BASIS OF PRESENTATION	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2019
BASIS OF PRESENTATION
BASIS OF PRESENTATION	NOTE 1. BASIS OF PRESENTATION This report is filed for Lakeland Financial Corporation (the "Company"), which has two wholly owned subsidiaries, Lake City Bank (the "Bank") and LCB Risk Management, a captive insurance company. Also included in this report is the Bank’s wholly owned subsidiary, LCB Investments II, Inc. ("LCB Investments"), which manages the Bank’s investment portfolio. LCB Investments owns LCB Funding, Inc. ("LCB Funding"), a real estate investment trust. All significant inter-company balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") for interim financial information and with the instructions for Form 10-Q. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements and are unaudited. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (all of which are normal and recurring in nature) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. Operating results for the three-months and nine-months ended September 30, 2019 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for any subsequent reporting periods, including the year ending December 31, 2019. The Company’s 2018 Annual Report on Form 10-K should be read in conjunction with these statements. Adoption of New Accounting Standards The Company accounts for leases in accordance with ASU 2016-02, “Leases”, which the Company adopted on January 1, 2019. This guidance replaced existing lease guidance in GAAP and requires lessees to recognize lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet for all leases and disclose key information about leasing arrangements. Lessees and lessors are required to recognize and measure leases that exist at the beginning of the earliest period presented using a modified retrospective approach. The Company recorded a right-of-use asset of $5.5 million and a lease liability of $5.5 million upon adoption, and there was no cumulative period adjustment made to retained earnings. This standard did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets or cash flows from operations and had no impact on the Company’s operating results. The most significant impact was the recognition of right-of-use assets and lease obligations for operating leases. The Company elected to adopt the package of practical expedients for this standard. In March 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-08, “Receivables—Nonrefundable Fees and Other Costs: Premium Amortization on Purchased Callable Debt Securities.” This update amends the amortization period for certain purchased callable debt securities held at a premium. FASB has shortened the amortization period for the premium to the earliest call date. Under legacy GAAP, entities generally amortized the premium as an adjustment of yield over the contractual life of the instrument. The amendments in this update became effective for annual periods and interim periods within those annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018. The Company adopted this new accounting standard on January 1, 2019. The effect of adoption was a reduction in retained earnings of approximately $1.3 million, net of tax, to reflect the acceleration of amortization of premiums on available-for-sale debt securities. In August 2017, the FASB 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 adopted ASU 2017-12 on January 1, 2019. ASU 2017-12 required a modified retrospective transition method in which the Company recognized the cumulative effect of the change on the opening balance of each affected component of equity in the consolidated balance sheet as of the date of adoption. Adopting this standard did not have an impact on the Company’s financial condition or results of operations. Newly Issued But Not Yet Effective Accounting Standards In June 2016, the FASB issued guidance related to credit losses on financial instruments. This update, commonly referred to as the current expected credit losses methodology ("CECL"), will change the accounting for credit losses on loans and debt securities. Under the new guidance, the Company's measurement of expected credit losses is to be based on information about past events, including historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts that affect the collectability of the reported amount. For loans, this measurement will take place at the time the financial asset is first added to the balance sheet and periodically thereafter. This differs significantly from the “incurred loss” model required under current GAAP, which delays recognition until it is probable a loss has been incurred. 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 the Company for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods in those fiscal years. This amendment is required to be adopted using a modified retrospective approach with a cumulative-effect adjustment to beginning retained earnings, as of the beginning of the first reporting period in which the guidance is effective. The Company formed a cross-functional committee that has evaluated existing technology and other solutions to assist with calculating losses under this new standard, selected a vendor to validate data currently loaded in the technology solution, and reviewed the validation assessment report. Additionally, the committee has selected a probability of default/loss given default model, run parallel calculations and evaluated changes to the overall internal control structure under the new model. Upon adoption of this standard, the Company will recognize credit losses earlier than it historically has done under the current incurred credit loss model. The Company intends to utilize a one to two year reasonable and supportable forecast period. Due to this change in methodology, the Company anticipates larger increases in credit loss allowances for its longer-lived retail portfolios and smaller increases for its shorter-lived commercial portfolio. Based upon the Company’s loan portfolio composition at September 30, 2019, and the current economic environment and management's current forecast and qualitative adjustment assumptions, we currently estimate a 5% - 15% increase in our allowance for credit losses upon adoption of this standard. The final effect of CECL on our allowance for credit losses will depend on the size and composition of our portfolio, the portfolio’s credit quality and economic conditions at the time of adoption, as well as any refinements to our model, methodology and other key assumptions. Additionally, we will evaluate the need to recognize an allowance for credit impairment for available-for-sale debt securities. The impact on available-for-sale debt securities will be subject to a limitation, which is based on the fair value of the debt securities. When evaluating the credit quality of our existing portfolio, we do not expect the allowance for credit impairment for available-for-sale securities to be significant. 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. Reclassifications Certain amounts appearing in the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto for prior periods have been reclassified to conform with the current presentation. The reclassifications had no effect on net income or stockholders’ equity as previously reported.

