SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policy)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES [Abstract]

Organization

Organization:  Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (a New York Corporation) (the “Company”) is a bank holding company whose principal activity is the ownership and management of Metropolitan Commercial Bank (the “Bank”), its wholly-owned subsidiary.  The Bank’s primary market is the New York metropolitan area.  The Bank offers a traditional range of services to individuals, businesses and others needing banking services.  Its primary lending products are commercial mortgages and commercial and industrial loans. Substantially all loans are secured by specific items of collateral including business assets, consumer assets, and commercial and residential real estate.  Commercial loans are expected to be repaid from cash flow from operations of businesses.  The Bank’s primary deposit products are checking, savings, and term deposit accounts, and its deposit accounts are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) under the maximum amounts allowed by law.  The Bank commenced operations on June 22, 1999.

The Bank faces competition from numerous existing New York bank holding companies, commercial banks and savings banks which have been in business for many years and have established customer bases.  Competition also comes from a variety of other non-bank businesses that offer financial services.  Many of these competitors operate in the same geographic market in which the Bank operates, are well-known with long-standing relationships and businesses and individuals in the communities, and are substantially larger with greater resources than the Bank.

The Company is subject to regulations of certain state and federal agencies and, accordingly, is periodically examined by those regulatory authorities.  As a consequence of the extensive regulation of commercial banking activities, the Company’s business is susceptible to being affected by state and federal legislation and regulations.

A summary of the Company’s significant accounting policies consistently applied in the preparation of the accompanying financial statements follows.

Basis of Presentation

Basis of Presentation:  The accounting and reporting policies of the Company conform with U.S generally accepted accounting principles and predominant practices within the U.S. banking industry.  The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and the Bank.  All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated.  The Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements, which include the accounts of the Company and the Bank, have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X.  The Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements reflect all normal recurring adjustments that are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair presentation of the results for the interim periods presented. In preparing the interim financial statements, management has made estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expense during the reported periods. The accounting and reporting policies of the Company conform with U.S generally accepted accounting principles and predominant practices within the U.S. banking industry.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

Recently Issued Accounting Standards:Pursuant to the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (“JOBS Act”), Emerging Growth Company (“EGC”) is permitted to elect to adopt new accounting guidance using adoption dates of nonpublic entities. The Company elected delayed effective dates of recently issued accounting standards.

Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)” implements a common revenue standard that clarifies the principles for recognizing revenue. The core principle of ASU 2014-09 is that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. To achieve that core principle, an entity should apply the following steps: (i) identify the contract(s) with a customer, (ii) identify the performance obligations in the contract, (iii) determine the transaction price, (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract and (v) recognize revenue when (or as) the entity satisfies a performance obligation. In August 2016, the (Financial Accounting Standards Board FASB) deferred the effective date of the ASU by one year which means ASU 2014-09 will be effective for the Company on January 1, 2019. Management is in the process of evaluating revenue streams to determine the impact the ASU could have on the Company’s operating results or financial condition.  

NOTE 1 - SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Continued)

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). ASU 2016-02 requires companies that lease valuable assets to recognize on their balance sheets the assets and liabilities generated by contracts longer than a year. The amendments in this update are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020, however, early adoption is permitted. Under ASU 2016-02, the Company will recognize a right-of-use asset and a lease obligation liability on the consolidated balance sheet, which will increase the Company’s assets and liabilities. The Company is evaluating other potential impact of ASU 2016-02 on its consolidated financial statements.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326), which requires the measurement of all expected credit losses for financial assets held at the reporting date be based on historical experience, current condition, and reasonable and supportable forecasts. Financial institutions and other organizations will now use forward-looking information to better inform their credit loss estimates. This guidance also amends the accounting for credit losses on available-for-sale debt securities and purchased financial assets with credit deterioration. For the Company, this guidance is effective for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after December 31, 2020. The Company is currently evaluating this guidance to determine the impact on its consolidated financial statements. The Company expects to recognize a one-time cumulative increase to the allowance for loan and lease losses as of the beginning of the reporting period in which the ASU takes effect, but, cannot yet determine the magnitude of the impact on the consolidated financial statements.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment, which eliminates the second step in the goodwill impairment test which requires an entity to determine the implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill. Instead, an entity should recognize an impairment loss if the carrying value of the net assets assigned to the reporting unit exceeds the fair value of the reporting unit, with the impairment loss not to exceed the amount of goodwill allocated to the reporting unit. The standard is effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2021, with early adoption permitted for goodwill impairment tests performed after January 1, 2017. Management expects ASU 2017-04 will not have a significant impact on its consolidated financial statements.

In March 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-08, Premium Amortization on Purchased Callable Debt Securities, which shortens the amortization period for the premium on certain purchased callable debt securities to the earliest call date. Today, entities generally amortize the premium over the contractual life of the security. The new guidance does not change the accounting for purchased callable debt securities held at a discount as discounts continue to be amortized to maturity. ASU No. 2017-08 is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019 and early adoption is permitted. The guidance includes a modified retrospective transition approach under which a cumulative-effect adjustment will be made to retained earnings as of the beginning of the first reporting period in which the guidance is adopted. Management expects ASU 2017-08 will not have a significant impact on its consolidated financial statements.