Washington Trust Bancorp - 10-Q quarterly report FY

(Mark One)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Mark one):

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 to individuals and businesses including commercial, residential and consumer lending, retail and commercial deposit products, and wealth management and trust services through its branch offices in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and southeastern Connecticut, ATMs, and its Internet web site (www.washtrust.com).

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 and other intangible assets for impairment.

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, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively, and the results of operations and cash flows for the interim periods presented. 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 accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The accompanying consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in Washington Trust’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005.

In May 2005, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued SFAS No. 154, “Accounting Changes and Error Corrections”. SFAS No 154 replaces Accounting Principles Board (“APB”) Opinion No. 20, “Accounting Changes”, and FASB Statement No. 3, “Reporting Accounting Changes in Interim Financial Statements”, and changes the requirements for the accounting for and reporting of a change in accounting principle. This Statement applies to all voluntary changes in accounting principle. It also applies to changes required by an accounting pronouncement in the unusual instance that the pronouncement does not include specific transition provisions. APB Opinion 20 previously required that most voluntary changes in accounting principle be recognized by including in net income of the period of the change the cumulative effect of changing to the new accounting principle. This Statement requires retrospective application to prior periods’ financial statements of changes in accounting principle, unless it is impracticable to determine either the period-specific effects or the cumulative effect of the change. This Statement defines retrospective application as the application of a different accounting principle to prior accounting periods as if that principle had always been used or as the adjustment of previously issued financial statements to reflect a change in the reporting entity. This Statement also redefines restatement as the revising of previously issued financial statements to reflect the correction of an error. This Statement requires that retrospective application of a change in accounting principle be limited to the direct effects of the change. This Statement carries forward without change the guidance contained in APB Opinion 20 for reporting the correction of an error in previously issued financial statements and a change in accounting estimate. This Statement also carries forward the guidance in APB Opinion 20 requiring justification of a change in accounting principle on the basis of preferability. This Statement was effective for accounting changes and corrections of errors made in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2005. The adoption of SFAS No. 154 did not have a material impact on the Corporation’s financial position or results of operations.

In November 2005, the FASB issued FASB Staff Position (FSP) 115-1, “The Meaning of Other-Than-Temporary Impairment and Its Application to Certain Investments.” This FSP provides additional guidance on when an investment in a debt or equity security should be considered impaired, and when that impairment should be considered other-than-temporary and recognized as a loss in earnings. Specifically, the guidance clarifies that an investor should recognize an impairment loss no later than when the impairment is deemed other-than-temporary, even if a decision to sell has not been made. The FSP also requires certain disclosures about unrealized losses that have not been recognized as other-than-temporary impairments. This FSP was effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2005. The adoption of FSP 115-1 did not have a material impact on the Corporation’s financial position or results of operations.

In February 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 155, “Accounting for Certain Hybrid Financial Instruments - an amendment of FASB Statements No. 133 and 140.” This Statement eliminates the exemption from applying SFAS No. 133 to interests in securitized financial assets so that similar instruments are accounted for similarly regardless of the form of the instruments. This Statement also allows a preparer to elect fair value measurement at acquisition, at issuance, or when a previously recognized financial instrument is subject to a remeasurement event, on an instrument-by-instrument basis, in cases in which a derivative would otherwise have to be bifurcated. SFAS No. 155 is effective for all financial instruments acquired or issued after the beginning of an entity’s first fiscal year that begins after September 15, 2006. Provisions of this Statement may be applied to instruments that an entity holds at the date of adoption on an instrument-by-instrument basis. Prior periods should not be restated. The Corporation believes the adoption of SFAS No. 155 will not have a material impact on the Corporation’s financial position or results of operations.

In March 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 156, “Accounting for Servicing of Financial Assets - an amendment of FASB Statement No. 140.” This Statement requires that all separately recognized servicing assets and servicing liabilities be initially measured at fair value. SFAS No. 156 permits, but does not require, the subsequent measurement of servicing assets and servicing liabilities at fair value. An entity that used derivative instruments to mitigate the risks inherent in servicing assets and servicing liabilities is required to account for those derivative instruments at fair value. SFAS No. 156 is effective as of the beginning of the first fiscal year that begins after September 15, 2006. The Corporation believes the adoption of SFAS No. 156 will not have a material impact on the Corporation’s financial position or results of operations.

