Note 1 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2023

Notes to Financial Statements

Significant Accounting Policies [Text Block]

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements of Investar Holding Corporation (the “Company”) have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include information or footnotes necessary for a complete presentation of financial position, results of operations, and cash flows in conformity with GAAP. However, in the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) necessary for a fair presentation of the financial statements have been included. The results of operations for the three month period ended March 31, 2023 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the entire fiscal year. These statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2022, including the notes thereto, which were included as part of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on March 8, 2023.

Nature of Operations

The Company is a financial holding company, headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana that provides full banking services, excluding trust services, through its wholly-owned banking subsidiary, Investar Bank, National Association (the “Bank”), a national bank, primarily to meet the needs of individuals, professionals and small to medium-sized businesses. The Company’s primary markets are in south Louisiana, southeast Texas and Alabama. At March 31, 2023, the Company operated 20 full service branches located in Louisiana, two full service branches located in Texas and six full service branches located in Alabama, and had 332 full-time equivalent employees.

Principles of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiary, the Bank. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements as well as the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates, and such differences could be material.

Material estimates that are particularly susceptible to significant change relate to the determination of the allowance for credit losses. While management uses available information to recognize credit losses on loans, future additions to the allowance may be necessary based on changes in economic conditions, changes in conditions of our borrowers’ industries or changes in the condition of individual borrowers. As described below under “Accounting Standards Adopted in 2023,” the Company adopted Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-13 effective January 1, 2023, which changed how the Company accounts for the allowance for credit losses. In addition, regulatory agencies, as an integral part of their examination process, periodically review the Company’s allowance for credit losses. Such agencies may require the Company to recognize additions to the allowance based on their judgments about information available to them at the time of their examination. Because of these factors, it is reasonably possible that the allowance for credit losses may change materially in the near term. However, the amount of the change that is reasonably possible cannot be estimated.

Other estimates that are susceptible to significant change in the near term relate to the allowance for off-balance sheet credit losses, the fair value of stock-based compensation awards, the determination of other-than-temporary impairments of securities, and the fair value of financial instruments and goodwill. Rapidly changing inflation rates and rising interest rates have made certain estimates more challenging, including those discussed above.

Reclassifications

Certain reclassifications have been made to prior period balances to conform to the current period presentation.

INVESTAR HOLDING CORPORATION

NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unaudited)

Accounting Standards Adopted in 2023

FASB ASC Topic 326 “Financial Instruments – Credit Losses: Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments” Update No. 2016-13 (“ASU 2016-13”). ASU 2016-13 became effective for the Company as a smaller reporting company on January 1, 2023. ASU 2016-13, also referred to as the Current Expected Credit Loss (“CECL”) standard, requires financial assets measured on an amortized cost basis, including loans and held-to-maturity debt securities, to be presented at an amount net of an allowance for credit losses, which reflects expected losses for the full life of the financial asset. Unfunded lending commitments are also within the scope of this topic.

CECL requires 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 and requires enhanced disclosures related to the significant estimates and judgments used in estimating credit losses, as well as the credit quality and underwriting standards of an organization’s portfolio. The CECL methodology requires that lifetime expected credit losses be recorded at the time the financial asset is originated or acquired, and be adjusted each period as a provision for credit losses for changes in expected lifetime credit losses. Under prior GAAP, credit losses were not recognized until the occurrence of the loss was probable and entities, in general, did not attempt to estimate credit losses for the full life of financial assets.

ASU 2016-13 does not specify the method for measuring expected credit losses, and an entity is allowed to apply methods that reasonably reflect its expectations of the lifetime credit loss estimate. The Company developed a CECL model methodology that calculates expected credit losses over the life of the portfolio by analyzing the composition, characteristics and quality of the loan and securities portfolios, as well as prevailing economic conditions and forecasts. The Company’s CECL calculation estimates loan losses using a combination of discounted cash flow and remaining life analyses. To the extent the lives of the loans in the portfolio extend beyond the period for which a reasonable and supportable forecast can be made, when necessary, the model reverts back to the historical loss rates adjusted for qualitative factors related to current conditions using a four-quarter reversion period. The Company adopted ASU 2016-13 using the modified retrospective approach for all loans and off-balance sheet credit exposures measured at amortized cost, other than purchased credit deteriorated (“PCD”) financial assets. Results for reporting periods beginning after December 31, 2022 are presented in accordance with ASU 2016-13 while prior period amounts continue to be reported in accordance with previously applicable GAAP.

ASU 2016-13 also amended the accounting model for purchased financial assets and replaced the guidance for purchased credit impaired (“PCI”) financial assets with the concept of PCDs. For PCD assets, the CECL estimate is recognized through the allowance for credit losses with an offset to the amortized cost basis of the PCD asset at the date of acquisition. Subsequent changes in the allowance for credit losses for PCD assets are recognized through a provision for credit losses on loans. The Company used the prospective transition approach for PCD loans that were previously classified as PCI and accounted for under ASC 310-30, “Loans and Debt Securities Acquired with Deteriorated Credit Quality” (“ASC 310-30”). As permitted under ASU 2016-13, the Company did not reassess whether PCI assets meet the criteria of PCD assets as of the date of adoption.

