Recent Accounting Developments	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Recent Accounting Developments
Note 3. Recent Accounting Developments	Note 3. Recent Accounting Developments In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting, and has issued subsequent amendments thereto, which provides temporary optional guidance to ease the potential burden in accounting for reference rate reform. The ASU provides optional expedients and exceptions for applying generally accepted accounting principles to contract modifications and hedging relationships, subject to meeting certain criteria, that reference LIBOR or another reference rate expected to be discontinued. It is intended to help stakeholders during the global market-wide reference rate transition period. The guidance is effective for all entities as of March 12, 2020 through December 31, 2022. The Company is assessing ASU No. 2020-04 and its impact on the transition away from LIBOR for its financial instruments. In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments. Under the new guidance, which will replace the existing incurred loss model for recognizing credit losses, banks and other lending institutions will be required to recognize the full amount of expected credit losses. The new guidance, which is referred to as the current expected credit loss, or CECL model, requires that expected credit losses for financial assets held at the reporting date that are accounted for at amortized cost be measured and recognized based on historical experience and current and reasonably supportable forecasted conditions to reflect the full amount of expected credit losses. A modified version of these requirements also applies to debt securities classified as available for sale, which will require that credit losses on those securities be recorded through an allowance for credit losses rather than a write-down. The ASU may have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements upon adoption as it will require a change in the Company’s methodology for calculating its ALL and allowance on unused commitments. The Company will transition from an incurred loss model to an expected loss model, which will likely result in an increase in the ALL upon adoption and may negatively impact the Company’s and the Bank’s regulatory capital ratios. The Company has formed a committee to assess the implications of this new pronouncement and transitioned to a software solution for preparing the ALL calculation and related reports that management believes provides the Company with stronger data integrity, ease and efficiency in ALL preparation. The new software solution also provides numerous training opportunities for the appropriate personnel within the Company. The Company has gathered and is continuing to analyze the historical data to serve as a basis for estimating the ALL under CECL and continues to evaluate the anticipated impact of the adoption of the ASU on its consolidated financial statements. As initially proposed, the ASU was to be effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within such years. However, on October 16, 2019, the FASB approved an extended effective date for compliance with the ASU by smaller reporting companies, which are now required to comply with the ASU for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022, with early adoption permitted. The Company qualifies for this extension and does not intend to early adopt the ASU at this time. Management will continue to evaluate the Company’s CECL compliance and implementation timetable in light of the extension. In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment. The ASU was issued to reduce the cost and complexity of the goodwill impairment test. To simplify the subsequent measurement of goodwill, step two of the goodwill impairment test was eliminated. Instead, a company will recognize an impairment of goodwill should the carrying value of a reporting unit exceed its fair value (i.e., step one). As initially proposed, the ASU was to be effective for the Company on January 1, 2020, however similar to ASU No. 2016-13, the effective date for this ASU was also extended with a revised effective date of January 1, 2023. The Company early adopted this ASU on January 1, 2020. Accordingly, the Company no longer gives consideration to “Step 2” when performing its goodwill impairment test. The Company has goodwill from its acquisition of LyndonBank in 2007 and performs an impairment test annually or more frequently if circumstances warrant (see Note 9). Adoption of this ASU did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements. In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework-Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement. This ASU eliminates, adds and modifies certain disclosure requirements for fair value measurements as part of its disclosure framework project. The standard is effective for all entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. The ASU became effective for the Company on January 1, 2020. Adoption of this ASU did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements. In March and April, 2020, federal banking regulators issued interagency guidance on accounting for loan modifications in light of the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The guidance interprets current accounting standards and indicates that a lender can conclude that a borrower is not experiencing financial difficulty if short-term (that is, six months or less) modifications are made in response to COVID-19, such as payment deferrals, fee waivers, extensions of repayment terms, or other delays in payment that are insignificant, provided that the loan is less than 30 days past due at the time a modification program is implemented. The banking agencies confirmed with the staff of the FASB that short-term modifications made on a good faith basis in response to COVID-19 to borrowers who were current prior to any relief are not TDRs under ASC No. 310-40, Receivables - Troubled Debt Restructurings by Creditors. Additionally, a provision of the CARES Act enacted in March 2020 provides that COVID-19 related loan modifications (including modifications that are not short-term) made to a loan between March 1, 2020 and the earlier of December 31, 2020 or the sixtieth day after the end of the COVID-19 emergency declared by the President will not require the loan to be treated as a TDR under GAAP, so long as the modified loan was not past due as of December 31, 2019. On December 27, 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021 (CAA) extended the date for COVID-19 related loan modifications from December 31, 2020 to January 1, 2022.

