Recent accounting developments

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Accounting Changes And Error Corrections [Abstract]

26. Recent accounting developments

The following table provides a description of accounting standards that were adopted by the Company in 2019 as well as standards that are not effective that could have an impact to M&T’s consolidated financial statements upon adoption.

Standard

Description

Required date

of adoption

Effect on consolidated financial statements

Standards Adopted in 2019

Leases

The new guidance requires lessees to record a right-of-use asset and a lease liability for all leases with a term greater than 12 months. While the guidance requires all leases to be recognized in the balance sheet, there continues to be a differentiation between finance leases and operating leases for purposes of income statement recognition and cash flow statement presentation. For finance leases, interest on the lease liability and amortization of the right-of-use asset is recognized separately in the statement of income. Repayments of principal on those lease liabilities are classified within financing activities and payments of interest on the lease liability are classified within operating activities in the statement of cash flows. For operating leases, a single lease cost is recognized in the statement of income and allocated over the lease term, generally on a straight-line basis. All cash payments are presented within operating activities in the statement of cash flows. The accounting applied by lessors is largely unchanged, however, the guidance eliminates the accounting model for leveraged leases for leases that commence after the effective date of the guidance.

January 1, 2019

The Company adopted the guidance on January 1, 2019 and applied the guidance retrospectively at the beginning of the period of adoption. The Company occupies certain banking offices and uses certain equipment under noncancelable operating lease agreements which prior to the adoption of the guidance were not reflected in its consolidated balance sheet. Upon adoption, the Company recognized a right-of-use asset of $394 million and increased liabilities by $399 million as a result of recognizing lease liabilities in its consolidated balance sheet. The new guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated statement of income.

Premium Amortization on Purchased Callable Debt Securities

The amended guidance requires the premium on callable debt securities to be amortized to the earliest call date. The amendments do not require an accounting change for securities held at a discount; the discount continues to be amortized to maturity.

January 1, 2019

The Company adopted the amended guidance effective January 1, 2019 and applied the modified retrospective approach for reporting purposes. The adoption did not have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position nor on its results of operations.

Standard

Description

Required date

of adoption

Effect on consolidated financial statements

Standards Not Yet Adopted as of December 31, 2019

Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments

The amended guidance replaces the incurred loss model for determining the allowance for credit losses. The guidance requires financial assets measured at amortized cost to be presented at the net amount expected to be collected. The allowance for credit losses will represent a valuation account that is deducted from the amortized cost basis of the financial assets to present their net carrying value at the amount expected to be collected. The income statement will reflect the measurement of credit losses for newly recognized financial assets as well as expected increases or decreases of expected credit losses that have taken place during the period. When determining the allowance, expected credit losses over the contractual term of the financial asset(s) (taking into account prepayments) will be estimated considering relevant information about past events, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts that affect the collectibility of the reported amount. The amended guidance also requires recording an allowance for credit losses for purchased financial assets with a more-than-insignificant amount of credit deterioration since origination. The initial allowance for these assets will be added to the purchase price at acquisition rather than being reported as an expense. Subsequent changes in the allowance will be recorded through the income statement as an expense adjustment. In addition, the amended guidance requires credit losses relating to available-for-sale debt securities to be recorded through an allowance for credit losses. The calculation of credit losses for available-for-sale securities will be similar to how it is determined under existing guidance.

January 1, 2020

The Company has completed its development, validation, and implementation of models and processes used to estimate current expected credit losses as required by the credit losses guidance. The Company’s approach for estimating current expected credit losses for loans includes utilizing macro-economic assumptions to project losses over a two-year reasonable and supportable forecast period. Subsequent to the forecast period, the Company reverts to longer term historical loss experience to estimate expected credit losses over the remaining contractual life.

Based on portfolio composition, current economic conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts of future conditions, the Company recognized an increase to the allowance for credit losses of $132 million upon adoption of the standard on January 1, 2020 as compared with the allowance for credit losses recognized on its consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2019.

The effect on the allowance for credit losses is primarily attributable to increases in reserves for residential mortgage loans and consumer loans, which generally have longer estimated lives as compared with commercial and commercial real estate loans. The adoption did not have a material effect on the allowance for credit losses on held-to-maturity debt securities as most of this portfolio consists of U.S. Treasury and federal agency securities.

Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment

The amended guidance eliminates step 2 from the goodwill impairment test.

January 1, 2020

The Company adopted the amended guidance effective January 1, 2020 using a prospective transition method and will incorporate the guidance as necessary when circumstances arise for the guidance to be utilized. The Company does not expect the guidance will have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements, unless at some point in the future one of its reporting units were to fail step 1 of the goodwill impairment test.