Washington Trust has three share-based compensation plans, which are described below. Effective January 1, 2006, the fair value recognition provisions of SFAS 123R, “Share-Based Payment”, were adopted on a modified prospective basis. Prior to this date, the provisions of APB No. 25 and related interpretations were applied for option grant accounting.

In the Corporation’s consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2005, the following pro forma net income and earnings per share information was disclosed in accordance with SFAS No. 123 and SFAS No. 148:

The Bancorp’s 2003 Stock Incentive Plan, as amended (the “2003 Plan”), which is shareholder approved, permits the granting of share options and other equity incentives to officers, employees, directors, and other key persons. Up to

The Bancorp’s 1997 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended (the “1997 Plan”), which is shareholder approved, permits the granting of share options and other equity incentives to key employees, directors, advisors, and consultants. Up to 1,012,500 shares of the Bancorp’s common stock may be used from authorized but unissued shares, treasury stock, shares reacquired by the Corporation, or shares available from expired or terminated awards. Share options are designated as either non-qualified or incentive share options. Incentive share option awards may be granted at any time until April 29, 2007.

The Amended and Restated 1988 Stock Option Plan (the “1988 Plan”), which was shareholder approved, provided for the granting of share options to directors, officers and key employees. The 1988 Plan permitted share options to be granted at any time until December 31, 1997. The 1988 Plan provided for shares of the Bancorp’s common stock to be used from authorized but unissued shares, treasury stock, or shares available from expired awards. Share options were designated as either non-qualified or incentive share options.

The 1988 Plan, the 1997 Plan and the 2003 Plan (collectively, “the Plans”) permit options to be granted with stock appreciation rights ("SARs"), however, no share options have been granted with SARs. Pursuant to the Plans, the exercise price of each share option may not be less than fair market value of the common stock on the date of the grant. In general, the share option price is payable in cash, by the delivery of shares of common stock already owned by the grantee, or a combination thereof. Nonvested share units and shares are valued at the fair market value of the common stock as of the award date. No option, share unit or share awards made prior to January 1, 2003 had requisite vesting periods remaining as of January 1, 2006. Share options awarded during 2003, 2004 and 2005 were granted with a variety of vesting terms including immediate vesting, graded vesting over three-year periods and cliff vesting over three-year periods. Nonvested share units or shares awarded during 2004 and 2005 were granted with vesting terms ranging from two to five years. Share option and share awards provide for accelerated vesting if there is a change in control (as defined in the Plans).

No share options, nonvested share units or nonvested shares were awarded during the three-month periods ended March 31, 2006 and 2005.

For the three months ended March 31, 2006 and 2005, the Corporation recognized share-based compensation expense (for share option, nonvested share unit and nonvested share awards) of $181 thousand and $70 thousand, respectively. The amount of related income tax benefit recognized for the three months ended March 31, 2006 and 2005, totaled $51 thousand and $24 thousand, respectively.

A summary of share option activity under the Plans as of March 31, 2006, and changes during the three months ended March 31, 2006, is presented below:

A summary of the status of Washington Trust’s nonvested shares as of March 31, 2006, and changes during the three months ended March 31, 2006, is presented below:

As of March 31, 2006, there was $902 thousand of total unrecognized compensation cost related to nonvested share-based compensation arrangements (including share option and nonvested share awards) granted under the Plans. That cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 2.0 years.

Securities available for sale are summarized as follows:

Securities available for sale and held to maturity with a fair value of $566.5 million and $564.3 million were pledged in compliance with state regulations concerning trust powers and to secure Treasury Tax and Loan deposits, borrowings, and certain public deposits at March 31, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively. In addition, securities available for sale and held to maturity with a fair value of $12.6 million and $13.8 million were collateralized for the discount window at the Federal Reserve Bank at March 31, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively. There were no borrowings with the Federal Reserve Bank at either date. Securities available for sale with a fair value of $2.1 million and $2.2 million were designated in a rabbi trust for a nonqualified retirement plan at March 31, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively.

At March 31, 2006 and December 31, 2005, the securities portfolio included $10.0 million and $3.4 million of net pretax unrealized losses, respectively. Included in these net amounts were gross unrealized losses amounting to $18.9 million and $13.5 million at March 31, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively.

The following tables summarize, for all securities in an unrealized loss position at March 31, 2006 and December 31, 2005, respectively, the aggregate fair value and gross unrealized loss by length of time those securities have been continuously in an unrealized loss position.

For those debt securities whose amortized cost exceeds fair value, the primary cause is related to interest rates. The majority of debt securities reported in an unrealized loss position at March 31, 2006 were purchased during 2005, 2004 and 2003, during which time interest rates were at or near historical lows. The relative increase in short and medium term interest rates towards the end of 2005 resulted in a decline in market value for these debt securities. Other contributing factors for debt securities reported in an unrealized loss position at March 31, 2006 include widening of investment spreads on certain variable rate asset classes, which have resulted in relative declines in market value compared to amortized cost. The Corporation believes that the nature and duration of impairment on its debt security holdings are primarily a function of future interest rate movements and changes in investment spreads, and does not consider full repayment of principal on the reported debt obligations to be at risk. The debt securities in an unrealized loss position at March 31, 2006 consisted of 192 debt security holdings. The largest loss percentage of any single holding was 7.90% of its amortized cost.

The following is a summary of loans:

The following is an analysis of the allowance for loan losses:

The changes in the carrying value of goodwill and other intangible assets for the three months ended March 31, 2006 are as follows:

Amortization of intangible assets for the three months ended March 31, 2006, totaled $405 thousand. Estimated annual amortization expense of current intangible assets with finite useful lives, absent any impairment or change in estimated useful lives, is summarized below.

The components of intangible assets at March 31, 2006 are as follows:

The Corporation is a party to financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk in the normal course of business to meet the financing needs of its customers and to manage the Corporation’s exposure to fluctuations in interest rates. These financial instruments include commitments to extend credit, standby letters of credit, financial guarantees, and commitments to originate and commitments to sell fixed rate mortgage loans. These instruments involve, to varying degrees, elements of credit risk in excess of the amount recognized in the Corporation’s Consolidated Balance Sheets. The contract or notional amounts of these instruments reflect the extent of involvement the Corporation has in particular classes of financial instruments. The Corporation uses the same credit policies in making commitments and

Commitments to extend credit are agreements to lend to a customer as long as there are no violations of any conditions established in the contract. Commitments generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses and may require payment of a fee. Since some of the commitments are expected to expire without being drawn upon, the total commitment amounts do not necessarily represent future cash requirements. Each borrower’s creditworthiness is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The amount of collateral obtained is based on management’s credit evaluation of the borrower.

Standby letters of credit are conditional commitments issued to guarantee the performance of a customer to a third party. The credit risk involved in issuing letters of credit is essentially the same as that involved in extending loan facilities to customers. Under the standby letters of credit, the Corporation is required to make payments to the beneficiary of the letters of credit upon request by the beneficiary contingent upon the customer’s failure to perform under the terms of the underlying contract with the beneficiary. Standby letters of credit extend up to five years. At March 31, 2006 and December 31, 2005, the maximum potential amount of undiscounted future payments, not reduced by amounts that may be recovered, totaled $10.6 million and $11.0 million, respectively. At March 31, 2006 and December 31, 2005, there was no liability to beneficiaries resulting from standby letters of credit.

At March 31, 2006, a substantial portion of the standby letters of credit were supported by pledged collateral. The collateral obtained is determined based on management’s credit evaluation of the customer. Should the Corporation be required to make payments to the beneficiary, repayment from the customer to the Corporation is required.

Commitments to originate and commitments to sell fixed rate mortgage loans are derivative financial instruments. Accordingly, the fair value of these commitments is recognized in other assets on the balance sheet and changes in fair value of such commitments are recorded in current earnings in the income statement. The carrying value of such commitments as of March 31, 2006 and December 31, 2005 and the respective changes in fair values for the three months ended March 31, 2006 and 2005 were insignificant.

Advances payable to the Federal Home Loan Bank (“FHLB”) are summarized as follows:

In connection with the Weston Financial Group, Inc. (“Weston Financial”) acquisition, trust preferred securities totaling $22 million were issued in the third quarter of 2005 by WT Capital Trust I (“Trust I”) and WT Capital Trust II (“Trust II”), capital trusts created by the Bancorp. In accordance with FASB Interpretation 46-R, “Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities - Revised”, Trust I and Trust II are not consolidated into the Corporation’s financial statements; however, the Corporation reflects the amounts of junior subordinated debentures payable to Trust I and Trust II as debt in its financial statements. At March 31, 2006 and December 31, 2005, junior subordinated debentures payable amounted to $22.7 million.

