Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation

Basis of Presentation

The accounting and reporting policies of Severn Bancorp, Inc. and subsidiaries (the “Company”) conform to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S.”) (“GAAP”) and prevailing practices within the financial services industry for interim financial information and Rule 8‑01 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required for complete financial statements and prevailing practices within the banking industry. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (comprising only of those of a normal recurring nature) necessary for a fair presentation of the results of operations for the interim periods presented have been made. The results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2020 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2020 or any other interim or future period. Events occurring after the date of the financial statements up to the date the financial statements were available to be issued were considered in the preparation of the consolidated financial statements.

These statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and accompanying notes included in the Company’s 2019 Annual Report on Form 10‑K as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

COVID-19 Risks and Uncertainties

The Company has evaluated subsequent events for potential recognition and/or disclosure through the date the unaudited consolidated financial statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q were issued. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of a novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) as a global pandemic, which continues to spread throughout the U.S. and around the world. The declaration of a global pandemic indicates that almost all public commerce and related business activities must be, to varying degrees, curtailed with the goal of decreasing the rate of new infections. The outbreak of COVID-19 could adversely impact a broad range of industries in which the Company’s customers operate and impair their ability to fulfill their financial obligations to the Company. On March 3, 2020, the Federal Open Market Committee reduced the target federal funds rate by 50 basis points to a target range of 1.00% to 1.25%. This rate was further reduced to a target range of 0% to 0.25% on March 16, 2020. These reductions in interest rates and other effects of the COVID-19 outbreak may adversely affect the Company’s financial condition and results of operations. As a result of the spread of COVID-19, economic uncertainties have arisen which are likely to negatively impact net interest income, noninterest income, credit quality, the allowance for loan losses (“Allowance”), and the provision for loan losses. Additionally, there could be a potential for goodwill impairment. Other financial impact could occur though such potential impact is unknown at this time.

Principles of Consolidation

Principles of Consolidation

The unaudited consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Severn Bancorp, Inc., and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Mid-Maryland Title Company, Inc., SBI Mortgage Company, and Severn Savings Bank, FSB (the “Bank”), along with the Bank’s subsidiaries, Louis Hyatt, Inc., Homeowners Title and Escrow Corporation, Severn Financial Services Corporation, SSB Realty Holdings, LLC, SSB Realty Holdings II, LLC, and HS West, LLC. Also included are the accounts of SBI Mortgage Company’s subsidiary, Crownsville Development Corporation, and its subsidiary, Crownsville Holdings I, LLC. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in the accompanying consolidated financial statements.

Use of Estimates

Use of Estimates

The preparation of the financial statements requires management to exercise significant judgment or discretion or make significant assumptions and estimates based on the information available that have, or could have, a material impact on the carrying value of certain assets or on income. These estimates and assumptions affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of income and expenses during the periods presented. The accounting policies we view as critical are those relating to the Allowance, the valuation of real estate acquired through foreclosure, and the valuation of deferred tax assets and liabilities.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash Flows

For reporting purposes, assets grouped in the Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition under the captions “Cash and due from banks” and “Federal funds sold and interest-bearing deposits in other banks” are considered cash or cash equivalents. For financial statement purposes, these assets are carried at cost. Federal funds sold and interest-bearing deposits in other banks generally have overnight maturities and are in excess of amounts that would be recoverable under Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insurance.

Reclassifications

Reclassifications

Certain reclassifications have been made to amounts previously reported to conform to current period presentation.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Pronouncements Issued

