FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2024

FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

NOTE 9 — FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

The Company uses fair value measurements to record fair value adjustments to certain assets and derivative contracts, and to determine fair value disclosures. Other than derivative contracts, the Company did not have any liabilities that were measured at fair value at September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023. AFS securities are recorded at fair value on a recurring basis. Additionally, from time to time, the Company may be required to record at fair value other assets or liabilities on a non-recurring basis, such as certain loans where the carrying value is based on the fair value of the underlying collateral. These non-recurring fair value adjustments generally involve the write-down of individual assets due to impairment losses.

Accounting guidance establishes a fair value hierarchy which requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. The standard describes three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value:

Level 1: Quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical assets or liabilities in active markets that the entity has the ability to access as of the measurement date.

Level 2: Significant other observable inputs other than Level 1 prices such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities, quoted prices in markets that are not active, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data.

Level 3: Significant unobservable inputs that reflect a reporting entity’s own judgments about the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability.

Assets and Liabilities Measured on a Recurring Basis

Assets measured on a recurring basis are limited to the Company’s AFS securities portfolio, equity investments, and derivative contracts. The AFS portfolio is carried at estimated fair value with any unrealized gains and losses, net of taxes, reported as accumulated other comprehensive income or loss in shareholders’ equity. Equity investments are carried at estimated fair value with changes in fair value reported as “unrealized gain/(loss)” on the statements of operations. Outstanding derivative contracts designated as cash flow hedges are carried at estimated fair value with changes in fair value reported as accumulated other comprehensive income or loss in shareholders’ equity. Outstanding derivatives not designated as hedges are carried at estimated fair value with changes in fair value reported as non-interest income. The fair values for substantially all of these assets are obtained monthly from an independent nationally recognized pricing service. On a quarterly basis, the Company assesses the reasonableness of the fair values obtained for the AFS portfolio by reference to a second independent nationally recognized pricing service. Based on the nature of these securities, the Company’s independent pricing service provides prices which are categorized as Level 2 since quoted prices in active markets for identical assets are generally not available for the majority of securities in the Company’s portfolio. Various modeling techniques are used to determine pricing for the Company’s MBS, including option pricing and discounted cash flow models. The inputs to these models include benchmark yields, reported trades, broker/dealer quotes, issuer spreads, two-sided markets, benchmark securities, bids, offers and reference data. On an annual basis, the Company obtains the models, inputs and assumptions utilized by its pricing service and reviews them for reasonableness. Other than derivative contracts, the Company does not have any liabilities that were measured at fair value on a recurring basis.

Assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis are summarized below (in thousands):

	Fair Value Measurement using:
			Quoted Prices
			in Active		Significant
			Markets		Other		Significant
	Carrying		For Identical		Observable		Unobservable
	Amount		Assets (Level 1)		Inputs (Level 2)		Inputs (Level 3)
At September 30, 2024
U.S. Government agency securities	$	63,857	$	—	$	63,857	$	—
U.S. State and Municipal securities		9,808		—		9,808		—
Residential mortgage securities		389,824		—		389,824		—
Commercial mortgage securities		44,769		—		44,769		—
Asset-backed securities		2,708		—		2,708		—
CRA Mutual Fund		5,213		5,213		—		—
Derivative assets		1,298		—		1,298		—
Derivative liabilities		4,054		—		4,054		—
	Fair Value Measurement using:
			Quoted Prices
			in Active		Significant
			Markets		Other		Significant
	Carrying		For Identical		Observable		Unobservable
	Amount		Assets (Level 1)		Inputs (Level 2)		Inputs (Level 3)
At December 31, 2023
U.S. Government agency securities	$	61,775	$	—	$	61,775	$	—
U.S. State and Municipal securities		9,699		—		9,699		—
Residential mortgage securities		351,920		—		351,920		—
Commercial mortgage securities		34,584		—		34,584		—
Asset-backed securities		3,229		—		3,229		—
CRA Mutual Fund		2,123		2,123		—		—
Derivative assets		2,687		—		2,687		—
Derivative liabilities		6,037		—		6,037		—

There were no transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023.