Standard	Description	Required date of adoption	Effect on consolidated financial statements
Standards Not Yet Adopted as of December 31, 2019
Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurements	The amended guidance modifies the disclosure requirements on fair value measurements in Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements. The amendments are a result of the disclosure framework project that focuses on improvements to the effectiveness of disclosures in the notes to financial statements. The amendments remove, modify, and add certain disclosure requirements. The disclosure requirements being removed relating to public companies are (1) the amount and reason for transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy, (2) the policy for timing of transfers between levels, and (3) the valuation process for Level 3 fair value measurements. The disclosure requirements being modified relating to public companies are (1) for investments in certain entities that calculate net asset value, an entity is required to disclose the timing of liquidation of an investee’s asset and the date when restrictions from redemption might lapse only if the investee has communicated the timing to the entity or announced the timing publicly, and (2) the measurement uncertainty disclosure is to communicate information about the uncertainty in measurement as a result of the use of unobservable inputs. The disclosure requirements being added relating to public companies are (1) to disclose the changes in unrealized gains and losses for the period for recurring Level 3 fair value measurements, and (2) to disclose the range and weighted average of significant unobservable inputs used to develop Level 3 fair value measurements.	January 1, 2020 Early adoption permitted	The Company adopted the amended guidance effective January 1, 2020 using a prospective transition method for the amendments relating to changes in unrealized gains and losses, the range and weighted average of significant unobservable inputs used to develop Level 3 fair value measurements, and the narrative description of measurement uncertainty. The 2020 first quarter disclosures will reflect this prospective application. All other amendments will be applied retrospectively. The Company does not expect the guidance to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.
Customer’s Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That Is a Service Contract	The amended guidance requires a hosting arrangement that is a service contract to follow the guidance in Subtopic 350-40 to determine which implementation costs to capitalize and which costs to expense.	January 1, 2020 Early adoption permitted	The Company adopted the amended guidance effective January 1, 2020 using a prospective transition method. The impact of the guidance on the Company’s consolidated financial statements will be dependent on the nature and amount of actual expenditures, but is not expected to be material.
Improvements to Related Party Guidance for VIEs	The amended guidance requires that indirect interests held through related parties in common control arrangements should be considered on a proportional basis for determining whether fees paid to decision makers and service providers are variable interests.	January 1, 2020 Early adoption permitted	The guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

Standard	Description	Required date of adoption	Effect on consolidated financial statements
Standards Not Yet Adopted as of December 31, 2019
Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Defined Benefit Plans	The amended guidance modifies the disclosure requirements for employers that sponsor defined benefit pension or other postretirement plans. The disclosure requirements being removed relating to public companies are (1) the amounts in accumulated other comprehensive income expected to be recognized as components of net periodic benefit cost over the next fiscal year, (2) the amount and timing of plan assets expected to be returned to the employer, (3) the 2001 disclosure requirement relating to Japanese Welfare Pension Insurance Law, (4) related party disclosures about the amount of future annual benefits covered by insurance, and (5) the effects of a one-percentage-point change in assumed health care cost trends on the benefit cost and obligation. The disclosure requirements being added relating to public companies are (1) the weighted-average interest crediting rates for cash balance plans , and (2) an explanation of the reasons for significant gains and losses related to changes in the benefit obligation for the period.	January 1, 2021 Early adoption permitted	The amendments should be applied retrospectively. The Company does not expect the guidance to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.
Clarifying the Interactions Between Equity Securities, Equity Method and Joint Ventures, and Derivatives and Hedging	The amendments clarify the following guidance: 1. That an entity should consider observable transactions that require it to either apply or discontinue the equity method of accounting for the purposes of applying the measurement alternative in the equity securities investments guidance immediately before applying or upon discontinuing the equity method of accounting. 2. For the purpose of applying the derivatives and hedging guidance an entity should not consider whether, upon the settlement of a forward contract or exercise of a purchased option, individually or with existing investments, the underlying securities would be accounted for under the equity method of accounting or the fair value option in accordance with the financial instruments guidance. An entity also would evaluate the remaining characteristics in the derivatives and hedging guidance to determine the accounting for those forward contracts and purchased options.	January 1, 2021 Early adoption permitted	The amendments should be applied on a prospective basis. The Company does not expect the guidance will have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.

Standard

Description

Required date

of adoption

Effect on consolidated financial statements

Standards Not Yet Adopted as of December 31, 2019

Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes

The amendments remove the following exceptions for accounting for income taxes:

1. Exception to the incremental approach for intraperiod tax allocation when there is a loss from continuing operations and income or a gain from other items (for example, discontinued operations or other comprehensive income)

2. Exception to the requirement to recognize a deferred tax liability for equity method investments when a foreign subsidiary becomes an equity method investment

3. Exception to the ability not to recognize a deferred tax liability for a foreign subsidiary when a foreign equity method investment becomes a subsidiary

4. Exception to the general methodology for calculating income taxes in an interim period when a year-to-date loss exceeds the anticipated loss for the year.

The amendments also simplify the accounting for income taxes by doing the following:

1. Requiring that an entity recognize a franchise tax (or similar tax) that is partially based on income as an income-based tax and account for any incremental amount incurred as a non-income-based tax.

2. Requiring that an entity evaluate when a step up in the tax basis of goodwill should be considered part of the business combination in which the book goodwill was originally recognized and when it should be considered a separate transaction.

3. Specifying that an entity is not required to allocate the consolidated amount of current and deferred tax expense to a legal entity that is not subject to tax in its separate financial statements. However, an entity may elect to do so (on an entity-by-entity basis) for a legal entity that is both not subject to tax and disregarded by the taxing authority.

4. Requiring that an entity reflect the effect of an enacted change in tax laws or rates in the annual effective tax rate computation in the interim period that includes the enactment date.

5. Making minor Codification improvements for income taxes related to employee stock ownership plans and investments in qualified affordable housing projects accounted for using the equity method.

January 1, 2021

Early adoption permitted

The amendments related to separate financial statements of legal entities that are not subject to tax should be applied on a retrospective basis for all periods presented. The amendments related to changes in ownership of foreign equity method investments or foreign subsidiaries should be applied on a modified retrospective basis through a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the fiscal year of adoption. The amendments related to franchise taxes that are partially based on income should be applied on either a retrospective basis for all periods presented or a modified retrospective basis through a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the fiscal year of adoption. All other amendments should be applied on a prospective basis.

Early adoption of the amendments in an interim period would require recognition of any adjustments as of the beginning of the annual period that includes that interim period. Additionally, an early adoption election would require adoption of all the amendments in the same period. The Company is evaluating the impact that the guidance will have on its consolidated financial statements.