ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)	9 Months Ended
ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)	Sep. 30, 2019
ACCOUNTING POLICIES [Abstract]
Leases	Leases The Company occupies certain offices and uses certain equipment under non-cancelable operating lease agreements. The Company determines if an arrangement is a lease at inception. The right-of-use assets associated with operating leases are recorded in premises and equipment in the Company’s consolidated statements of condition. The lease liabilities associated with operating leases are included in accrued interest and other liabilities in the Company’s consolidated statements of condition. Right-of-use assets represent the Company’s right to use the underlying assets for the lease term and lease liabilities represent the Company’s obligation to make lease payments arising from the associated leases. Operating lease right-of-use assets and liabilities are recognized at the commencement date of the lease based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. The Company uses interest rates on advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York available at the time of commencement to determine the present value of lease payments. The operating lease right-of-use assets include any lease payments made at the time of commencement and exclude lease incentives. The Company’s lease terms may include options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that the option will be exercised. Lease expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term and is included in occupancy and equipment expense in the Company’s consolidated statements of income. The Company elected to account for lease and non-lease components separately, applies a portfolio approach to account for the lease right-of-use assets and liabilities for certain equipment leases and elected to exclude leases with a term of 12 months or less from the recognition and measurement policies described above.
Derivative Financial Instruments and Hedging Activities	Derivative Financial Instruments and Hedging Activities The Company accounts for derivative financial instruments at fair value. If certain conditions are met, a derivative may be specifically designated as (1) a hedge of the exposure to changes in the fair value of a recognized asset or liability or an unrecognized firm commitment (“fair value hedge”), (2) a hedge of the exposure to variable cash flows of a forecasted transaction or the variability of cash flows to be received or paid related to a recognized asset or liability (“cash flow hedge”), or (3) an instrument with no hedging designation (“stand-alone derivative”). For a fair value hedge, the gain or loss on the derivative, as well as the offsetting loss or gain on the hedged item, are recognized in current earnings as fair values change. For a cash flow hedge, the gain or loss on the derivative is reported in other comprehensive income and is reclassified into earnings in the same periods during which the hedged transaction affects earnings. Changes in the fair value of derivatives that do not qualify for hedge accounting are reported currently in earnings, as noninterest revenues. Net cash settlements on derivatives that qualify for hedge accounting are recorded in interest income or interest expense, based on the item being hedged. Net cash settlements on derivatives that do not qualify for hedge accounting are reported in noninterest revenues. Cash flows on hedges are classified in the consolidated statements of cash flow statement the same as the cash flows of the items being hedged. The Company formally documents the relationship between derivatives and hedged items, as well as the risk-management objective and strategy for undertaking hedge transactions at the inception of the hedging relationship. This documentation includes linking the fair value or cash flow hedges to specific assets and liabilities on the statements of condition or to specific commitments or forecasted transactions. When hedge accounting is discontinued, subsequent changes in fair value of the derivative are recorded in noninterest revenues. When a fair value hedge is discontinued, the hedged asset or liability is no longer adjusted for changes in fair value and the existing basis adjustment is amortized or accreted over the remaining life of the asset or liability. When a cash flow hedge is discontinued, but the hedged cash flows or forecasted transactions are still expected to occur, gains or losses that were accumulated in other comprehensive income are amortized into earnings over the same periods which the hedged transactions will affect earnings.
Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements	Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). This new guidance supersedes the lease requirements in Topic 840, Leases and is based on the principle that a lessee should recognize in the statement of financial position a liability to make lease payments (the lease liability) and a right-of-use asset representing its right to use the underlying asset for the lease term. The accounting applied by a lessor is largely unchanged from that applied under the previous guidance. In addition, the guidance requires an entity to separate the lease components from the nonlease components in a contract. The ASU requires disclosures about the amount, timing, and judgments related to a reporting entity’s accounting for leases and related cash flows. The standard is required to be applied to all leases in existence as of the date of adoption using a modified retrospective transition approach, with certain practical expedients available. The Company adopted this guidance on January 1, 2019 using the cumulative-effect adjustment method. The cumulative-effect adjustment was not material. The Company elected several practical expedients available under the standard. The Company elected to not reassess whether any expired or existing contracts are or contain leases, to not reassess the classification (operating or capital) of any expired or existing contracts, to not reassess initial direct costs for existing leases, and to use hindsight in determining the lease term. The Company has implemented processes and a lease accounting system to ensure adequate internal controls were in place to assess our contracts and enable proper accounting and reporting of financial information upon adoption. The increase in total assets and total liabilities was $34.2 million. The impact on the Company’s results of operations and cash flows was not material. In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities. This new guidance amends current guidance to better align hedge accounting with risk management activities and reduce the complexity involved in applying hedge accounting. Under this new guidance, the concept of hedge ineffectiveness will be eliminated. Ineffective income generated by cash flow and net investment hedges will be recognized in the same financial reporting period and income statement line item as effective income, so as to reflect the full cost of hedging at one time and in one place. Ineffective income generated by fair value hedges will continue to be reflected in current period earnings; however, it will be recognized in the same income statement line item as effective income. The guidance will also allow any contractually specified variable rate to be designated as the hedged risk in a cash flow hedge. With respect to fair value hedges of interest rate risk, the guidance will allow changes in the fair value of the hedged item to be calculated solely using changes in the benchmark interest rate component of the instrument’s total contractual coupon cash flows. The Company adopted this guidance on January 1, 2019 on a modified retrospective basis. The adoption of this ASU did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
New Accounting Pronouncements	New Accounting Pronouncements In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326). This new guidance significantly changes how entities will measure credit losses for most financial assets and certain other instruments that are not measured at fair value through net income. This ASU will replace the “incurred loss” model under existing guidance with an “expected loss” model, better known as CECL, for instruments measured at amortized cost, and require entities to record allowances for available-for-sale debt securities rather than reduce the carrying amount, as they do today under the other-than-temporary impairment model. CECL simplifies the accounting model for purchased credit-impaired debt securities and loans and requires adoption through a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the first reporting period in which the guidance is adopted. CECL is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company is currently evaluating the impact CECL will have on the Company’s consolidated financial statements, and expects a change in the allowance for loan losses resulting from the change to expected losses for the estimated life of the financial asset. Management has developed its CECL model for the Company’s loan portfolio, which utilizes its historical data through September 30, 2019, as well as current and expected economic conditions and forecasts. The Company has completed the evaluation of its data requirements, determined its loan segments, determined the model construct for each segment, developed its qualitative framework and produced an estimated Allowance for Credit Loss amount based on the September 30, 2019 data inputs, assumptions and mathematical calculations. The Company is in the process of evaluating the model’s sensitivity to various model inputs, as well as identifying the key controls around model development, quarterly model operations and the production of quarterly and annual financial statement disclosures. Based on the preliminary September 30, 2019 model results, the Company believes it will establish an Allowance for Credit Losses at the time of adoption of between $52 million and $60 million. This compares to an allowance for loan losses of $49.4 million at September 30, 2019 based on the current incurred loss model and represents approximately a 5% to 21% increase in the Company’s allowance. These results should be considered preliminary and may change due to factors including, but not limited to, changes in estimated historical losses, changes in the Company’s asset quality trends, changes in current economic conditions and changes in the Company’s economic forecast. Upon adoption, the Company does not expect to record any material allowance for credit losses on its available-for-sale debt securities or on its other instruments carried at amortized cost, other than its held-for-investment loan portfolio. The Company’s regulators will permit financial institutions to “phase-in” the impact of CECL on its regulatory capital ratios over 3 years with transitional relief of incremental capital requirements. The Company does not expect to utilize the phased-in approach and instead anticipates it will record the entire cumulative-effect adjustment against its regulatory capital at the time of adoption. In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, Intangibles-Goodwill and Other (Topic 350). The amendments simplify how an entity is required to test goodwill for impairment by eliminating the requirement to measure a goodwill impairment loss by comparing the implied fair value of a reporting unit’s goodwill with the carrying amount of that goodwill. Instead, an entity will perform its goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount, and recognize an impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying amount of the reporting unit exceeds its fair value. Impairment loss recognized under this new guidance will be limited to the goodwill allocated to the reporting unit. This ASU is effective prospectively for the Company for annual or interim goodwill impairment tests in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019. Early adoption was permitted for interim or annual goodwill impairment tests performed on testing dates after January 1, 2017. This ASU is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.