Accounting Standards Updates and Recently Adopted Standards

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

Accounting Changes and Error Corrections [Abstract]

Accounting Standards Updates and Recently Adopted Standards

Accounting Standards Updates and Recently Adopted Standards

Recently Adopted Standards

On January 1, 2020, United adopted ASC 326, which replaced the incurred loss impairment framework in prior GAAP (“Incurred Loss”) with a current expected credit loss (“CECL”) framework. The CECL framework requires an estimate of credit losses for the remaining estimated life of the financial asset using historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts and generally applies to financial assets measured at amortized cost, including loan receivables and held-to-maturity debt securities, and some off-balance sheet credit exposures such as unfunded commitments to extend credit. Financial assets measured at amortized cost will be presented at the net amount expected to be collected by using an ACL. PCD loans will receive an initial allowance at the acquisition date that represents an adjustment to the amortized cost basis of the loan, with no impact to earnings. Credit losses relating to available-for-sale debt securities will be recorded through an ACL prospectively, with such allowance limited to the amount by which fair value is below amortized cost.

United adopted ASC 326 as of January 1, 2020 using the modified retrospective method for loans, leases and off-balance sheet credit exposures. Adoption of this guidance resulted in an $8.75 million increase in the ACL, comprised of increases in the ACL for loans of $6.88 million and the ACL for unfunded commitments of $1.87 million, with $3.59 million of the increase reclassified from the amortized cost basis of PCD financial assets that were previously classified as PCI. The cumulative effect adjustment to retained earnings was $3.53 million, net of tax. Calculated credit losses on held-to-maturity debt securities were not material and there was no impact to the available-for-sale securities portfolio or other financial instruments. Results for reporting periods beginning after January 1, 2020 are presented under ASC 326 while prior period amounts continue to be reported in accordance with Incurred Loss.

The ACL for the majority of loans and leases was calculated using a discounted cash flow methodology applied at a loan level with a one-year reasonable and supportable forecast period and a two-year straight-line reversion period. In connection with the adoption, management has implemented changes to relevant systems, processes and controls where necessary. Model validation was completed during the fourth quarter of 2019 and implementation of the accounting, reporting and governance processes to comply with the new guidance was completed in the first quarter of 2020. United’s CECL allowance will fluctuate over time due to macroeconomic conditions and forecasts as well as the size and composition of the loan portfolios. United has adopted the relief provided by federal banking regulatory agencies for the delay of the adverse capital impact of CECL at adoption and during the subsequent two-year period following adoption. This optional two-year delay is followed by an optional three-year transition period to phase out the aggregate amount of capital benefit provided during the initial two-year delay. Under the transition provision, the amount of aggregate capital benefit is phased out by 25% each year with the full impact of adoption completely recognized by the beginning of the sixth year.

United adopted ASC 326 using the prospective transition approach for PCD assets that were previously classified as PCI. In accordance with the standard, management did not reassess whether PCI assets met the criteria of PCD assets as of the date of adoption. As mentioned above, the amortized cost basis of the PCD assets was adjusted to reflect the addition of $3.59 million to the ACL. The remaining noncredit discount (based on the adjusted amortized cost basis) will be accreted into interest income at a rate that approximates the effective interest rate as of January 1, 2020.

With regard to PCD assets, because United elected to disaggregate the former PCI pools and no longer considers these pools to be the unit of account, contractually delinquent PCD loans will be reported as nonaccrual loans using the same criteria as other loans. Similarly, although management did not reassess whether modifications to individual acquired financial assets accounted for in pools were TDRs as of the date of adoption, PCD loans that are restructured and meet the definition of TDR after the adoption of CECL will be reported as such.

United elected not to measure an ACL for accrued interest receivable and instead to reverse interest income on those loans that are 90 days past due, to exclude accrued interest receivable from the amortized cost basis of financial instruments subject to CECL and to separately state the balance of accrued interest receivable on the consolidated balance sheet. In addition, United elected to adjust the discount rate used to calculate credit losses for expected prepayments and will include all changes in discounted cash flows as credit loss. As a practical expedient, United has also elected to use the fair value of collateral when determining the ACL for loans if repayment is expected to be provided substantially through the operation or sale of the collateral when the borrower is experiencing financial difficulty (collateral-dependent loans).

On March 27, 2020, the CARES Act was signed into law. The CARES Act includes a number of provisions that were applicable to United, including the following:

•Accounting Relief for TDRs: The CARES Act provides that modifications under certain forbearance conditions for loans that were not more than 30 days past due at December 31, 2019 will not be considered TDRs for regulatory reporting and GAAP. This exemption period ends on the earlier of December 31, 2020 or the date that is 60 days after the termination date of the national emergency.

•Optional Delay and Regulatory Relief for CECL Implementation: The CARES Act stipulates that large SEC filers have the option of delaying the adoption of CECL from January 1, 2020 to the earlier of the end of the COVID-19 emergency period or December 31, 2020. Banks that were required to implement CECL by the end of 2020 were granted the option to defer any impact of CECL on regulatory capital for two years before beginning the original three-year regulatory phase-in period, for a total five-year phase-in period. Although United did not elect to delay the adoption of CECL, the Company elected the five-year phase-in period for regulatory capital purposes, as discussed above.

•Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”): The CARES Act creates the PPP through the Small Business Administration (“SBA”), which allowed United to lend money to small businesses to maintain employee payrolls and pay other qualified expenses during the crisis with guarantees from the SBA. Under this program, loan amounts may be forgiven if the proceeds are used for payroll and other permitted expenses in accordance with the requirements of the PPP.

In March 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2020-03, Codification Improvements to Financial Instruments. This update clarified certain minor issues within the codification, including, among other things, debt securities disclosure for financial institutions and determination of the contractual term of a net investment in a lease. The standard was effective immediately, and did not have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.

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. This update provides expedients for contracts that are modified because of reference rate reform, including receivables, debt, leases, and certain derivatives. In addition, the update provides a one-time election to sell or transfer debt securities classified as held-to-maturity that reference a rate that is affected by reference rate reform. The update is effective as of March 12, 2020 through December 31, 2022. Adoption of this update did not have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.

In April 2019, the FASB issued ASU No. 2019-04, Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses, Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging, and Topic 825 Financial Instruments. In addition to amending guidance related to the new CECL standard, this update clarifies certain aspects of hedge accounting and recognition and measurement of financial instruments. United adopted this update as of January 1, 2020, with no material impact on the consolidated financial statements.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment. This update eliminates Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test, which required an entity to calculate the implied fair value of goodwill by valuing a reporting unit’s assets and liabilities using the same process that would be required to value assets and liabilities in a business combination. Instead, the amendments require that an entity perform its annual goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount. United adopted this update as of January 1, 2020, with no material impact on the consolidated financial statements.

Accounting Standards Updates Not Yet Adopted

In October 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-08, Codification Improvements to Subtopic 310-20, Receivables—Nonrefundable Fees and Other Costs. This update clarifies that an entity should reevaluate whether a callable debt security meets the criteria to adjust the amortization period of any related premium at each reporting period. Adoption of this update, which is effective for United as of January 1, 2021, is not expected to have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.