Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets [Abstract]

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets:

Goodwill represents the excess of a purchase price over the net assets acquired. As of March 31, 2012, Sterling's goodwill in the amount of $21.7 million was related to the First Independent transaction. This goodwill has been allocated to the Community Banking segment. Goodwill is not amortized, but is reviewed for impairment at least annually. Other intangible assets at March 31, 2012 were comprised of core deposit intangibles from various acquisitions, and other identifiable intangibles relate to First Independent's trust and wealth management business.

The following table provides details of other intangible assets:



	Gross Carrying Amount	Accumulated Amortization	Net Carrying Amount
March 31, 2012	(in thousands)
Core deposit intangibles	55,420	32,761	$	22,659
Other	1,800	12	1,788
December 31, 2011
Core deposit intangibles	43,446	31,368	12,078
Other	0	0	0

The following table provides the projected amortization expense for the remainder of 2012 and the next five years for core deposit intangibles and other intangibles:



	Amount
Remainder of 2012	$	5,375
Years ended December 31,
2013	6,430
2014	3,339
2015	2,361
2016	1,271
2017	1,178

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the aggregate amount of goodwill and a description of intangible assets, which may include (a) for amortizable intangible assets (also referred to as finite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, the amount of any significant residual value, and the weighted-average amortization period, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization (also referred to as indefinite-lived intangible assets), the carrying amount, and (c) the amount of research and development assets acquired and written off in the period, including the line item in the income statement in which the amounts written off are aggregated, if not readily apparent from the income statement. Also discloses (a) for amortizable intangibles assets in total and by major class, the gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization, the total amortization expense for the period, and the estimated aggregate amortization expense for each of the five succeeding fiscal years, (b) for intangible assets not subject to amortization the carrying amount in total and by major class, and (c) for goodwill, in total and for each reportable segment, the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill during the period (including the aggregate amount of goodwill acquired, the aggregate amount of impairment losses recognized, and the amount of goodwill included in the gain (loss) on disposal of a reporting unit). If any part of goodwill has not been allocated to a reportable segment, discloses the unallocated amount and the reasons for not allocating. For each impairment loss recognized related to an intangible asset (excluding goodwill), discloses: (a) a description of the impaired intangible asset and the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method for determining fair value, (c) the caption in the income statement or the statement of activities in which the impairment loss is aggregated, and (d) the segment in which the impaired intangible asset is reported. For each goodwill impairment loss recognized, discloses: (a) a description of the facts and circumstances leading to the impairment, (b) the amount of the impairment loss and the method of determining the fair value of the associated reporting unit, and (c) if a recognized impairment loss is an estimate not finalized and the reasons why the estimate is not final. May also disclose the nature and amount of any significant adjustments made to a previous estimate of an impairment loss.

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