bank of Hawaii Corporation (the “Parent”) is a Delaware corporation and a bank holding company headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii. Bank of Hawaii Corporation and its subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company”) provide a broad range of financial products and services to customers in Hawaii, Guam, and other Pacific Islands. The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Parent and its subsidiaries. The Parent’s principal operating subsidiary is Bank of Hawaii (the “Bank”).

The consolidated financial statements in this report have not been audited by an independent registered public accounting firm, but, in the opinion of management, reflect all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of the results for the interim periods. All such adjustments are of a normal recurring nature. Intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. Certain prior period information has been reclassified to conform to the current period presentation. Operating results for the interim periods disclosed herein are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the full fiscal year or for any future period.

The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and accompanying notes required by GAAP for complete financial statements and should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and related notes included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019.

Use of Estimates in the Preparation of Financial Statements

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results may differ from those estimates and such differences could be material to the financial statements.

Variable Interest Entities

Variable interests are defined as contractual ownership or other interests in an entity that change with fluctuations in an entity’s net asset value. The primary beneficiary consolidates the variable interest entity (“VIE”). The primary beneficiary is defined as the enterprise that has both (i) the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the entity’s economic performance and (ii) the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive benefits that could be significant to the VIE.

The Company participates in limited partnerships or limited liability companies that sponsor low-income housing projects. These entities provide funds for the construction and operation of apartment complexes that provide affordable housing to lower-income households. If these developments successfully attract a specified percentage of residents falling in that lower-income range, state and/or federal income tax credits are made available to the partners. The tax credits are generally recognized over 10 years for federal and 5 years for state. In order to continue receiving the tax credits each year over the life of the entity, the low-income residency targets must be maintained.

Prior to January 1, 2015, the Company utilized the effective yield method whereby the Company recognized tax credits generally over 10 years and amortized the initial cost of the investment to provide a constant effective yield over the period that tax credits are allocated to the Company. On January 1, 2015, the Company adopted ASU No. 2014-01, “Accounting for Investments in Qualified Affordable Housing Projects” prospectively for new investments. ASU No. 2014-01 permits reporting entities to make an accounting policy election to account for their investments in qualified affordable housing projects using the proportional amortization method if certain conditions are met. As permitted by ASU No. 2014-01, the Company elected to continue to utilize the effective yield method for investments made prior to January 1, 2015.

Unfunded commitments to fund these low-income housing entities were $39.0 million and $21.3 million as of September 30, 2020, and December 31, 2019, respectively. These unfunded commitments are unconditional and legally binding and are recorded in other liabilities in the consolidated statements of condition. See Note 6 Affordable Housing Projects Tax Credit Partnerships for more information.

The Company also has limited partnership interests in solar energy tax credit partnership investments. These partnerships develop, build, own and operate solar renewable energy projects. Over the course of these investments, the Company expects to receive federal and state tax credits, tax-related benefits, and excess cash available for distribution, if any. The Company may be called to sell its interest in the limited partnerships through a call option once all investment tax credits have been recognized. Tax benefits associated with these investments are generally recognized over 6 years.

Although these entities meet the definition of a VIE, the Company is not the primary beneficiary of the entities, as the general partner has both the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the economic performance of the entities and the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive benefits that could be significant to the entities. While the partnership agreements allow the limited partners, through a majority vote, to remove the general partner, this right is not deemed to be substantive as the general partner can only be removed for cause.

The investments in these entities are initially recorded at cost, which approximates the maximum exposure to loss as a result of the Company’s involvement with these unconsolidated entities. The balance of the Company’s investments in these entities was $123.6 million and $84.6 million as of September 30, 2020, and December 31, 2019, respectively, and is included in other assets in the consolidated statements of condition.

Accounting Standards Adopted in the Current Year

Accounting Standards Adopted in 2020

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, “Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments.” This ASU significantly changes how entities measure credit losses for most financial assets and certain other instruments that are not measured at fair value through net income. The standard replaces the “incurred loss” approach with an “expected loss” approach known as current expected credit loss (“CECL”). CECL applies to: (1) financial assets measured at amortized cost, and (2) certain off-balance sheet credit exposures. This includes, but is not limited to, loans, leases, held-to-maturity securities, loan commitments, and financial guarantees. The CECL approach does not apply to AFS debt securities. For AFS debt securities with unrealized losses, entities measure credit losses in a similar manner to legacy GAAP except that the credit losses are now recognized as allowances rather than reductions in the amortized cost of the securities. As a result, entities will recognize improvements to estimated credit losses immediately in earnings rather than as interest income over time. ASU No. 2016-13 also changes the accounting for purchased credit-impaired debt securities and loans. ASU 2016-13 expanded or revised the disclosure requirements related to loans and debt securities. In addition, entities are required to disclose the amortized cost balance for each class of financial asset by credit quality indicator, disaggregated by the year of origination. ASU No. 2016-13 was effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019.

