Greene County Bancorp - 10-Q quarterly report FY2014 Q2

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The accompanying consolidated statement of financial condition as of June 30, 2013 was derived from the audited consolidated financial statements of Greene County Bancorp, Inc. (the “Company”) and its wholly owned subsidiary, The Bank of Greene County (the “Bank”) and the Bank’s wholly owned subsidiary, Greene County Commercial Bank and Greene Property Holdings, Ltd.  The consolidated financial statements at and for the six and three months ended December 31, 2013 and 2012 are unaudited.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 8 of Regulation S-X.  Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required by GAAP for complete financial statements.  To the extent that information and notes required by GAAP for complete financial statements are contained in or are consistent with the audited financial statements incorporated by reference to Greene County Bancorp, Inc.’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2013, such information and notes have not been duplicated herein.  In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of only normal recurring items) necessary for a fair presentation of the financial position and results of operations and cash flows at and for the periods presented have been included.   Amounts in the prior year’s consolidated financial statements have been reclassified whenever necessary to conform to the current year’s presentation.  These reclassifications, if any, had no effect on net income or retained earnings as previously reported.  All material inter-company accounts and transactions have been eliminated in the consolidation. The results of operations, and other data, for the six and three months ended December 31, 2013 are not necessarily indicative of results that may be expected for the entire fiscal year ending June 30, 2014.   These consolidated financial statements consider events that occurred through the date the consolidated financial statements were issued.

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Greene County Bancorp, Inc.’s critical accounting policies relate to the allowance for loan losses and the evaluation of securities for other-than-temporary impairment.  The allowance for loan losses is based on management’s estimation of an amount that is intended to absorb losses in the existing loan portfolio.  The allowance for loan losses is established through a provision for loan losses based on management’s evaluation of the risk inherent in the loan portfolio, the composition of the portfolio, specific impaired loans and current economic conditions.  Such evaluation, which includes a review of all loans for which full collectibility may not be reasonably assured, considers among other matters, the estimated net realizable value or the fair value of the underlying collateral, economic conditions, historical loan loss experience, management’s estimate of probable credit losses and other factors that warrant recognition in providing for the allowance of loan losses.  However, this evaluation involves a high degree of complexity and requires management to make subjective judgments that often require assumptions or estimates about highly uncertain matters.  This critical accounting policy and its application are periodically reviewed with the Audit Committee and the Board of Directors.

Securities are evaluated for other-than-temporary impairment by performing periodic reviews of individual securities in the investment portfolio.  Greene County Bancorp, Inc. makes an assessment to determine whether there have been any events or economic circumstances to indicate that a security on which there is an unrealized loss is impaired on an other-than-temporary basis.  The Company considers many factors, including the severity and duration of the impairment; the intent and ability of the Company to hold the security for a period of time sufficient for a recovery in value; recent events specific to the issuer or industry; and for debt securities, intent to sell the security, the likelihood to be required to sell the security before it recovers the entire amortized cost, external credit ratings and recent downgrades.  The Company is required to record other-than-temporary impairment charges through earnings, if it has the intent to sell, or will more likely than not be required to sell an impaired debt security before a recovery of its amortized cost basis.  In addition, the Company is required to record other-than-temporary impairment charges through earnings for the amount of credit losses, regardless of the intent or requirement to sell.  Credit loss is measured as the difference between the present value of an impaired debt security’s cash flows and its amortized cost basis.  Non-credit related impairment must be recorded as decreases to accumulated other comprehensive income as long as the Company has no intent or requirement to sell an impaired security before a recovery of amortized cost basis.

Greene County Bancorp, Inc.’s primary business is the ownership and operation of its two banking subsidiaries.  The Bank of Greene County has twelve full-service offices and an operations center located in its market area within the Hudson Valley Region of New York State.    The Bank of Greene County is primarily engaged in the business of attracting deposits from the general public in The Bank of Greene County’s market area, and investing such deposits, together with other sources of funds, in loans and investment securities.  Greene County Commercial Bank’s primary business is to attract deposits from and provide banking services to local municipalities.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period.  Actual results could materially differ from those estimates.  Material estimates that are particularly susceptible to significant change in the near term relate to the determination of the allowance for loan losses and the assessment of other-than-temporary security impairment.

