Basis of Presentation (Policy)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2016

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

General

See the Glossary of Defined Terms at the beginning of this Report for terms used throughout the consolidated financial statements and related notes of this Form 10-Q.

General

These consolidated financial statements and notes are presented in accordance with the instructions for Form 10-Q 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 GAAP. In the opinion of management, all normal recurring adjustments necessary for a fair statement of the consolidated financial position and consolidated results of operations have been made. The year-end consolidated balance sheet data was derived from audited financial statements but does not include all disclosures required by GAAP. The information contained in the financial statements and notes included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 should be referred to in connection with these unaudited interim consolidated financial statements.

Reclassifications

Reclassifications

Certain amounts reported in prior periods' consolidated financial statements have been reclassified to conform to the current presentation. Such reclassifications had no effect on previously reported cash flows, shareholders' equity or net income.

Use of Estimates in the Preparation of Financial Statements

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. Material estimates that are particularly susceptible to significant change include the determination of the ACL, determination of fair value for financial instruments, valuation of goodwill, intangible assets and other purchase accounting related adjustments, benefit plan obligations and expenses, and tax assets, liabilities and expense.

Changes in Accounting Principles and Effects of New Accounting Pronouncements

Changes in Accounting Principles and Effects of New Accounting Pronouncements

During March 2016, the FASB issued new guidance related to Stock Compensation. The new guidance eliminates the concept of APIC pools for stock-based awards and requires that the related excess tax benefits and tax deficiencies be classified as an operating activity in the statement of cash flows. The new guidance also allows entities to make a one-time policy election to account for forfeitures when they occur, instead of accruing compensation cost based on the number of awards expected to vest. Additionally, the new guidance changes the requirement for an award to qualify for equity classification by permitting tax withholding up to the maximum statutory tax rate instead of the minimum statutory tax rate. Cash paid by an employer when directly withholding shares for tax withholding purposes should be classified as a financing activity in the statement of cash flows. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016 and interim periods within those fiscal years. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to be material to the consolidated financial statements.

During March 2016, the FASB issued new guidance related to    Investments. The new guidance eliminates the requirement to retroactively adjust the financial statements when a change in ownership or influence causes an existing investment to qualify for the equity method of accounting. The new guidance requires the investor to 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. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016 and interim periods within those fiscal years. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to be material to the consolidated financial statements.

During March 2016, the FASB issued new guidance related to Derivatives and Hedging. The new guidance clarifies the requirements for assessing whether contingent call or put options that can accelerate the payment of principal on debt instruments are clearly and closely related to their debt hosts, which is used to determine whether the embedded derivative should be separated from the host contract and accounted for separately as a derivative. An entity performing the assessment will be required to assess the embedded call or put options solely in accordance with the pre-existing four-step decision sequence. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016 and interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company is currently evaluating this guidance to determine the impact on its consolidated financial statements.

During March 2016, the FASB issued new guidance related to Liabilities. The new guidance requires companies to recognize breakage on prepaid stored-value products in accordance with the recently issued guidance on Revenue from Contracts with Customers. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017 and interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company is currently evaluating this guidance to determine the impact on its consolidated financial statements.

During March 2016, the FASB issued new guidance related to Derivatives and Hedging. The new guidance clarifies that derivative instrument novations do not require dedesignation of the related hedging relationship provided that all other hedge accounting criteria continue to be met. BB&T adopted this guidance upon issuance. The adoption of this guidance was not material to the consolidated financial statements.

During February 2016, the FASB issued new guidance related to Leases. The new guidance requires lessees to recognize assets and liabilities related to certain operating leases on the balance sheet. The new guidance also requires additional disclosures by lessees and contains targeted changes to accounting by lessors. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018 and interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company is currently evaluating this guidance to determine the impact on its consolidated financial statements.

During January 2016, the FASB issued new guidance related to Financial Instruments. The new guidance requires the majority of equity investments to be measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income, excluding equity investments that are consolidated or accounted for under the equity method of accounting. The new guidance allows equity investments without readily determinable fair values to be measured at cost minus impairment, with a qualitative assessment required to identify impairment. For financial instruments recorded at amortized cost, the new guidance requires public companies to use exit prices to measure the fair value for disclosure purposes, eliminates the disclosure requirements related to measurement assumptions and requires separate presentation of financial assets and liabilities based on form and measurement category. In addition, for liabilities measured at fair value under the fair value option, the changes in fair value due to changes in instrument-specific credit risk should be recognized in OCI. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017 and interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company is currently evaluating this guidance to determine the impact on its consolidated financial statements.

During May 2015, the FASB issued new guidance related to Insurance. The new guidance requires insurance companies to provide additional disclosures about the liability for unpaid claims and claim adjustment expenses. This guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015, and interim periods within annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016. BB&T's insurance operations primarily consist of agency/broker transactions; therefore, the adoption of this guidance is not expected to be material to the consolidated financial statements.

During May 2014, the FASB issued new guidance related to Revenue from Contracts with Customers. This guidance supersedes the revenue recognition requirements in Accounting Standards Codification Topic 605, Revenue Recognition, and most industry-specific guidance throughout the Accounting Standards Codification. The guidance requires an entity to recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. During August 2015, the FASB provided a one-year deferral of the effective date; therefore, the guidance is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017. During March 2016, the FASB issued clarification guidance as it relates to principal versus agent considerations for revenue recognition purposes. Additionally, during April 2016, the FASB issued further clarification guidance related to identifying performance obligations and licensing. The Company is currently evaluating this guidance to determine the impact on its consolidated financial statements.

Effective January 1, 2016, BB&T adopted new guidance related to Fair Value Measurement. The new guidance eliminates the requirement to classify in the fair value hierarchy any investments for which fair value is measured at net asset value per share using the practical expedient. The adoption of this guidance was not material to the consolidated financial statements.

Effective January 1, 2016, BB&T adopted new guidance related to Internal-Use Software. Under the new guidance, if a cloud computing arrangement includes a software license, then the customer should account for the software license element of the arrangement consistent with the acquisition of other software licenses. If a cloud computing arrangement does not include a software license, the customer should account for the arrangement as a service contract. The adoption of this guidance was not material to the consolidated financial statements.

Effective January 1, 2016, BB&T adopted new guidance related to Debt Issuance Costs. The new guidance requires that debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability. The adoption of this guidance was not material to the consolidated financial statements, therefore, it was adopted on a prospective basis.

Effective January 1, 2016, BB&T adopted new guidance related to Consolidation. The new guidance provides an additional requirement for a limited partnership or similar entity to qualify as a voting interest entity, amending the criteria for consolidating such an entity and eliminating the deferral provided under previous guidance for investment companies. In addition, the new guidance amends the criteria for evaluating fees paid to a decision maker or service provider as a variable interest and amends the criteria for evaluating the effect of fee arrangements and related parties on a VIE primary beneficiary determination. The adoption of this guidance was not material to the consolidated financial statements.