The Company adopted the standard on January 1, 2020, and applied the standard’s provisions as a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings, as of January 1, 2020 (i.e., modified retrospective approach). Upon adoption of the standard, the Company recorded a $5.1 million decrease to the reserve for credit losses, which resulted in a $3.6 million after-tax increase to retained earnings as of January 1, 2020. The tax effect resulted in an increase to deferred tax liabilities. This “Day 1” impact of CECL adoption is summarized below:

(dollars in thousands)	December 31, 2019		CECL Adoption Impact			January 1, 2020
Allowance for Credit Losses:
Commercial	$	73,801	$	(18,789	)	$	55,012
Consumer		36,226		17,052			53,278
Total Allowance for Credit Losses		110,027		(1,737	)		108,290
Reserve for Unfunded Commitments		6,822		(3,335	)		3,487
Total Reserve for Credit Losses	$	116,849	$	(5,072	)	$	111,777
Retained Earnings
Total Pre-tax Impact			$	5,072
Tax Effect				(1,440	)
Increase to Retained Earnings			$	3,632

The Company did not record an allowance for AFS or HTM securities on Day 1 as the investment portfolio consists primarily of debt securities explicitly or implicitly backed by the U.S. Government for which credit risk is deemed minimal. The impact going forward will depend on the composition, characteristics, and credit quality of the loan and securities portfolios as well as the economic conditions at future reporting periods. See Note 3 Investment Securities and Note 4 Loans and Leases and the Allowance for Credit Losses for more information.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-13, “Disclosure Framework - Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement.” This ASU eliminates, adds and modifies certain disclosure requirements for fair value measurements. Among the changes, entities will no longer be required to disclose the amount of and reasons for transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy, but will be required to disclose the range and weighted average used to develop significant unobservable inputs for Level 3 fair value measurements. ASU No. 2018-13 was effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019; early adoption is permitted. As ASU No. 2018-13 only revises disclosure requirements, it did not have a material impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.

In April 2019, the FASB issued ASU No. 2019-04, “Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses, Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging, and Topic 825, Financial Instruments.” With respect to Topic 326, ASU 2019-04 clarifies the scope of the credit losses standard and addresses issues related to accrued interest receivable balances, recoveries, variable interest rates and prepayments, among other things. The Company made the accounting policy elections not to measure an allowance for credit losses on accrued interest receivable, to write-off accrued interest amounts by reversing interest income, and to present accrued interest receivable separately from the related financial asset on the statements of financial condition. The amendments to Topic 326 were adopted concurrently with ASU 2016-13 on January 1, 2020. The financial statement impact in regards to the amendments to Topic 326 are incorporated within ASU 2016-13 mentioned above. With respect to Topic 825, on recognizing and measuring financial instruments, ASU 2019-04 addresses the scope of the guidance, the requirement for remeasurement under ASC 820 when using the measurement alternative, certain disclosure requirements and which equity securities have to be remeasured at historical exchange rates. The amendments to Topic 825 were effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019, and did not have a material impact on the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements. The Company elected to early adopt the amendments to Topic 815 in June 2019. See Note 1 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, for more information.

In May 2019, the FASB issued ASU No. 2019-05, “Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326); Targeted Transition Relief.” This ASU allows entities to irrevocably elect, upon adoption of ASU 2016-13, the fair value option on financial instruments that (1) were previously recorded at amortized cost and (2) are within the scope of ASC 326-20 if the instruments are eligible for the fair value option under ASC 825-10. The fair value option election does not apply to HTM debt securities. Entities are required to make this election on an instrument-by-instrument basis. ASU 2019-05 was adopted concurrently with ASU 2016-13 on January 1, 2020. The Company did not elect the fair value option, and therefore, ASU 2019-05 did not impact the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.

In November 2019, the FASB issued ASU No. 2019-11, “Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses.” This ASU requires entities to include certain expected recoveries of the amortized cost basis previously written off, or expected to be written off, in the allowance for credit losses for purchased credit-deteriorated (“PCD”) financial assets. It also provides transition relief related to TDRs, allows entities to exclude accrued interest amounts from certain required disclosures and clarifies the requirements for applying the collateral maintenance practical expedient. ASU 2019-11 was adopted concurrently with ASU 2016-13 on January 1, 2020, and did not have a material impact to the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements.