Note 1 - Basis of Presentation

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2015

Disclosure Text Block [Abstract]

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Text Block]

NOTE 1: BASIS OF PRESENTATION

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Simmons First National Corporation (the “Company”) and its subsidiaries.  Significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

All adjustments made to the unaudited financial statements were of a normal recurring nature.  In the opinion of management, all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of the results of interim periods have been made.  Certain prior year amounts are reclassified to conform to current year classification.  The consolidated balance sheet of the Company as of December 31, 2014, has been derived from the audited consolidated balance sheet of the Company as of that date.  The results of operations for the period are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year.

Certain information and note disclosures normally included in the Company’s annual financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America have been condensed or omitted.  These consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s Form 10-K Annual Report for 2014 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

ASU 2015-08 – Business Combinations: Pushdown Accounting – Amendments to SEC Paragraphs Pursuant to Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 115 (“ASU 2015-08”). ASU 2015-08 removes references to the SEC’s Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) Topic 5.J on pushdown accounting from ASC 805-50, thereby conforming the FASB’s guidance on pushdown accounting with the SEC’s guidance on this topic. ASU 2015-08 became effective upon issuance. The adoption of this standard has not had a material effect on the Company’s operating results or financial condition.

ASU 2014-17 – Business Combinations: Pushdown Accounting (“ASU 2014-17”). ASU 2014-17 amends existing guidance related to the accounting by an acquired entity upon a change-in-control event. The standard provides an acquired entity with an option to apply pushdown accounting in its separate financial statements upon occurrence of an event in which an acquirer obtains control of the acquired entity. An acquired entity may elect the option to apply pushdown accounting in the reporting period in which the change-in-control event occurs. If pushdown accounting is not applied in the reporting period in which the change-in-control event occurs, an acquired entity will have the option to elect to apply pushdown accounting in a subsequent reporting period to the acquired entity’s most recent change-in-control event. ASU 2014-17 was effective on November 18, 2014. The adoption of this standard has not had a material effect on the Company’s operating results or financial condition.

ASU 2014-14 – Receivables – Troubled Debt Restructurings by Creditors: Classification of Certain Government-Guaranteed Mortgage Loans Upon Foreclosure (“ASU 2014-14”). ASU 2014-14 amends existing guidance related to the classification of certain government-guaranteed mortgage loans, including those guaranteed by the FHA and the VA, upon foreclosure. It requires that a mortgage loan be derecognized and a separate other receivable be recognized upon foreclosure if three conditions are met. Upon foreclosure, the separate other receivable should be measured based on the amount of the loan balance (principal and interest) expected to be recovered from the guarantor. ASU 2014-14 is effective for annual periods, and interim periods within those annual periods, beginning after December 15, 2014, and early adoption is permitted. It can be applied using a prospective transition method or a modified retrospective transition using a cumulative-effect adjustment. The adoption of this standard has not had a material effect on the Company’s results of operations, financial position or disclosures.

ASU 2014-12 – Compensation – Stock Compensation – Accounting for Share-Based Payments When the Terms of an Award Provide That a Performance Target Could Be Achieved After the Requisite Service Period (“ASU 2014-12”). ASU 2014-12 amends existing guidance related to the accounting for share-based payments when the terms of an award provide that a performance target could be achieved after the requisite service period. The standard requires that a performance target that affects vesting and that could be achieved after the requisite service period should be treated as a performance condition. ASU 2014-12 is effective for annual periods and interim periods within those annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015, and early adoption is permitted. It can be applied either prospectively to all awards granted or modified after the effective date or retrospectively to all awards with performance targets that are outstanding as of the beginning of the earliest annual period presented in the financial statements and to all new or modified awards thereafter. The adoption of this standard is not expected to have a material effect on the Company’s operating results or financial condition.

ASU 2014-11 – Transfers and Servicing – Repurchase-to-Maturity Transactions, Repurchase Financings, and Disclosures (“ASU 2014-11”). ASU 2014-11 aligns the accounting for repurchase-to-maturity transactions and repurchase agreements executed as a repurchase financing with the accounting for other typical repurchase agreements. ASU 2014-11 requires that these transactions all be accounted for as secured borrowings. The standard requires a new disclosure for transactions economically similar to repurchase agreements in which the transferor retains substantially all of the exposure to the economic return on the transferred financial assets throughout the term of the transaction and requires expanded disclosures about the nature of collateral pledged in repurchase agreements and similar transactions accounted for as secured borrowings. ASU 2014-11 is effective for the first interim or annual period beginning after December 15, 2014. An entity is required to present changes in accounting for transactions outstanding on the effective date as a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the period of adoption. Earlier application for a public business entity is prohibited. The adoption of this standard did not have a material effect on the Company’s results of operations, financial position or disclosures.

ASU 2014-09 – Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASU 2014-09”). ASU 2014-09 provides guidance that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. ASU 2014-09 is effective prospectively, for annual and interim periods, beginning after December 15, 2016. The Company is currently evaluating the impact this standard will have on the Company’s results of operations, financial position or disclosures.

ASU 2014-04 – Receivables – Troubled Debt Restructurings by Creditors (“ASU 2014-04”). ASU 2014-04 clarifies when a creditor should reclassify mortgage loans collateralized by residential real estate from loans to other real estate owned. It defines when an in-substance repossession or foreclosure has occurred and when a creditor is considered to have received physical possession of residential real estate collateralizing a mortgage loan. ASU 2014-04 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 31, 2014, and early adoption is permitted. It can be applied either prospectively or using a modified retrospective transition method. The adoption of this standard has not had a material effect on the Company’s results of operations, financial position or disclosures.

There have been no other significant changes to the Company’s accounting policies from the 2014 Form 10-K.  Presently, the Company is not aware of any other changes to the Accounting Standards Codification that will have a material impact on the Company’s present or future financial position or results of operations.

Acquisition Accounting, Acquired Loans

The Company accounts for its acquisitions under ASC Topic 805, Business Combinations, which requires the use of the purchase method of accounting. All identifiable assets acquired, including loans, are recorded at fair value. No allowance for loan losses related to the acquired loans is recorded on the acquisition date as the fair value of the loans acquired incorporates assumptions regarding credit risk. Loans acquired are recorded at fair value in accordance with the fair value methodology prescribed in ASC Topic 820, exclusive of the shared-loss agreements with the FDIC. The fair value estimates associated with the loans include estimates related to expected prepayments and the amount and timing of undiscounted expected principal, interest and other cash flows.

The Company evaluates loans acquired in accordance with the provisions of ASC Topic 310-20, Nonrefundable Fees and Other Costs. The fair value discount on these loans is accreted into interest income over the weighted average life of the loans using a constant yield method. These loans are not considered to be impaired loans. The Company evaluates purchased impaired loans in accordance with the provisions of ASC Topic 310-30, Loans and Debt Securities Acquired with Deteriorated Credit Quality. Purchased loans are considered impaired if there is evidence of credit deterioration since origination and if it is probable that not all contractually required payments will be collected.

The Company evaluates all of the loans purchased in conjunction with its FDIC-assisted transactions in accordance with the provisions of ASC Topic 310-30. All loans acquired in the FDIC transactions, both covered and not covered, were deemed to be impaired loans. All loans acquired, whether or not covered by FDIC loss share agreements, are considered impaired if there is evidence of credit deterioration since origination and if it is probable that not all contractually required payments will be collected.

For impaired loans accounted for under ASC Topic 310-30, we continue to estimate cash flows expected to be collected on pools of loans sharing common risk characteristics, which are treated in the aggregate when applying various valuation techniques. We evaluate at each balance sheet date whether the present value of our pools of loans determined using the effective interest rates has decreased significantly and if so, recognize a provision for loan loss in our consolidated statement of income. For any significant increases in cash flows expected to be collected, we adjust the amount of accretable yield recognized on a prospective basis over the pool’s remaining life.

Covered Loans and Related Indemnification Asset

Because the FDIC will reimburse us for certain losses incurred on certain acquired loans, an indemnification asset is recorded at fair value at the acquisition date. The indemnification asset is recognized at the same time as the indemnified loans, and measured on the same basis, subject to collectability or contractual limitations. The shared-loss agreements on the acquisition date reflect the reimbursements expected to be received from the FDIC, using an appropriate discount rate, which reflects counterparty credit risk and other uncertainties.

The shared-loss agreements continue to be measured on the same basis as the related indemnified loans, as prescribed by ASC Topic 805. Deterioration in the credit quality of the loans (immediately recorded as an adjustment to the allowance for loan losses) would immediately increase the basis of the shared-loss agreements, with the offset recorded through the consolidated statement of income. Increases in the credit quality or cash flows of loans (reflected as an adjustment to yield and accreted into income over the remaining life of the loans) decrease the basis of the shared-loss agreements, with such decrease being accreted into income over 1) the same period or 2) the life of the shared-loss agreements, whichever is shorter. Loss assumptions used in the basis of the indemnified loans are consistent with the loss assumptions used to measure the indemnification asset. Fair value accounting incorporates into the fair value of the indemnification asset an element of the time value of money, which is accreted back into income over the life of the shared-loss agreements.

Upon the determination of an incurred loss the indemnification asset will be reduced by the amount owed by the FDIC.  A corresponding, claim receivable is recorded until cash is received from the FDIC.  For further discussion of the Company’s acquisition and loan accounting, see Note 5, Loans Acquired.

Earnings Per Common Share (“EPS”)

Basic EPS is computed by dividing reported net income available to common shareholders by weighted average number of common shares outstanding during each period.  Diluted EPS is computed by dividing reported net income available to common shareholders by the weighted average common shares and all potential dilutive common shares outstanding during the period.

Following is the computation of earnings per common share for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014:

	Three Months Ended June 30,				Six Months Ended June 30,
(In thousands, except per share data)	2015		2014		2015		2014
Net income available to common shareholders	$	20,018	$	9,908	$	28,727	$	14,261
Average common shares outstanding		29,867		16,318		26,084		16,294
Average potential dilutive common shares		120		43		120		43
Average diluted common shares		29,987		16,361		26,204		16,337
Basic earnings per share	$	0.67	$	0.61	$	1.10	$	0.88
Diluted earnings per share (1)	$	0.67	$	0.60	$	1.10	$	0.87

(1) EPS are computed independently for each quarter and therefore the sum of each quarterly EPS may not equal the year-to-date EPS. As a result of the large stock issuances during 2015 as part of the Company’s acquisitions, the computed independent quarterly average common shares outstanding and the computed year-to-date average common shares differ significantly. For purposes of calculating a roll-forward amount for year-to-date EPS, diluted EPS for the second quarter would require a computed amount of $0.71, producing a difference of $.04 from actual second quarter diluted EPS of $0.67. This difference is based on the direct result of the varying denominator for each period presented.