Recent Accounting Developments

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Note 3. Recent Accounting Developments

In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting, and has issued subsequent amendments thereto, which provides temporary optional guidance to ease the potential burden in accounting for reference rate reform. The ASU provides optional expedients and exceptions for applying generally accepted accounting principles to contract modifications and hedging relationships, subject to meeting certain criteria, that reference LIBOR or another reference rate expected to be discontinued. It is intended to help stakeholders during the global market-wide reference rate transition period. The guidance is effective for all entities as of March 12, 2020 through December 31, 2022. The Company is assessing ASU No. 2020-04 and its impact on the transition away from LIBOR for its financial instruments.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments. Under the new guidance, which will replace the existing incurred loss model for recognizing credit losses, banks and other lending institutions will be required to recognize the full amount of expected credit losses. The new guidance, which is referred to as the current expected credit loss, or CECL model, requires that expected credit losses for financial assets held at the reporting date that are accounted for at amortized cost be measured and recognized based on historical experience and current and reasonably supportable forecasted conditions to reflect the full amount of expected credit losses. A modified version of these requirements also applies to debt securities classified as available for sale, which will require that credit losses on those securities be recorded through an allowance for credit losses rather than a write-down. The ASU may have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements upon adoption as it will require a change in the Company’s methodology for calculating its ALL and allowance on unused commitments. The Company will transition from an incurred loss model to an expected loss model, which will likely result in an increase in the ALL upon adoption and may negatively impact the Company’s and the Bank’s regulatory capital ratios. The Company has formed a committee to assess the implications of this new pronouncement and transitioned to a software solution for preparing the ALL calculation and related reports that management believes provides the Company with stronger data integrity, ease and efficiency in ALL preparation. The new software solution also provides numerous training opportunities for the appropriate personnel within the Company. The Company has gathered and is continuing to analyze the historical data to serve as a basis for estimating the ALL under CECL and continues to evaluate the anticipated impact of the adoption of the ASU on its consolidated financial statements. As initially proposed, the ASU was to be effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years, with early adoption permitted for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within such years. However, on October 16, 2019, the FASB approved an extended effective date for compliance with the ASU by smaller reporting companies, which are now required to comply with the ASU for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022, with early adoption permitted. The Company qualifies for this extension and does not intend to early adopt the ASU at this time. Management will continue to evaluate the Company’s CECL compliance and implementation timetable in light of the extension.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment. The ASU was issued to reduce the cost and complexity of the goodwill impairment test. To simplify the subsequent measurement of goodwill, step two of the goodwill impairment test was eliminated. Instead, a company will recognize an impairment of goodwill should the carrying value of a reporting unit exceed its fair value (i.e., step one). As initially proposed, the ASU was to be effective for the Company on January 1, 2020, however similar to ASU No. 2016-13, the effective date for this ASU was also extended with a revised effective date of January 1, 2023. The Company early adopted this ASU on January 1, 2020. Accordingly, the Company no longer gives consideration to “Step 2” when performing its goodwill impairment test. The Company has goodwill from its acquisition of LyndonBank in 2007 and performs an impairment test annually or more frequently if circumstances warrant (see Note 9). Adoption of this ASU did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework-Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement. This ASU eliminates, adds and modifies certain disclosure requirements for fair value measurements as part of its disclosure framework project. The standard is effective for all entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. The ASU became effective for the Company on January 1, 2020. Adoption of this ASU did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

In March and April, 2020, federal banking regulators issued interagency guidance on accounting for loan modifications in light of the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The guidance interprets current accounting standards and indicates that a lender can conclude that a borrower is not experiencing financial difficulty if short-term (that is, six months or less) modifications are made in response to COVID-19, such as payment deferrals, fee waivers, extensions of repayment terms, or other delays in payment that are insignificant, provided that the loan is less than 30 days past due at the time a modification program is implemented. The banking agencies confirmed with the staff of the FASB that short-term modifications made on a good faith basis in response to COVID-19 to borrowers who were current prior to any relief are not TDRs under ASC No. 310-40, Receivables - Troubled Debt Restructurings by Creditors. Additionally, a provision of the CARES Act enacted in March 2020 provides that COVID-19 related loan modifications (including modifications that are not short-term) made to a loan between March 1, 2020 and the earlier of December 31, 2020 or the sixtieth day after the end of the COVID-19 emergency declared by the President will not require the loan to be treated as a TDR under GAAP, so long as the modified loan was not past due as of December 31, 2019. On December 27, 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021 (CAA) extended the date for COVID-19 related loan modifications from December 31, 2020 to January 1, 2022.