NOTE 11. NEW ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

In May 2014, the FASB issued new accounting guidance related to revenue recognition. This new standard will replace all current U.S. GAAP guidance on this topic and eliminate all industry-specific guidance. The new revenue recognition standard provides a unified model to determine when and how revenue is recognized. The core principle is that a company should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration for which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. This guidance will be effective beginning January 1, 2018 and the Company expects to adopt this new accounting standard using the modified retrospective method with a cumulative-effect adjustment to opening retained earnings. The Company's revenue is split between net interest income and noninterest income at a ratio of approximately 80% to 20%, respectively. The scope of the guidance explicitly excludes net interest income as well as many other revenues for financial assets and liabilities including loans, leases, securities, and derivatives. Accordingly, many of our revenue contracts will not be affected based on our current assessment. Our accounting policies will not change materially since the principles of revenue recognition from the Update are largely consistent with existing guidance and current practices applied by the Company. The Company has not identified material changes to the timing or amount of revenue recognition, but will provide qualitative disclosures of performance obligations and will continue to evaluate disaggregation for significant categories of revenue in the scope of the guidance.

In January 2016, the FASB amended existing accounting guidance related to the recognition and measurement of financial assets and financial liabilities. These amendments make targeted improvements to U.S. GAAP as follows: (1) Require equity investments (except those accounted for under the equity method of accounting or those that result in consolidation of the investee) to be measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income. However, an entity may choose to measure equity investments that do not have readily determinable fair values at cost minus impairment, if any, plus or minus changes resulting from observable price changes in orderly transactions for the identical or a similar investment of the same issuer. (2) Simplify the impairment assessment of equity investments without readily determinable fair values by requiring a qualitative assessment to identify impairment. When a qualitative assessment indicates that impairment exists, an entity is required to measure the investment at fair value. (3) Eliminate the requirement to disclose the fair value of financial instruments measured at amortized cost for entities that are not public business entities. (4) Eliminate the requirement for public business entities to disclose the method(s) and significant assumptions used to estimate the fair value that is required to be disclosed for financial instruments measured at amortized cost on the balance sheet. (5) Require public business entities to use the exit price notion when measuring the fair value of financial instruments for disclosure purposes. (6) Require an entity to present separately in other comprehensive income the portion of the total change in the fair value of a liability resulting from a change in the instrument-specific credit risk when the entity has elected to measure the liability at fair value in accordance with the fair value option for financial instruments. (7) Require separate presentation of financial assets and financial liabilities by measurement category and form of financial asset (that is, securities or loans and receivable) on the balance sheet or the accompanying notes to the financial statements. (8) Clarify that an entity should evaluate the need for a valuation allowance on a deferred tax asset related to available-for-sale securities in combination with the entity's other deferred tax assets. This guidance will be effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2018 and should be applied as a cumulative-effect adjustment to the balance sheet as of the beginning of the fiscal year of adoption. The amendments related to equity securities without readily determinable fair values (including disclosure requirements) should be applied prospectively to equity investments that exist as of the date of adoption. Adopting this standard is not expected to have a significant impact on the Company's financial condition or results of operations.

In February 2016, the FASB issued new accounting guidance related to leases. This update, effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2019, will replace existing lease guidance in GAAP and will require lessees to recognize lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet for all leases and disclose key information about leasing arrangements. When implemented, lessees and lessors will be required to recognize and measure leases at the beginning of the earliest period presented using a modified retrospective approach. The Company currently has approximately $4.7 million of lease obligations that would come on balance sheet as both assets and liabilities upon adoption of this accounting standard.

In March 2016, the FASB issued new guidance related to employee share-based payment accounting. This standard requires all income tax effects of awards to be recognized in the income statement when the awards vest or are settled. It also allows an employer to repurchase more of an employee's shares than it can today for tax withholding purposes without triggering liability accounting and to make a policy election for forfeitures as they occur. The guidance is effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods within those years. Early adoption is permitted. The Company adopted this new standard effective January 1, 2017. The adoption of this new standard could result in increased volatility to reported income tax expense related to excess tax benefits and tax deficiencies for employee share-based transactions, however, the actual amounts recognized in income tax expense will be dependent on the amount of employee share-based transactions and the stock price at the time of vesting or exercise. For the nine months ended September 30, 2017, adopting this new standard resulted in $964,000 in income tax benefit offsetting income tax expense and current tax liability due to the vesting of restricted stock and performance stock units.

In June 2016, the FASB issued guidance related to credit losses on financial instruments. This update will change the accounting for credit losses on loans and debt securities. For loans, the proposal will require an expected credit loss model rather than the current incurred loss model to determine the allowance for credit losses. The expected credit loss model would estimate losses for the estimated life of the financial asset. In addition, the guidance will modify the other-than-temporary impairment model for available-for-sale debt securities to require an allowance for credit impairment instead of a direct write-down, which will allow for reversal of credit impairments in future periods. This guidance is effective for public business entities that meet the definition of an SEC filer for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods in those fiscal years. A committee has been formed to assess the requirements of this accounting standard as it relates to the Company and develop a plan for implementing them. Management expects to recognize credit losses earlier upon adoption of this accounting standard and the expected credit loss model than it has historically done under the current incurred credit loss model and is evaluating the impact of adopting this new accounting standard on our financial statements.

In August 2016, the FASB issued guidance related to the classification of certain cash receipts and cash payments in the statement of cash flow. This standard provides cash flow statement classification guidance for certain transactions including how the predominance principle should be applied when cash receipts and cash payments have aspects of more than one class of cash flows. The guidance is effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those fiscal years and should be applied retrospectively. Early adoption is permitted, including adoption in an interim period. Management does not expect the adoption of this new accounting standard to have a material impact on our financial statements.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04 "Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment." These amendments eliminate Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test. The amendments also eliminate the requirements for any reporting unit with a zero or negative carrying amount to perform a qualitative assessment and, if it fails that qualitative test, to perform Step 2 of the goodwill impairment test. An entity still has the option to perform the qualitative assessment for a reporting unit to determine if the quantitative impairment test is necessary. The guidance is effective for annual or any interim goodwill impairment tests in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019. Early adoption is permitted for interim or annual goodwill impairment tests performed on testing dates after January 1, 2017. ASU 2017-04 should be adopted on a prospective basis. Management does not expect the adoption of this new accounting standard to have a material impact on our financial statements.

In March 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-07, "Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost." Under the new guidance, employers will present the service cost component of the net periodic benefit cost in the same income statement line item as other employee compensation costs arising from services rendered during the period. In addition, only the service cost component will be eligible for capitalization in assets. Employers will present the other components separately from the line item that includes the service cost. ASU No. 2017-07 is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017. Early adoption is permitted. Employers will apply the guidance on the presentation of the components of net periodic benefit cost in the income statement retrospectively. The guidance limiting the capitalization of net periodic benefit cost in assets to the service cost component will be applied prospectively. Management does not expect the adoption of this new accounting standard to have a material impact on our financial statements.

In August 2017, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued ASU 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging: Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities. The purpose of this updated guidance is to better align a company's financial reporting for hedging activities with the economic objectives of those activities. ASU 2017-12 is effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, with early adoption, including adoption in an interim period, permitted. The Company plans to adopt ASU 2017-12 on January 1, 2019. ASU 2017-12 requires a modified retrospective transition method in which the Company will recognize the cumulative effect of the change on the opening balance of each affected component of equity in the statement of financial position as of the date of adoption. While the Company continues to assess all potential impacts of the standard, we currently expect adoption to have an immaterial impact on our consolidated financial statements