While management uses available information to recognize losses on loans, future additions to the allowance for loan losses (the “Allowance”) may be necessary, based on changes in economic conditions, asset quality or other factors.  In addition, various regulatory authorities, as an integral part of their examination process, periodically review the Allowance.  Such authorities may require the Company to recognize additions to the Allowance based on their judgments of information available to them at the time of their examination.

Greene County Bancorp, Inc. makes an assessment to determine whether there have been any events or economic circumstances to indicate that a security on which there is an unrealized loss is impaired and impairment is other-than-temporary.  The Company considers many factors including the severity and duration of the impairment; the intent and ability of the Company to hold the security for a period of time sufficient for a recovery in value; recent events specific to the issuer or industry; and for debt securities, intent to sell the security, whether it is more likely than not we will be required to sell the security before recovery, whether loss of the entire amortized cost is expected, external credit ratings and recent downgrades.  Securities on which there is an unrealized loss that is deemed to be other-than-temporary are written down to fair value.

Greene County Bancorp, Inc.’s current policies generally limit securities investments to U.S. Government and securities of government sponsored enterprises, federal funds sold, municipal bonds, corporate debt obligations and certain mutual funds.  In addition, the Company’s policies permit investments in mortgage-backed securities, including securities issued and guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and GNMA, and collateralized mortgage obligations.  The Company’s investments in mortgage-backed securities include pass-through securities and collateralized mortgage obligations issued and guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and GNMA.  As of December 31, 2013 and June 30, 2013, no private-label mortgage-backed securities or collateralized mortgage obligations were held in the securities portfolio.  The Company’s investments in state and political subdivisions securities generally are municipal obligations that are general obligations supported by the general taxing authority of the issuer, and in some cases are insured.  The obligations issued by school districts are supported by state aid.  Primarily, these investments are issued by municipalities within New York State.

The following table shows fair value and gross unrealized losses, aggregated by security category and length of time that individual securities have been in a continuous unrealized loss position, at June 30, 2013.

At December 30, 2013, there were 97 securities which have been in a continuous unrealized loss position for less than 12 months and 22 securities with a continuous unrealized loss position of more than 12 months.  When the fair value of a held to maturity or available for sale security is less than its amortized cost basis, an assessment is made as to whether other-than-temporary impairment (“OTTI”) is present.  The Company considers numerous factors when determining whether a potential OTTI exists and the period over which the debt security is expected to recover.  The principal factors considered are (1) the length of time and the extent to which the fair value has been less than the amortized cost basis, (2) the financial condition of the issuer (and guarantor, if any) and adverse conditions specifically related to the security, industry or geographic area, (3) failure of the issuer of the security to make scheduled interest or principal payments, (4) any changes to the rating of the security by a rating agency, and (5) the presence of credit enhancements, if any, including the guarantee of the federal government or any of its agencies.

For debt securities, OTTI is considered to have occurred if (1) the Company intends to sell the security, (2) it is more likely than not the Company will be required to sell the security before recovery of its amortized cost basis, or (3) if the present value of expected cash flows is not sufficient to recover the entire amortized cost basis.  In determining the present value of expected cash flows, the Company discounts the expected cash flows at the effective interest rate implicit in the security at the date of acquisition.  In estimating cash flows expected to be collected, the Company uses available information with respect to security prepayment speeds, default rates and severity.  In determining whether OTTI has occurred for equity securities, the Company considers the applicable factors described above and the intent and ability of the Company to retain its investment in the issuer for a period of time sufficient to allow for any anticipated recovery in fair value.

For debt securities, credit-related OTTI is recognized in income while noncredit related OTTI on securities not expected to be sold is recognized in other comprehensive income (“OCI”).  Credit-related OTTI is measured as the difference between the present value of an impaired security’s expected cash flows and its amortized cost basis.  Noncredit-related OTTI is measured as the difference between the fair value of the security and its amortized cost less any credit-related losses recognized.  For securities classified as held to maturity, the amount of OTTI recognized in OCI is accreted to the credit-adjusted expected cash flow amounts of the securities over future periods.  For equity securities, the entire amount of OTTI is recognized in income.  Management evaluated securities considering the factors as outlined above, and based on this evaluation the Company does not consider these investments to be other-than-temporarily impaired at December 31, 2013.  Management believes that the reasons for the decline in fair value are due to interest rates and widening credit spreads at the end of the quarter.