The Company adopted ASU 2016-13 on January 1, 2023, and recorded a one-time, cumulative effect adjustment as shown in the table below (dollars in thousands).

	December 31, 2022			Impact of ASU 2016-13 Adoption			January 1, 2023
Assets:
Allowance for credit losses	$	(24,364	)	$	(5,865	)	$	(30,229	)
Deferred tax asset		16,438			1,142			17,580
Remaining purchase discount on loans(1)		(818	)		422			(396	)
Liabilities:
Reserve for unfunded loan commitments(2)		372			(6	)		366
Stockholders’ Equity
Retained earnings		108,206			(4,295	)		103,911

⁽¹⁾ For PCD loans, formerly classified as PCI, the Company applied the guidance under CECL using the prospective transition approach. As a result, the Company adjusted the amortized cost basis of the PCD loans to reclassify the purchase discount to the allowance for credit losses on January 1, 2023.

⁽²⁾ The allowance for credit losses on unfunded loan commitments is included in “Accrued taxes and other liabilities” in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. The related provision for credit losses on unfunded loan commitments is included in “Provision for credit losses” in the accompanying consolidated statement of income for the three months ended March 31, 2023.

In addition, ASU 2016-13 amends the accounting for credit losses on available for sale (“AFS”) securities, requiring expected credit losses on AFS securities to be recorded in an allowance for credit losses rather than as a write-down of the securities’ amortized cost basis when management does not intend to sell or believes that it is not more likely than not that they will be required to sell the securities prior to recovery of the securities’ amortized cost basis. If management has the intent to sell or believes it is more likely than not the Company will be required to sell an impaired available for sale security before recovery of the amortized cost basis, the credit loss is recorded as a direct write-down of the amortized cost basis. Declines in the fair value of AFS securities that are not considered credit related are recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income. In addition, expected credit losses on held to maturity (“HTM”) securities are required to be recorded in an allowance for credit losses rather than as a write-down of the securities’ amortized cost basis. The Company’s AFS and HTM securities portfolios were not materially impacted by the adoption of ASU 2016-13 due to the composition of the portfolios, which consists primarily of U.S. Treasury and U.S. government agencies and corporations securities and mortgage-backed securities. Due to the nature of the investments, current market prices, and the current interest rate environment, the Company determined that the declines in the fair values of the HTM and AFS securities portfolio were not attributable to credit losses. The Company will apply the provisions of ASU 2016-13 to debt securities that have an other-than-temporary impairment on a prospective basis. Accordingly, there was no adjustment made to the amortized cost basis upon adoption. The adoption of ASU 2016-13 did not have a significant impact on the Company’s regulatory capital ratios. 

The allowance for credit losses is measured on a pool basis when similar risk characteristics exist and is maintained at an amount which management believes is a current estimate of the expected credit losses for the full life of the relevant pool of loans and related unfunded lending commitments. For modeling purposes, loan pools include: agriculture and farmland, automotive, commercial and industrial, construction and development, commercial real estate - non-owner occupied and multifamily, commercial real estate - owner occupied, credit cards, home equity lines of credit and junior liens, consumer, residential senior liens, and other loans, which primarily consist of public finance. Management periodically reassesses each pool to confirm the loans within the pool continue to share similar characteristics and risk profiles and to determine whether further segmentation is necessary. The loss rates computed for each pool and expected pool-level funding rates are applied to the related unfunded lending commitments to calculate an allowance for credit losses. 

Loans that do not share similar risk characteristics with other loans are excluded from the loan pools and individually evaluated for impairment. Individually evaluated loans are loans for which it is probable that all the amounts due under the contractual terms of the loan will not be collected.

FASB ASC Topic 326 “Financial Instruments – Credit Losses, Troubled Debt Restructurings and Vintage Disclosures” Update No. 2022-02 (“ASU 2022-02”). ASU 2022-02 became effective for the Company on January 1, 2023 and is applied prospectively. ASU 2022-02 amends Topic 326 to eliminate the accounting guidance for troubled debt restructurings (“TDRs”) by creditors that have adopted ASU 2016-13 and, instead, requires that an entity evaluate whether the modification represents a new loan or a continuation of an existing loan. The amendment also requires that public business entities disclose current-period gross charge-offs by year of origination for financing receivables and net investments in leases. The adoption of ASU 2022-02 did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted

FASB ASC Topic 848 “Reference Rate Reform: Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting” Update No. 2020-04 (“ASU 2020-04”) and FASB ASC Topic 848 “Reference Rate Reform: Deferral of the Sunset Date” Update No. 2022-06 (“ASU 2022-06”). In  March 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-04, which is intended to provide temporary optional expedients and exceptions to the GAAP guidance on contract modifications and hedge accounting to ease the financial reporting burdens related to the expected market transition from the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) and other interbank offered rates to alternative reference rates. ASU 2020-04 became effective as of March 12, 2020 and could be adopted any time during the period of January 1, 2020 through December 31, 2022. In  December 2022, the FASB issued ASU 2022-06, which deferred the sunset date of ASU 2020-04 from  December 31, 2022 to  December 31, 2024. The Company is currently evaluating the provisions of the amendments and the impact on its future consolidated financial statements.