New Accounting Standards

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2014

New Accounting Standards [Abstract]

New Accounting Standards

2.  New Accounting Standards

Adoption of New Accounting Standards

Financial Services – Investment Companies Topic

In June 2013, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2013-08, “Amendments to the Scope, Measurement, and Disclosure Requirements” (“ASU 2013-08”), which provides comprehensive accounting guidance for assessing whether an entity is an investment company.  For a more detailed description of ASU 2013-08, see “Future Adoption of New Accounting Standards – Financial Services – Investment Companies Topic” in Note 2 of our 2013 Form 10-K.  We adopted the requirements in ASU 2013-08 effective January 1, 2014, and evaluated all of our entities under the investment company criteria defined in ASU 2013-08. The adoption of ASU 2013-08 did not have an effect on our consolidated financial condition and results of operations.

Income Taxes Topic

In July 2013, the FASB issued ASU No. 2013-11, “Presentation of an Unrecognized Tax Benefit When a Net Operating Loss Carryforward, a Similar Tax Loss, or a Tax Credit Carryforward Exists” (“ASU 2013-11”) in order to explicitly define the financial statement presentation requirements in GAAP.  For a more detailed description of ASU 2013-11, see “Future Adoption of New Accounting Standards – Income Taxes Topic” in Note 2 of our 2013 Form 10-K. We adopted the requirements of ASU 2013-11 effective January 1, 2014.  The adoption of ASU 2013-11 did not have an effect on the deferred tax asset or liability classification on our balance sheet and did not result in any additional disclosures to our financial statements.

Other Expenses Topic

In July 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-06, “Fees Paid to the Federal Government by Health Insurers” (“ASU 2011-06”) in order to address the question of how health insurers should recognize and classify fees mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act.  For a more detailed description of ASU 2011-06, see “Future Adoption of New Accounting Standards – Other Expenses  Topic” in Note 2 of our 2013 Form 10-K.  We adopted the requirements of ASU 2011-06 effective January 1, 2014.  The adoption of ASU 2011-06 did not have a material effect on our consolidated financial condition and results of operations.

Future Adoption of New Accounting Standards

Investments – Equity Method and Joint Ventures Topic

In January 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-01, “Accounting for Investments in Qualified Affordable Housing Projects” (“ASU 2014-01”) in response to stakeholders’ feedback that the presence of certain conditions in order to apply the effective yield method to investments in qualified affordable housing projects may be overly restrictive and could result in certain investments being accounted for under a method of accounting that may not fairly represent the economics of the investments.For a more detailed description of ASU 2014-01, see “Future Adoption of New Accounting Standards – Investments – Equity Method and Joint Ventures” in Note 2 of our 2013 Form 10-K.We will adopt the requirements of ASU 2014-01 effective January 1, 2015, and do not expect the adoption will have a material effect on our consolidated financial condition and results of operations.

Revenue from Contracts with Customers Topic

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers” (“ASU 2014-09”) in order to clarify the principles of recognizing revenue.  ASU 2014-09 establishes the core principle of recognizing revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services in an amount that reflects the consideration the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services.  The FASB defines a five-step process which systematically identifies the various components of the revenue recognition process, culminating with the recognition of revenue upon satisfaction of an entity’s performance obligation.  By completing all five steps of the process, the core principles of revenue recognition will be achieved.  The amendments in ASU 2014-09 are effective for annual and interim reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, with early adoption prohibited.  We will adopt the requirements of ASU 2014-09 effective January 1, 2017, and are currently evaluating the impact of the adoption on our consolidated financial condition and results of operations.

Transfers and Servicing Topic

In June 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-11, “Repurchase-to-Maturity Transactions, Repurchase Financings and Disclosures” (“ASU 2014-11”) in order to eliminate a distinction in current accounting guidance related to certain repurchase agreements.  The FASB noted that the distinction in the accounting guidance was not warranted because in all types of repurchase transactions the transferor retains exposure to the transferred financial assets and obtains important benefits from those assets through the term of the transaction.  ASU 2014-11 amends current accounting guidance to require repurchase-to-maturity transactions and linked repurchase financings to be accounted for as secured borrowings, which is consistent with the accounting for other repurchase agreements. In addition, ASU 2014-11 includes new disclosure requirements related to transfers accounted for as sales that are economically similar to repurchase agreements, and information about the types of collateral pledged in repurchase agreements and similar transactions accounted for as secured borrowings.  The amendments in ASU 2014-11 are effective for annual and interim reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2014,with early adoption prohibited.  Changes in accounting for transactions outstanding on the effective date are reported as a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the period of adoption.  The disclosures are not required to be presented for comparative periods before the effective date.  We will adopt the requirements of ASU 2014-11 effective January 1, 2015, and are currently evaluating the impact of the adoption on our consolidated financial condition and results of operations.