New Authoritative Accounting Guidance

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Accounting Changes and Error Corrections [Abstract]

New Authoritative Accounting Guidance

New Authoritative Accounting Guidance

New Accounting Guidance Adopted in the First Quarter 2020

Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2016-13, "Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments" amends the accounting guidance on the impairment of financial instruments. The FASB issued an amendment to replace the incurred loss impairment methodology under prior accounting guidance with a new current expected credit loss (CECL) model. Under the new guidance, Valley is required to measure expected credit losses by utilizing forward-looking information to assess its allowance for credit losses. The guidance also requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to inform credit loss estimates. The measurement of expected credit losses is based on relevant information about past events, including historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts that affect the collectability of the reported amount. Valley utilizes a two-year reasonable and supportable forecast period

followed by a one-year period over which estimated losses revert to historical loss experience for the remaining life of the loan. The measurement of expected credit loss under the CECL methodology is applicable to financial assets measured at amortized cost, including loans, held to maturity investments and purchased financial assets with credit deterioration (PCD) assets. It also applies to certain off-balance sheet credit exposures. In November 2019, the FASB issued ASU No. 2019-11, "Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses", which clarified that expected recoveries of amounts previously written off or expected to be written off should be included in the estimate of allowance for credit losses for purchased financial assets with credit deterioration, provides certain transition relief for TDR accounting when the discounted cash flow method is used to estimate credit losses, allows entities to elect to disclose separately the total amount of accrued interest included in the amortized cost basis as a single balance to meet certain disclosure requirements, and clarified that an entity should assess whether it reasonably expects the borrower will be able to continually replenish collateral securing financial assets when electing a practical expedient to measure the estimate of expected credit losses by comparing the amortized cost basis of the financial asset and the fair value of collateral securing the financial asset as of the reporting date.

Valley adopted ASU No. 2016-13 on January 1, 2020 using the modified retrospective approach for all financial assets measured at amortized cost (except for PCD loans) and off-balance sheet credit exposures. Valley has established a governance structure to implement the CECL accounting guidance and has developed a methodology and set of models to be used. At adoption, Valley recorded an $100.4 million increase to its allowance for credit losses, including reserves of $92.5 million, $7.1 million and $793 thousand related to loans, unfunded credit commitments and held to maturity debt securities, respectively. Of the $92.5 million in loan reserves, $61.6 million represents PCD loan related reserves which were recognized through a gross-up that increases the amortized cost basis of loans with a corresponding increase to the allowance for credit losses, and therefore results in no impact to shareholders' equity. The remaining non-credit discount of $97.7 million related to PCD loans is accreted into interest income over the life of the loans at the effective interest rate effective January 1, 2020. The non-PCD loan related increase to the allowance for credit losses of $38.8 million, including the reserves for unfunded loan commitments and held to maturity debt securities, was offset in shareholders' equity and deferred tax assets.

For regulatory capital purposes, in connection with the Federal Reserve Board’s final interim rule as of April 3, 2020, 100 percent of the CECL Day 1 impact to shareholders' equity equaling $28.2 million after-tax will be deferred over a two-year period ending January 1, 2022, at which time it will be phased in on a pro-rata basis over a three-year period ending January 1, 2025. Additionally, 25 percent of the first quarter 2020 reserve build (i.e., provision for credit losses less net charge-offs) net of taxes will be phased in over the same time frame.

ASU No. 2019-04, "Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses, Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging, and Topic 825, Financial Instruments" clarifies and improves areas of guidance related to the recently issued standards on credit losses, hedging, and recognition and measurement. The most significant provisions of the ASU relate to how companies will estimate expected credit losses under Topic 326 by incorporating (1) expected recoveries of financial assets, including recoveries of amounts expected to be written off and those previously written off, and (2) clarifying that contractual extensions or renewal options that are not unconditionally cancellable by the lender are considered when determining the contractual term over which expected credit losses are measured. Valley adopted ASU No. 2019-04 on January 1, 2020. See more details regarding our adoption of Topic 326 and ASU No. 2016-13 above.

ASU No. 2017-04, "Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment" eliminates the requirement to calculate the implied fair value of goodwill (i.e., Step 2 of the current goodwill impairment test guidance) to measure a goodwill impairment charge. Instead, an entity will be required to record an impairment charge based on the excess of a reporting unit’s carrying amount over its fair value (i.e., measure the charge based on Step 1 of the current guidance). In addition, ASU No. 2017-04 eliminates the requirements for any reporting unit with a zero or negative carrying amount to perform a qualitative assessment and, if it fails that qualitative test, to perform Step 2 of the goodwill impairment test. However, an entity will be required to disclose the amount of goodwill allocated to each reporting unit with a zero or negative carrying amount of net assets. An entity still has the option to perform the qualitative assessment for a reporting unit to determine if the quantitative

impairment test is necessary. ASU No. 2017-04 was effective for Valley on January 1, 2020 and Valley will apply this new guidance in its annual and, if applicable, interim goodwill impairment tests.

New Accounting Guidance issued in the First Quarter 2020

ASU No. 2020-04, "Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848)" provides optional expedients and exceptions for applying U.S. GAAP to contract modifications and hedging relationships that reference LIBOR or another reference rate expected to be discontinued, subject to meeting certain criteria. Under the new guidance, an entity can elect by accounting topic or industry subtopic to account for the modification of a contract affected by reference rate reform as a continuation of the existing contract, if certain conditions are met. In addition, the new guidance allows an entity to elect on a hedge-by-hedge basis to continue to apply hedge accounting for hedging relationships in which the critical terms change due to reference rate reform, if certain conditions are met. A one-time election to sell and/or transfer held-to-maturity debt securities that reference a rate affected by reference rate reform is also allowed. ASU No. 2020-04 became effective for all entities as of March 12, 2020 and will apply to all LIBOR reference rate modifications through December 31, 2022.