Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2019

Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Boston Private Financial Holdings, Inc. (the “Company” or “BPFH”), is a bank holding company (the “Holding Company”) with three reportable segments: Private Banking, Wealth Management and Trust, and Affiliate Partners.

The Private Banking segment is comprised of the banking operations of Boston Private Bank & Trust Company (the “Bank” or “Boston Private Bank”), a trust company chartered by The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, whose deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”), and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. Boston Private Bank is a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Boston Private Bank primarily operates in three geographic markets: New England, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Southern California. The Private Banking segment is principally engaged in providing private banking services to high net worth individuals, privately-owned businesses and partnerships, and nonprofit organizations. In addition, the Private Banking segment is an active provider of financing for affordable housing, first-time homebuyers, economic development, social services, community revitalization and small businesses.

The Wealth Management and Trust segment is comprised of Boston Private Wealth LLC (“Boston Private Wealth”), an independent registered investment adviser (“RIA”), which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Bank, and the trust operations of Boston Private Bank. The segment provides comprehensive wealth management solutions for high net worth individuals and families, including customized investment solutions, wealth planning, trust, and family office services. The Wealth Management and Trust segment operates in New England, Southeast Florida, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Southern California.

In 2019, the Affiliate Partners segment is comprised solely of Dalton, Greiner, Hartman, Maher & Co., LLC (“DGHM”) and KLS Professional Advisors Group, LLC (“KLS”), each of which are RIAs. DGHM serves the needs of pension funds, endowments, trusts, foundations and select institutions, mutual funds and high net worth individuals and their families throughout the United States and abroad. DGHM specializes in value-driven equity portfolios with products across the capitalization spectrum. DGHM is located in New York, with one affiliate administrative office in South Florida. KLS provides comprehensive, planning-based financial strategies to high net worth individuals and their families, and nonprofit institutions. The firm offers services such as fee-only financial planning, tax planning, tax preparation, estate and insurance planning, retirement planning, charitable planning and intergenerational gifting and succession planning. KLS manages investments covering a wide range of asset classes for both taxable and tax-exempt portfolios. KLS has offices in New York and Southern California. Together, the Wealth Management and Trust and Affiliate Partners segments are referred to as the “Wealth and Investment” businesses.

Prior to 2019, the Affiliate Partners segment had four consolidated affiliates included in its results: DGHM; KLS; Anchor Capital Advisors, LLC (“Anchor”); and Bingham, Osborn & Scarborough, LLC (“BOS”). In December 2017, the Company entered into an agreement to sell its entire ownership interest in Anchor in a transaction that closed in April 2018. In October 2018, the Company entered into an agreement to sell its entire ownership interest in BOS to the management team of BOS, which closed in December 2018. The results of Anchor and BOS for the periods held through the respective closing dates are included in the results of the Affiliate Partners segment and the Company.

The Company conducts substantially all of its business through its three reportable segments. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation, and the portion of income allocated to the owners of DGHM, Anchor, and BOS other than the Company is included in “Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests” in the consolidated statements of operations for the periods owned. Redeemable noncontrolling interests in the consolidated balance sheets reflect the maximum redemption value of agreements with other owners.

The unaudited interim consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) and include all necessary adjustments of a normal recurring nature, which, in the opinion of management, are required for a fair presentation of the results of operations and financial condition of the Company. The interim results of consolidated operations are not necessarily indicative of the results for the entire year.

The information in this report should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Prior period amounts are reclassified whenever necessary to conform to the current period presentation. The Company identified an immaterial change relating to the presentation of equity securities at fair value in the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows. The impact was a change in the presentation of cash flows relating to

$22.7 million of purchases and $35.5 million of sales for the six months ended June 30, 2018, which were previously presented as investment securities available-for-sale but should have been presented as equity securities at fair value, within investing activities in the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows.

The Company’s significant accounting policies are described in Part II. Item 8. “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data - Note 1: Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, as filed with the SEC. For interim reporting purposes, the Company follows the same significant accounting policies, except for the following new accounting pronouncements from the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”) that were adopted effective January 1, 2019:

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In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) (“ASU 2016-02”). This update and the related amendments to Topic 842 require lessees to recognize leases on-balance sheet and disclose key information about leasing arrangements. Topic 842 was subsequently amended by ASU No. 2018-10, Codification Improvements to Topic 842, Leases (“ASU 2018-10”); ASU No. 2018-11, Leases (Topic 842), Targeted Improvements (“ASU 2018-11”); and ASU No. 2019-01, Leases (Topic 842), Codification Improvements (“ASU 2019-01”). The new standard establishes a right-of-use model (“ROU”) that requires a lessee to recognize a ROU asset and lease liability on the balance sheet for all leases with a term longer than 12 months. Leases are classified as finance or operating, with classification affecting the pattern and classification of expense recognition in the income statement. The new standard was effective on January 1, 2019 and the Company adopted these provisions on January 1, 2019. The most significant effects relate to the recognition of new ROU assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet for real estate operating leases, providing significant new disclosures about leasing activities, and the impact of additional assets on certain financial measures such as capital ratios and return on average asset ratios. Additionally, the Company elected the package of practical expedients, as prescribed by ASU 2016-02. The Company elected not to reassess whether any expired or existing contracts are or contain leases nor the lease classification of those leases. The Company also elected not to reassess any initial direct costs for any existing leases. On adoption, the Company recognized approximately $124 million of lease liabilities and $108 million of ROU assets.

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In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-15, Intangibles-Goodwill and Other-Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40): Customer’s Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That Is a Service Contract (a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force) (“ASU 2018-15”). The amendments in ASU 2018-15 align the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract with the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software (and hosting arrangements that include an internal use software license). The accounting for the service element of a hosting arrangement that is a service contract is not affected by the amendments in ASU 2018-15. This update is effective on a retrospective basis for the Company beginning January 1, 2021. The Company early adopted this update on January 1, 2019. The adoption of this update did not have an impact on the consolidated financial statements.

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In October 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-16, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Inclusion of the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) Overnight Index Swap (“OIS”) Rate as a Benchmark Interest Rate for Hedge Accounting (“ASU 2018-16”). ASU 2018-16 introduces OIS Rate based on the SOFR as an acceptable US benchmark interest rate for purposes of applying hedge accounting under Topic 815. This update is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018 because the Company has already adopted ASU 2017-12. The Company adopted this update on January 1, 2019. The adoption of this update did not have an impact on the consolidated financial statements.