ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (BancShares) is a financial holding company organized under the laws of Delaware and conducts operations through its banking subsidiary, First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company (FCB), which is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina.

General

These consolidated financial statements and notes thereto are presented in accordance with instructions for Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X and, therefore, do not include all information and notes necessary for a complete presentation of financial position, results of operations and cash flow activity required in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP). In the opinion of management, all normal recurring adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of the consolidated financial position and consolidated results of operations have been made. The unaudited interim consolidated financial statements included in this Form 10-Q should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and footnotes included in BancShares' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016.

Reclassifications

In certain instances, amounts reported in prior years' consolidated financial statements have been reclassified to conform to the current financial statement presentation. Such reclassifications had no effect on previously reported shareholders' equity or net income.

Use of Estimates in the Preparation of Financial Statements

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Actual results could differ from those estimates, and different assumptions in the application of these policies could result in material changes in BancShares' consolidated financial position, the consolidated results of operations or related disclosures. Material estimates that are particularly susceptible to significant change include:


•	Allowance for loan and lease losses;


•	Fair value of financial instruments, including acquired assets and assumed liabilities;


•	Pension plan assumptions;


•	Cash flow estimates on purchased credit-impaired loans;


•	Goodwill, mortgage servicing rights and other intangible assets;


•	Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) shared-loss payable; and


•	Income tax assets, liabilities and expense

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2017-03, Accounting Changes and Error Corrections (Topic 250) and Investments - Equity Method and Joint Ventures (Topic 323): Amendments to SEC Paragraphs Pursuant to Staff Announcements at the September 22, 2016 and November 17, 2016 EITF Meetings (SEC Update)

This ASU adds an SEC paragraph and amends other Topics pursuant to an SEC Staff Announcement that states a registrant should evaluate ASUs that have not yet been adopted, including ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), and ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments–Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, to determine the appropriate financial statement disclosures about the potential material effects of those ASUs on the financial statements when adopted. If a registrant does not know or cannot reasonably estimate the impact that adoption of the ASUs referenced are expected to have on the financial statements, then in addition to making a statement to that effect, the registrant should consider additional qualitative financial statement disclosures to assist the reader in assessing the significance of the impact the adoption will have on the financial statements, and a comparison to the registrant's current accounting policies. A registrant should describe the status of its process to implement the new standards and the significant matters yet to be addressed.

This ASU also addresses the accounting for tax benefits resulting from investments in qualified affordable housing projects where the decision to apply the proportional amortization method of accounting is an accounting policy decision to be applied consistently to all investments that meet the conditions, rather than a decision to be applied to individual investments that qualify for the use of the proportional amortization method.

The amendments in this ASU are effective upon issuance. We adopted the guidance effective in the first quarter of 2017. The disclosures required by this ASU are included within the “Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements” section below. The adoption did not have an impact on our consolidated financial position or consolidated results of operations.

FASB ASU 2016-17, Consolidation (Topic 810): Interests Held Through Related Parties That Are Under Common Control

This ASU does not change the characteristics of a primary beneficiary in current GAAP; however, it requires that a reporting entity, in determining whether it satisfies the second characteristic of a primary beneficiary, to include all of its direct variable interests in a VIE and, on a proportionate basis, its indirect variable interests in a VIE held through related parties, including related parties that are under common control with the reporting entity. If, after performing that assessment, a reporting entity that is the single decision maker of a VIE concludes that it does not have the characteristics of a primary beneficiary, the amendments continue to require that reporting entity to evaluate whether it and one or more of its related parties under common control, as a group, have the characteristics of a primary beneficiary, then the party within the related party group that is most closely associated with the VIE is the primary beneficiary.

The amendments in this ASU are effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within those fiscal years. We adopted the guidance effective in the first quarter of 2017. The adoption did not have an impact on our consolidated financial position or consolidated results of operations.

FASB ASU 2016-07, Investments—Equity Method and Joint Ventures (Topic 323): Simplifying the Transition to the Equity Method of Accounting

This ASU eliminates the requirement that when an investment qualifies for use of the equity method as a result of an increase in the level of ownership interest or degree of influence, an investor must adjust the investment, results of operations, and retained earnings retroactively on a step-by-step basis as if the equity method had been in effect during all previous periods that the investment had been held. The ASU requires that the equity method investor add the cost of acquiring the additional interest in the investee to the current basis of the investor's previously held interest and adopt the equity method of accounting as of the date the investment becomes qualified for equity method accounting. Therefore, upon qualifying for the equity method of accounting, no retroactive adjustment of the investment is required. Further, the ASU requires that an entity that has an available-for-sale equity security that becomes qualified for the equity method of accounting recognize through earnings, the unrealized gain or loss in accumulated other comprehensive income at the date the investment becomes qualified for use of the equity method.

