Loans and Leases

 

 

The outstanding principal balance and the related carrying amount of the Company’s loans acquired in the VIST Acquisition were as follows at December 31:

The Company has adopted comprehensive lending policies, underwriting standards and loan review procedures. There were no significant changes to the Company’s existing policies, underwriting standards and loan review during 2017. The Company’s Board of Directors approves the lending policies at least annually. The Company recognizes that exceptions to policy guidelines may occasionally occur and has established procedures for approving exceptions to these policy guidelines. Management has also implemented reporting systems to monitor loan originations, loan quality, concentrations of credit, loan delinquencies and nonperforming loans and potential problem loans. 

 

The Company originates fixed rate and adjustable rate residential mortgage loans, including loans that have characteristics of both, such as a 7/1 adjustable rate mortgage, which has a fixed rate for the first seven years and then adjusts annually thereafter. The majority of residential mortgage loans originated over the last several years have been fixed rate loans due to the low interest rate environment. Adjustable rate residential real estate loans may be underwritten based upon an initial rate which is below the fully indexed rate; however, the initial rate is generally less than 100 basis points below the fully indexed rate. As such, the Company does not believe that this practice creates any significant credit risk. 

The Company may sell residential real estate loans in the secondary market based on interest rate considerations. These residential real estate loans are generally sold to Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“FHLMC”) or State of New York Mortgage Agency (“SONYMA”) without recourse in accordance with standard secondary market loan sale agreements. These residential real estate loan sales are subject to customary representations and warranties, including representations and warranties related to gross incompetence and fraud. The Company has not had to repurchase any loans as a result of these general representations and warranties.

 

 

 

 

The Company’s Commercial Loan Policy sets forth guidelines for debt service coverage ratios, LTV’s and documentation standards. Commercial and industrial loans are primarily made based on identified cash flows of the borrower with consideration given to underlying collateral and personal or government guarantees. The Company’s policy establishes debt service coverage ratio limits that require a borrower’s cash flow to be sufficient to cover principal and interest payments on all new and existing debt. Commercial and industrial loans are generally secured by the assets being financed or other business assets such as accounts receivable or inventory. Many of the loans in the commercial portfolio have variable interest rates tied to Prime Rate, FHLBNY borrowing rates, or U.S. Treasury indices.

 

The Company’s Commercial Loan Policy sets forth guidelines for debt service coverage ratios, LTV’s and documentation standards. Commercial real estate loans are primarily made based on identified cash flows of the borrower with consideration given to underlying real estate collateral and personal or government guarantees. The Company’s policy establishes a maximum LTV of 75% and debt service coverage ratio limits that require a borrower’s cash flow to be sufficient to cover principal and interest payments on all new and existing debt. Commercial real estate loans may be fixed or variable rate loans with interest rates tied to Prime Rate, FHLBNY borrowing rates, or U.S. Treasury indices.

 

Agriculture loans

Agriculturally-related loans include loans to dairy farms and vegetable crop farms. Agriculturally-related loans are primarily made based on identified cash flows of the borrower with consideration given to underlying collateral, personal guarantees, and government related guarantees. Agriculturally-related loans are generally secured by the assets or property being financed or other business assets such as accounts receivable, livestock, equipment, or commodities/crops. The Company’s Commercial Loan Policy establishes a maximum LTV of 75% for real estate secured loans and debt service coverage ratio limits that require a borrower’s cash flow to be sufficient to cover principal and interest payments on all new and existing debt. The policy also establishes maximum LTV ratios for non-real estate collateral, such as livestock, commodities/crops, equipment and accounts receivable. Agriculturally-related loans may be fixed or variable rate with interest tied to Prime Rate, FHLBNY borrowing rates, or U.S. Treasury indices.

 

Consumer and other loans

The consumer loan portfolio includes personal installment loans, direct and indirect automobile financing, and overdraft lines of credit. The majority of the consumer portfolio consists of indirect and direct automobile loans. Consumer loans are generally short-term and have fixed rates of interest that are set giving consideration to current market interest rates, the financial strength of the borrower, and internal profitability targets. The Company's Consumer Loan Underwriting Guidelines Policy establishes maximum debt to income ratios and includes guidelines for verification of applicants’ income and receipt of credit reports.

 

Leases are primarily made to commercial customers and the origination criteria typically includes the value of the underlying assets being financed, the useful life of the assets being financed, and identified cash flows of the borrower. Most leases carry a fixed rate of interest that is set giving consideration to current market interest rates, the financial strength of the borrower, and internal profitability targets. 

Loans are considered past due if the required principal and interest payments have not been received as of the date such payments are due. Loans are placed on nonaccrual status either due to the delinquency status of principal and/or interest (generally when past due 90 or more days) or a judgment by management that the full repayment of principal and interest is unlikely. When interest accrual is discontinued, all unpaid accrued interest is reversed. Payments received on loans on nonaccrual are generally applied to reduce the principal balance of the loan. Loans are generally returned to accrual status when all the principal and interest amounts contractually due are brought current and future payments are reasonably assured. When management determines that the collection of principal in full is improbable, management will charge-off a partial amount or full amount of the loan balance. Management considers specific facts and circumstances relative to each individual credit in making such a determination. For residential and consumer loans, management uses specific regulatory guidance and thresholds for determining charge-offs. 

Acquired loans that met the criteria for nonaccrual of interest prior to the acquisition may be considered performing upon acquisition, regardless of whether the customer is contractually delinquent, if we can reasonably estimate the timing and amount of the expected cash flows on such loans and if the Company expects to fully collect the new carrying value of the loans. As such, we may no longer consider the loan to be nonaccrual or nonperforming and may accrue interest on these loans, including the impact of any accretable discount. The Company has determined that it can reasonably estimate future cash flows on our current portfolio of acquired loans that are past due 90 days or more and on which the Company is accruing interest and expect to fully collect the carrying value of the loans net of the allowance for acquired loan losses.