In September 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016 13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses, which sets forth a current expected credit loss (“CECL”) model which requires the Company to measure all expected credit losses for financial instruments held at the reporting date based on historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable supportable forecasts. This replaces the existing incurred loss model and is applicable to the measurement of credit losses on financial assets measured at amortized cost and applies to some off-balance sheet credit exposures. This ASU was originally effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years. In July 2019, the FASB issued a proposal to delay the implementation for smaller reporting companies such as us until January 2023. In October, 2019, that proposal was finalized with the issuance of ASU 2019-05, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326): Targeted Transition Relief. ASU 2019-05 was issued to address concerns with the adoption of ASU 2016-13. ASU 2019-05 gives entities the ability to irrevocably elect the fair value option in Subtopic 825-10 for certain existing financial assets upon transition to ASU 2016-03. Financial assets that are eligible for this fair value election are those that qualify under Subtopic 825-10 and are within the scope of Subtopic 326-10, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses - Measured at Amortized Costs. An exception to this is held-to-maturity (“HTM”) debt securities, which do not qualify for this transition election. The effective date for the amendment is the same as the effective date in ASU 2016-03. In November 2019, FASB issued ASU 2019-10, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326), Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815),and Leases (Topic 842): Effective Dates. ASU 2019-10 was issued to defer the effective dates for certain guidance for certain entities. The amendments in this update amend the mandatory effective dates for ASC 326, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses, for entities eligible to be smaller reporting companies as defined by the SEC for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022, including interim reporting periods within that reporting period.

We have contracted with a third party vendor to assist in the transition to CECL. The Bank has purchased the third party vendor’s CECL software and has separately contracted with their advisory services group to help with the installation and transition. As the Bank has been using other software of this specific vendor, they have access to the Bank’s historical data. The Bank has been updating the data and the process by which data will be transferred to the third party vendor, so that they have all of the information necessary for CECL calculations. This process is complete. The next stage in the process is to convert to the vendor’s incurred loss model, which must be completed prior to the final conversion to CECL. This process is almost complete. Management, in conjunction with the third party vendor, has also begun determining which economic factors are most directly responsible for Bank’s historical losses. The third party vendor has also started to recommend pools to be used for CECL calculations, and appropriate methods (as prescribed by CECL) to calculate the reserve for the various pools. As the third party vendor has many financial institution clients, they will be able to provide peer group data to the extent the Bank’s data is not sufficient to make the many determinations required under CECL.

Although the implementation of CECL has been delayed, the Bank is continuing with the implementation at a pace to ensure that we will be in position to completely transition to CECL by the required date. 

While we are currently in the process of evaluating the impact of the amended guidance on our Consolidated Financial Statements, it is quite possible that the Allowance will increase upon adoption given that the Allowance will be required to cover the full remaining expected life of the portfolio upon adoption, rather than the incurred loss model under current GAAP. The extent of this increase is still being evaluated and will depend on economic conditions and the composition of our loan and lease portfolio at the time of adoption.

In November 2019, FASB issued ASU 2019-11, Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses. ASU 2019-11 was issued to address issues raised by stakeholders during the implementation of ASU 2016-13. ASU 2019-11 provides transition relief when adjusting the effective interest rate for troubled debt restructure loans (“TDR” or “TDRs”) that exist as of the adoption date, extends the disclosure relief in ASU 2019-04 to disclose accrued interest receivable balances separately from the amortized cost basis to additional disclosures involving amortized cost basis, and provides clarification regarding application of the guidance in paragraph 326-20-35-6 for financial assets secured by collateral maintenance provisions that provide a practical expedient to measure the estimate of expected credit losses by comparing the amortized cost basis of a financial asset and the fair value of collateral securing the financial asset as of the reporting date. The effective date and transition requirements for the amendment are the same as the effective date and transition requirements in ASU 2016-13.

In December 2019, FASB issued ASU No. 2019-12, Simplifying the Accounting for Taxes, which simplifies the accounting for incomes taxes by removing certain exceptions in the current codification. The standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020. The adoption of ASU No. 2019 12 is not expected to have a material impact on our financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.

In January 2020, FASB issued ASU No. 2020-01, Investments – Equity securities (Topic 321), Investments – Equity Method and Joint Ventures (Topic 323), and  Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815), which clarifies the interaction between the three Topics. The standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020. The adoption of ASU No. 2020 01 is not expected to have a material impact on our financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.