The amendments in this ASU are effective for all entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within those fiscal years. We adopted the guidance effective in the first quarter of 2017. The adoption did not have an impact on our consolidated financial position or consolidated results of operations.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

FASU ASU 2017-01, Business Combinations (Topic 805), Clarifying the Definition of a Business

This ASU provides a more robust framework to use in determining when a set of assets and activities is a business, including narrowing the definition of outputs and align it with how outputs are described in Topic 606. This ASU provides a screen to determine when an integrated set of assets and activities (collectively referred to as a "set") is not a business. The screen requires that when substantially all of the fair value of the gross assets acquired or disposed of is concentrated in a single identifiable asset or a group of similar identifiable assets, the set is not a business. This screen reduces the number of transactions that need to be further evaluated. If the screen is not met, the amendments in this ASU (1) require that to be considered a business, a set must include, at a minimum, an input and a substantive process that together significantly contribute to the ability to create output and (2) remove the evaluation of whether a market participant could replace missing elements. The framework includes two sets of criteria to consider that depend on whether a set has outputs.

The amendments in this ASU are effective for public business entities for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The adoption of this standard is not expected to have an impact on our consolidated financial position or results of operation and we will adopt the guidance during the first quarter of 2018.

FASB ASU 2017-04, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment

This ASU eliminates Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test. Under Step 2, an entity had to perform procedures to determine the fair value at the impairment testing date of its assets and liabilities (including unrecognized assets and liabilities) following the procedure that would be required in determining the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business combination. Instead, under the amendments in this ASU, an entity should perform its annual, or interim, goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount. An entity should recognize an impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value; however, the loss recognized should not exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. Additionally, an entity should consider income tax effects from any tax deductible goodwill on the carrying amount of the reporting unit when measuring the goodwill impairment loss, if applicable. An entity still has the option to perform the qualitative assessment for a reporting unit to determine if the quantitative impairment test is necessary. This ASU eliminates the requirements for any reporting unit with a zero or negative carrying amount to perform a qualitative test.

This ASU will be effective for BancShares' annual or interim goodwill impairment tests for 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. The adoption of this standard is not expected to have an impact on our consolidated financial position or results of operation and we expect to adopt the guidance for our annual impairment test in fiscal year 2020.

FASB ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments

This ASU eliminates the delayed recognition of the full amount of credit losses until the loss was probable of occurring and instead will reflect an entity's current estimate of all expected credit losses. The amendments in this ASU broaden the information that an entity must consider in developing its expected credit loss estimate for assets measured either collectively or individually. The ASU does not specify a method for measuring expected credit losses and allows an entity to apply methods that reasonably reflect its expectations of the credit loss estimate based on the entity's size, complexity and risk profile. In addition, the disclosures of credit quality indicators in relation to the amortized cost of financing receivables, a current disclosure requirement, are further disaggregated by year of origination.

The amendments in this ASU are effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018. We will adopt the guidance by the first quarter of 2020 with a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the year of adoption. For BancShares, the standard will apply to loans, unfunded loan commitments and debt securities available for sale. We have formed a cross-functional team co-led by Finance and Risk Management and engaged a third party to assist with the adoption, which will begin with a detailed process and data gap analysis. The implementation team has developed a high-level project plan and is staying informed about the broader industry's perspective and insights, and identifying and researching key decision points. We are currently evaluating the impact the new standard will have on our consolidated financial statements as the final impact will be dependent, among other items, upon the loan portfolio composition and quality at the adoption date, as well as economic conditions and forecasts at that time.

FASB ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842)

This ASU increases transparency and comparability among organizations by recognizing lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet and disclosing key information about leasing arrangements. The key difference between existing standards and this ASU is the requirement for lessees to recognize on their balance sheet all lease contracts. An entity may make an accounting election by classification to not recognize leases with terms less than 12 months on their balance sheet. Both a right-of-use asset, representing the right to use the leased asset, and a lease liability, representing the contractual obligation, are required to be recognized on the balance sheet of the lessee at lease commencement. Further, this ASU requires lessees to classify leases as either operating or finance leases, which are substantially similar to the current operating and capital leases classifications. The distinction between these two classifications under the new standard does not relate to balance sheet treatment, but relates to treatment in the statements of income and cash flows. Lessor guidance remains largely unchanged with the exception of how a lessor determines the appropriate lease classification for each lease to better align the lessor guidance with revised lessee classification guidance.

