Interest Rate Lock Commitments and Forward Sales Commitments. The Company, through the Bank’s mortgage banking subsidiary, enters into commitments to originate residential mortgage loans in which the interest rate on the loan is determined prior to funding, termed interest rate lock commitments. Such rate lock commitments on mortgage loans to be sold in the secondary market are considered to be derivatives. Upon entering into a commitment to originate a loan, the Company protects itself from changes in interest rates during the period prior to sale by requiring a firm purchase agreement from a permanent investor before a loan can be closed (forward sales commitment). The Company locks in the loan and rate with an investor and commits to deliver the loan if settlement occurs on a best efforts basis, thus limiting interest rate risk. Certain additional risks exist if the investor fails to meet its purchase obligation; however, based on historical performance and the size and nature of the investors the Company does not expect them to fail to meet their obligation. The Company determines the fair value of IRLCs based on the price of the underlying loans obtained from an investor for loans that will be delivered on a best efforts basis while taking into consideration the probability that the rate lock commitments will close. The fair value of these derivative instruments is reported in “Other Assets” in the Consolidated Balance Sheet at September 30, 2022, and totaled $111,000, with a notional amount of $13.3 million and total positions of 45, and was reported in “Other Assets” at December 31, 2021, and totaled $471,000 with a notional amount of $18.2 million and total positions of 67. Changes in fair value are recorded as a component of mortgage banking income, net in the Consolidated Income Statement for the period ended September 30, 2022 and 2021. The Company’s IRLCs are classified as Level 2. At September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, each IRLC and all LHFS were subject to a forward sales commitment on a best efforts basis.
The Company uses fair value accounting for its forward sales commitments related to IRLCs and LHFS under ASC 825-10-15-4(b). The fair value of forward sales commitments is reported in “Other Liabilities” in the Consolidated Balance Sheet at September 30, 2022, and totaled $113,000 with a notional amount of $18.4 million and total positions of 62, and was reported in “Other Liabilities” at December 31, 2021, and totaled $651,000, with a notional amount of $24.3 million and total positions of 95.
Note 16 – Recent accounting pronouncements
In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, “Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments.” The amendments in this ASU, among other things, require the measurement of all expected credit losses for financial assets held at the reporting date based on historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts. Financial institutions and other organizations will now use forward-looking information to better inform their credit loss estimates. Many of the loss estimation techniques applied today will still be permitted, although the inputs to those techniques will change to reflect the full amount of expected credit losses. In addition, the ASU amends the accounting for credit losses on available-for-sale debt securities and purchased financial assets with credit deterioration. The FASB has issued multiple updates to ASU 2016-13 as codified in Topic 326, including ASUs 2019-04, 2019-05, 2019-10, 2019-11, 2020-02, and 2020-03. These ASUs have provided for various minor technical corrections and improvements to the codification as well as other transition matters. Smaller reporting companies who file with the SEC and all other entities who do not file with the SEC are required to apply the guidance for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2022. ASC 326, and the associated amendments, will be applied on a modified retrospective basis upon adoption, and the cumulative effect of adopting the new standard will be recorded as an adjustment to opening retained earnings in the period of adoption. The Company created a cross-functional team to prepare for and implement ASC 326. In preparation for ASC 326, the Company has gathered and validated historical loan loss data to ensure its accuracy for purposes of evaluating appropriate segmentation, modeling method, and to ensure its suitability and reliability for purposes of developing an estimate of expected credit losses under ASC 326. The Company has engaged a vendor to assist in the modeling of expected lifetime losses under ASC 326, and is continuing to develop and refine an approach to estimating the allowance for credit losses. The adoption of ASC 326 will result in significant changes to the Company’s consolidated financial statements, which may include changes in the level of the allowance for credit losses that will be considered adequate, a reduction in total equity and regulatory capital of the Bank, differences in the timing of recognizing changes to the allowance for credit losses and expanded disclosures. The Company has not yet determined an estimate of the effect of these changes. The adoption of ASC 326 will result in significant changes in the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting of the allowance for credit losses.
Effective November 25, 2019, the SEC adopted Staff Accounting Bulletin ("SAB") 119. SAB 119 updated portions of SEC interpretative guidance to align with FASB ASC 326, "Financial Instruments - Credit Losses." It covers topics including (1) measuring current expected credit losses; (2) development governance, and documentation of systematic methodology; (3) documenting the results of a systematic methodology; and (4) validating a systematic methodology.
In March 2022, the FASB issued ASU 2022-02 “Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326) Trouble Debt Restructurings and Vintage Disclosures.” ASU 2022-02 addresses areas identified by the FASB as part of its post implementation review of the credit losses