General and Basis of Presentation

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

General and Basis of Presentation

General and Basis of Presentation

Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc. (the “Bancorp”) is a publicly-owned registered bank holding company and financial holding company.  The Bancorp owns all of the outstanding common stock of The Washington Trust Company (the “Bank”), a Rhode Island chartered commercial bank founded in 1800.  Through its subsidiaries, the Bancorp offers a complete product line of financial services including commercial, residential and consumer lending, retail and commercial deposit products, and wealth management services through its offices in Rhode Island, eastern Massachusetts and Connecticut.

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Bancorp and its subsidiaries (collectively, the “Corporation” or “Washington Trust”).  All significant intercompany transactions have been eliminated.  Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current year classification.  Such reclassifications have no effect on previously reported net income or shareholders’ equity.

The accounting and reporting policies of the Corporation conform to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and to general practices of the banking industry.  In preparing the financial statements, management is required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities as of the date of the balance sheet and revenues and expenses for the period.  Actual results could differ from those estimates.  Material estimates that are particularly susceptible to change are the determination of the allowance for loan losses and the review of goodwill, other intangible assets and investments for impairment.  The current economic environment has increased the degree of uncertainty inherent in such estimates and assumptions.

In the opinion of management, the accompanying consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) and disclosures necessary to present fairly the Corporation’s financial position as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively, and the results of operations and cash flows for the interim periods presented. Interim results are not necessarily reflective of the results of the entire year.  The unaudited consolidated financial statements of the Corporation presented herein have been prepared pursuant to the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and do not include all of the information and note disclosures required by GAAP.  The accompanying consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011.