The amendments in this ASU are effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. For BancShares, the impact of this ASU will primarily relate to its accounting and reporting of leases as a lessee. We will adopt during the first quarter of 2019. We have engaged a third party and developed a preliminary inventory of all leases and their terms that are currently being evaluated. We are still evaluating service contracts to identify embedded leases. While we continue to evaluate the impact of the new standard, we expect an increase to the Consolidated Balance Sheets for right-of-use assets and associated lease liabilities, as well as resulting depreciation expense of the right-of-use assets and interest expense of the lease liabilities in the Consolidated Statements of Income, for arrangements previously accounted for as operating leases.

FASB ASU 2016-01, Financial Instruments—Overall (Subtopic 825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities

This ASU addresses certain aspects of recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure of certain financial instruments. The amendments in this ASU (1) require equity investments to be measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income; (2) simplify the impairment assessment of equity investments without a readily determinable fair value; (3) eliminate the requirement to disclose the method(s) and significant assumptions used to estimate the fair value for financial instruments measured at amortized cost on the balance sheet; (4) require public business entities to use exit price notion, rather than entry prices, when measuring fair value of financial instruments for disclosure purposes; (5) require separate presentation of financial assets and financial liabilities by measurement category and form of financial assets on the balance sheet or the accompanying notes to the financial statements; (6) require separate presentation in other comprehensive income of 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 organization has elected to measure the liability at fair value in accordance with the fair value option for financial instruments; and (7) state that a valuation allowance on deferred tax assets related to available-for-sale securities should be evaluated in combination with other deferred tax assets.

The amendments in this ASU are effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The ASU only permits early adoption of the instrument-specific credit risk provision. We will adopt during the first quarter of 2018 with a cumulative-effect adjustment from accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI) to retained earnings as of the beginning of the year of adoption. We are currently evaluating the impact the new standard will have on our consolidated financial statements. We anticipate the adoption of this ASU will primarily impact the fair value recognition of BancShares' equity securities portfolio. The cumulative-effect adjustment at adoption will be determined by the equity securities portfolio composition and valuation at the date of adoption.

FASB ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)

In May 2014, the FASB issued a standard on the recognition of revenue from contracts with customers with the core principle being for companies to recognize revenue to depict the transfer of goods or services to customers in amounts that reflect the consideration to which the company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The new standard also results in enhanced disclosures about revenue, provides guidance for transactions that were not previously addressed comprehensively and improves guidance for multiple-element arrangements. In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-08, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Principal versus Agent Considerations, to improve the operability and understandability of the implementation guidance on principal versus agent considerations. In April 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-10, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Identifying Performance Obligations and Licensing, to clarify guidance for identifying performance obligations and licensing implementation. In May 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-12, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Narrow-Scope Improvements and Practical Expedients, to clarify and improve the guidance for certain aspects of Topic 606. In December 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-20, Technical Corrections and Improvements to Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, to clarify guidance for certain aspects of Topic 606.

Per ASU 2015-14, Deferral of the Effective Date, this guidance was deferred and is effective for fiscal periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim reporting periods within that reporting period. Early adoption is permitted for fiscal periods beginning after December 15, 2016. We expect to adopt the ASU during the first quarter of 2018 with a cumulative-effect adjustment to opening retained earnings and the modified retrospective approach will likely be used. Our revenue is comprised of net interest income on financial assets and liabilities, which is explicitly excluded from the scope of the new guidance, and noninterest income. The contracts that are in scope of the guidance are primarily related to service charges on deposit accounts, cardholder and merchant income, wealth advisory services income, other service charges and fees, sales of other real estate, insurance commissions and miscellaneous fees. We engaged a third party to assist in developing processes and procedures for gathering evidence related to the implementation of this standard and have performed an analysis of contracts for wealth management income, for which we do not expect to have a significant impact on our results of operations. We continue to evaluate the impact of the new standard on other sources of our noninterest income and on our presentation and disclosures.