The following is a summary of other borrowings:

There were no securities sold under repurchase agreements outstanding at March 31, 2006 and December 31, 2005. Securities sold under repurchase agreements generally mature within 90 days. The securities underlying the agreements are held in safekeeping by the counterparty in the name of the Corporation and are repurchased when the agreement matures. Accordingly, these underlying securities are included in securities available for sale and the obligations to repurchase such securities are reflected as a liability.

The Corporation’s noncontributory tax-qualified defined benefit pension plan covers substantially all employees. Benefits are based on an employee’s years of service and highest 3-year compensation. The plan is funded on a current basis, in compliance with the requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended. The Corporation also has non-qualified retirement plans to provide supplemental retirement benefits to certain employees, as defined in the plans.

The actuarial assumptions used for the non-qualified retirement plans are the same as those used for the Corporation’s tax-qualified pension plan. The non-qualified retirement plans provide for the designation of assets in rabbi trusts. At March 31, 2006 and December 31, 2005, securities available for sale and other assets designated for this purpose with a carrying value of $2.7 million and $2.8 million, respectively, were included in the Corporation’s Consolidated Balance Sheets.

The measurement date and weighted-average assumptions used to determine net periodic benefit cost for the three months ended March 31, 2006 and 2005 were as follows:

The Corporation previously disclosed in its financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2005 that it expected to contribute $1.3 million to its qualified pension plan and $326 thousand in benefit payments to its non-qualified retirement plans in 2006. As of March 31, 2006, $1.3 million of contributions have been made to the qualified pension plan and $84 thousand in benefit payments have been made to the non-qualified retirement plans. The Corporation presently anticipates contributing an additional $251 thousand in benefit payments to the non-qualified retirement plans in 2006.

The Corporation is involved in various claims and legal proceedings arising out of the ordinary course of business. Management is of the opinion, based on its review with counsel of the development of such matters to date, that the ultimate disposition of such matters will not materially affect the consolidated financial position or results of operations of the Corporation.

The following table presents the Corporation’s and the Bank’s actual capital amounts and ratios at March 31, 2006 and December 31, 2005, as well as the corresponding minimum regulatory amounts and ratios:

As previously disclosed, in connection with the Weston Financial acquisition, trust preferred securities totaling $22 million were issued in the third quarter of 2005 by Trust I and Trust II, capital trusts created by the Bancorp. In accordance with FASB Interpretation 46-R, “Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities - Revised”, Trust I and Trust II are not consolidated into the Corporation’s financial statements; however, the Corporation reflects the amounts of junior subordinated debentures payable to Trust I and Trust II as debt in its financial statements. The trust preferred securities qualify as Tier 1 capital.

The Corporation’s capital ratios at March 31, 2006 place the Corporation in the “well-capitalized” category according to regulatory standards. On March 1, 2005, the Federal Reserve Board issued a final rule that would retain trust preferred securities in Tier 1 capital of bank holding companies, but with stricter quantitative limits and clearer standards. Under the proposal, after a five-year transition period that would end on March 31, 2009, the aggregate amount of trust preferred securities would be limited to 25% of Tier 1 capital elements, net of goodwill. The Corporation has evaluated the potential impact of such a change on its Tier 1 capital ratio and has concluded that the regulatory capital treatment of the trust preferred securities in the Corporation’s total capital ratio would be unchanged.

Basic earnings per share (“EPS”) is calculated by dividing net income by the weighted average common stock outstanding, excluding options and other equity instruments. The dilutive effect of options, restricted stock units and other items is calculated using the treasury stock method for purposes of weighted average dilutive shares. Diluted EPS is computed by dividing net income by the average number of common stock and common stock equivalents outstanding.

Washington Trust segregates financial information in assessing its results among two operating segments: Commercial Banking and Wealth Management Services. The amounts in the Corporate column include activity not related to the segments, such as the investment securities portfolio, wholesale funding activities and administrative units. The Corporate column is not considered to be an operating segment. The methodologies and organizational hierarchies that define the business segments are periodically reviewed and revised. Results may be restated, when necessary, to reflect changes in organizational structure or allocation methodology. The following table presents the statement of operations and total assets for Washington Trust’s reportable segments.