Mortgage Servicing Rights

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2016

Mortgage Servicing Rights [Abstract]

Transfers and Servicing of Financial Assets [Text Block]

MORTGAGE SERVICING RIGHTS

Our portfolio of residential mortgage loans serviced for third parties was $2.20 billion and $2.15 billion as of March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively. These loans were originated by BancShares and sold to third parties on a non-recourse basis with servicing rights retained. These retained servicing rights are recorded as a servicing asset on the Consolidated Balance Sheets and are initially recorded at fair value.

The activity of the servicing asset for the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015 is presented in the following table:



	Three months ended March 31
(Dollars in thousands)	2016			2015
Beginning balance	$	19,351		$	16,688
Servicing rights originated	977			662
Amortization	(1,268		)	(852		)
Valuation allowance provision	(1,874		)	(62		)
Ending balance	$	17,186		$	16,436

The following table presents the activity in the servicing asset valuation allowance for the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015:



	Three months ended March 31
(Dollars in thousands)	2016		2015
Beginning balance	$	95	$	850
Valuation allowance provision	1,874		62
Ending balance	$	1,969	$	912

As of March 31, 2016, the carrying value of BancShares' mortgage servicing rights was $17.2 million. Contractually specified mortgage servicing fees, late fees, and ancillary fees earned for the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015 were $1.4 million and $1.3 million, respectively, and are included in mortgage income in the Consolidated Statements of Income.

The amortization expense related to mortgage servicing rights, included as a reduction of mortgage income in the Consolidated Statements of Income, was $1.3 million and $852 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. Mortgage income included an impairment of $1.9 million and $62 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

Valuation of mortgage servicing rights is performed using a pooling methodology. Similar loans are pooled together and evaluated on a discounted earnings basis to determine the present value of future earnings. Key economic assumptions used to value mortgage servicing rights as of March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015 were as follows:



	March 31, 2016			December 31, 2015
Discount rate - conventional fixed loans	8.77		%	9.31		%
Discount rate - all loans excluding conventional fixed loans	9.77		%	10.31		%
Weighted average constant prepayment rate	13.32		%	11.01		%
Weighted average cost to service a loan	$	62.75		$	56.61

- Definition

The entire disclosure for a transferor's continuing involvement in financial assets that it has transferred in a securitization or asset-backed financing arrangement, the nature of any restrictions on assets reported by an entity in its statement of financial position that relate to a transferred financial asset (including the carrying amounts of such assets), how servicing assets and servicing liabilities are reported, and (for securitization or asset-backed financing arrangements accounted for as sales) when a transferor has continuing involvement with the transferred financial assets and transfers of financial assets accounted for as secured borrowings, how the transfer of financial assets affects an entity's financial position, financial performance, and cash flows.

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