BASIS OF PRESENTATION

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

NOTE 1. BASIS OF PRESENTATION

This report is filed for Lakeland Financial Corporation (the "Company"), which has two wholly owned subsidiaries, Lake City Bank (the "Bank") and LCB Risk Management, a captive insurance company. Also included in this report is the Bank’s wholly owned subsidiary, LCB Investments II, Inc. ("LCB Investments"), which manages the Bank’s investment portfolio. LCB Investments owns LCB Funding, Inc. ("LCB Funding"), a real estate investment trust. All significant inter-company balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

The unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") for interim financial information and with the instructions for Form 10-Q. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements and are unaudited. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (all of which are normal and recurring in nature) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. Operating results for the three-months and nine-months ended September 30, 2019 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for any subsequent reporting periods, including the year ending December 31, 2019. The Company’s 2018 Annual Report on Form 10-K should be read in conjunction with these statements.

Adoption of New Accounting Standards

The Company accounts for leases in accordance with ASU 2016-02, “Leases”, which the Company adopted on January 1, 2019. This guidance replaced existing lease guidance in GAAP and requires lessees to recognize lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet for all leases and disclose key information about leasing arrangements. Lessees and lessors are required to recognize and measure leases that exist at the beginning of the earliest period presented using a modified retrospective approach. The Company recorded a right-of-use asset of $5.5 million and a lease liability of $5.5 million upon adoption, and there was no cumulative period adjustment made to retained earnings. This standard did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets or cash flows from operations and had no impact on the Company’s operating results. The most significant impact was the recognition of right-of-use assets and lease obligations for operating leases. The Company elected to adopt the package of practical expedients for this standard.

In March 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-08, “Receivables—Nonrefundable Fees and Other Costs: Premium Amortization on Purchased Callable Debt Securities.” This update amends the amortization period for certain purchased callable debt securities held at a premium. FASB has shortened the amortization period for the premium to the earliest call date. Under legacy GAAP, entities generally amortized the premium as an adjustment of yield over the contractual life of the instrument. The amendments in this update became effective for annual periods and interim periods within those annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018. The Company adopted this new accounting standard on January 1, 2019. The effect of adoption was a reduction in retained earnings of approximately $1.3 million, net of tax, to reflect the acceleration of amortization of premiums on available-for-sale debt securities.

In August 2017, the FASB 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 adopted ASU 2017-12 on January 1, 2019. ASU 2017-12 required a modified retrospective transition method in which the Company recognized the cumulative effect of the change on the opening balance of each affected component of equity in the consolidated balance sheet as of the date of adoption. Adopting this standard did not have an impact on the Company’s financial condition or results of operations.

Newly Issued But Not Yet Effective Accounting Standards

In June 2016, the FASB issued guidance related to credit losses on financial instruments. This update, commonly referred to as the current expected credit losses methodology ("CECL"), will change the accounting for credit losses on loans and debt securities. Under the new guidance, the Company's measurement of expected credit losses is to be based on information about past events, including historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts that affect the collectability of the reported amount. For loans, this measurement will take place at the time the financial asset is first added to the balance sheet and periodically thereafter. This differs significantly from the “incurred loss” model required under current GAAP, which delays recognition until it is probable a loss has been incurred. 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 the Company for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods in those fiscal years. This amendment is required to be adopted using a modified retrospective approach with a cumulative-effect adjustment to beginning retained earnings, as of the beginning of the first reporting period in which the guidance is effective.

The Company formed a cross-functional committee that has evaluated existing technology and other solutions to assist with calculating losses under this new standard, selected a vendor to validate data currently loaded in the technology solution, and reviewed the validation assessment report. Additionally, the committee has selected a probability of default/loss given default model, run parallel calculations and evaluated changes to the overall internal control structure under the new model. Upon adoption of this standard, the Company will recognize credit losses earlier than it historically has done under the current incurred credit loss model. The Company intends to utilize a one to two year reasonable and supportable forecast period.

Due to this change in methodology, the Company anticipates larger increases in credit loss allowances for its longer-lived retail portfolios and smaller increases for its shorter-lived commercial portfolio. Based upon the Company’s loan portfolio composition at September 30, 2019, and the current economic environment and management's current forecast and qualitative adjustment assumptions, we currently estimate a 5% - 15% increase in our allowance for credit losses upon adoption of this standard. The final effect of CECL on our allowance for credit losses will depend on the size and composition of our portfolio, the portfolio’s credit quality and economic conditions at the time of adoption, as well as any refinements to our model, methodology and other key assumptions. Additionally, we will evaluate the need to recognize an allowance for credit impairment for available-for-sale debt securities. The impact on available-for-sale debt securities will be subject to a limitation, which is based on the fair value of the debt securities. When evaluating the credit quality of our existing portfolio, we do not expect the allowance for credit impairment for available-for-sale securities to be significant.

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.

Reclassifications

Certain amounts appearing in the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto for prior periods have been reclassified to conform with the current presentation. The reclassifications had no effect on net income or stockholders’ equity as previously reported.