Assets and Liabilities Not Measured on a Recurring Basis

The Company has engaged independent pricing service providers to provide the fair values of its financial assets and liabilities not measured at fair value. These providers follow FASB’s exit pricing guidelines, as required by ASC 820 Fair Value Measurement, when calculating the fair market value. Cash and cash equivalents include cash and due from banks and overnight deposits. The estimated fair values of cash and cash equivalents are assumed to equal their carrying values, as these financial instruments are either due on demand or have short-term maturities. For securities and the disability fund, if quoted market prices are not available for a specific security, then fair values are estimated by using pricing models, quoted prices of securities with similar characteristics, or discounted cash flows. These pricing models primarily use market-based or independently sourced market parameters as inputs, including, but not limited to, yield curves, interest rates, equity or debt prices, and credit spreads. The estimated fair value of loans are measured at amortized cost using an exit price notion. Ownership in equity securities of the FRB and FHLB is generally restricted and there is no established liquid market for their resale. The fair values of deposit liabilities with no stated maturity (i.e., money market and savings deposits, and non-interest-bearing demand deposits) are equal to the carrying amounts payable on demand. Time deposits are valued using a replacement cost of funds approach. Trust preferred securities are valued using a replacement cost of funds approach. For all other assets and liabilities it is assumed that the carrying value equals their current fair value.

There were no material assets measured at fair value on a non-recurring basis at September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023.

Carrying amounts and estimated fair values of financial instruments not carried at fair value were as follows (in thousands):

			Fair Value Measurement Using:
			Quoted Prices
			in Active		Significant
			Markets		Other		Significant
	Carrying		For Identical		Observable		Unobservable		Total Fair
At September 30, 2024	Amount		Assets (Level 1)		Inputs (Level 2)		Inputs (Level 3)		Value
Financial Assets:
Cash and due from banks	$	16,674	$	16,674	$	—	$	—	$	16,674
Overnight deposits		301,804		301,804		—		—		301,804
Securities held-to-maturity		438,445		—		386,203		—		386,203
Loans, net		5,834,626		—		—		5,763,888		5,763,888
Other investments
FRB Stock		11,410		N/A		N/A		N/A		N/A
FHLB Stock		13,178		N/A		N/A		N/A		N/A
Disability Fund		1,500		—		1,500		—		1,500
Time deposits at banks		498		498		—		—		498
Receivable from global payments business, net		96,048		—		—		96,048		96,048
Accrued interest receivable		31,289		—		1,909		29,380		31,289
Financial Liabilities:
Non-interest-bearing demand deposits	$	1,780,305	$	1,780,305	$	—	$	—	$	1,780,305
Money market and savings deposits		4,400,236		4,400,236		—		—		4,400,236
Time deposits		89,366		—		89,374		—		89,374
Federal Home Loan Bank of New York advances		150,000		—		150,000		—		150,000
Trust preferred securities payable		20,620		—		—		20,040		20,040
Prepaid debit cardholder balances		21,970		—		—		21,970		21,970
Accrued interest payable		5,669		1,129		4,150		390		5,669
Secured and other borrowings		107,478		—		7,478		100,120		107,598

			Fair Value Measurement Using:
			Quoted Prices
			in Active		Significant
			Markets		Other		Significant
	Carrying		For Identical		Observable		Unobservable		Total Fair
At December 31, 2023	Amount		Assets (Level 1)		Inputs (Level 2)		Inputs (Level 3)		Value
Financial Assets:
Cash and due from banks	$	31,973	$	31,973	$	—	$	—	$	31,973
Overnight deposits		237,492		237,492		—		—		237,492
Securities held-to-maturity		468,860		—		404,252		—		404,252
Loans, net		5,566,832		—		—		5,474,238		5,474,238
Other investments
FRB Stock		11,410		N/A		N/A		N/A		N/A
FHLB Stock		25,558		N/A		N/A		N/A		N/A
Disability Fund		1,500		—		1,500		—		1,500
Time deposits at banks		498		498		—		—		498
Receivable from global payments business, net		87,648		—		—		87,648		87,648
Accrued interest receivable		31,948		—		2,007		29,941		31,948
Financial Liabilities:
Non-interest-bearing demand deposits	$	1,837,874	$	1,837,874	$	—	$	—	$	1,837,874
Money market and savings deposits		3,864,018		3,864,018		—		—		3,864,018
Time deposits		35,400		—		35,011		—		35,011
Federal funds purchased		99,000		—		99,000		—		99,000
Federal Home Loan Bank of New York advances		440,000		—		440,000		—		440,000
Trust preferred securities payable		20,620		—		—		20,007		20,007
Prepaid debit cardholder balances		10,178		—		—		10,178		10,178
Accrued interest payable		1,894		1,028		475		391		1,894
Secured and other borrowings		7,585		—		7,585		—		7,585