During the six and three months ended December 31, 2013, $11.7 million of securities available-for-sale were transferred to held-to-maturity and included primarily mortgage-backed securities.  These securities were transferred at fair value which reflected a net unrealized loss of $805,000.  This unrealized loss is being accreted to other comprehensive income over the remaining average lives of these securities.

During the six and three months ended December 31, 2013, there were no sales of securities and no gains or losses were recognized.  During the six and three months ended December 31, 2012, a gain on sale of $10,000 was recognized on a security that was previously written off as other-than-temporarily impaired.  There was no other-than-temporary impairment loss recognized during the six and three months ended December 31, 2013 and 2012.

The estimated fair values of debt securities at December 31, 2013, by contractual maturity are shown below.  Expected maturities may differ from contractual maturities, because issuers may have the right to call or prepay obligations with or without call or prepayment penalties.

As of December 31, 2013 and June 30, 2013, respectively, securities with an aggregate fair value of $187.4 million and $200.9 million were pledged as collateral for deposits in excess of FDIC insurance limits for various municipalities placing deposits with Greene County Commercial Bank.  As of December 31, 2013 and June 30, 2013, securities with an aggregate fair value of $5.2 million were pledged as collateral for potential borrowings at the Federal Reserve Bank discount window.  Greene County Bancorp, Inc. did not participate in any securities lending programs during the three and six months ended December 31, 2013 or 2012.

Federal law requires a member institution of the Federal Home Loan Bank (“FHLB”) system to hold stock of its district FHLB according to a predetermined formula.  This stock is restricted in that it can only be sold to the FHLB or to another member institution, and all sales of FHLB stock must be at par.  As a result of these restrictions, FHLB stock is carried at cost.  FHLB stock is held as a long-term investment and its value is determined based on the ultimate recoverability of the par value.  Impairment of this investment is evaluated quarterly and is a matter of judgment that reflects management’s view of the FHLB’s long-term performance, which includes factors such as the following:   its operating performance; the severity and duration of declines in the fair value of its net assets related to its capital stock amount; its commitment to make payments required by law or regulation and the level of such payments in relation to its operating performance; the impact of legislative and regulatory changes on the FHLB, and accordingly, on the members of the FHLB; and its liquidity and funding position.  After evaluating these considerations, Greene County Bancorp, Inc. concluded that the par value of its investment in FHLB stock will be recovered and, therefore, no other-than-temporary impairment charge was recorded during the six and three months ended December 31, 2013 or 2012.

Management closely monitors the quality of the loan portfolio and has established a loan review process designed to help grade the quality and profitability of the Company’s loan portfolio. The credit quality grade helps management make a consistent assessment of each loan relationship’s credit risk. Consistent with regulatory guidelines, The Bank of Greene County provides for the classification of loans considered being of lesser quality.  Such ratings coincide with the "Substandard," "Doubtful" and "Loss" classifications used by federal regulators in their examination of financial institutions. Generally, an asset is considered Substandard if it is inadequately protected by the current net worth and paying capacity of the obligors and/or the collateral pledged. Substandard assets include those characterized by the distinct possibility that the insured financial institution will sustain some loss if the deficiencies are not corrected. Assets classified as Doubtful have all the weaknesses inherent in assets classified Substandard with the added characteristic that the weaknesses present make collection or liquidation in full, on the basis of currently existing facts, highly questionable and improbable. Assets classified as Loss are those considered uncollectible and of such little value that their continuance as assets without the establishment of a full loss reserve and/or charge-off is not warranted. Assets that do not currently expose the insured financial institutions to sufficient risk to warrant classification in one of the aforementioned categories but otherwise possess weaknesses are designated "Special Mention."   Management also maintains a listing of loans designated “Watch.” These loans represent borrowers with declining earnings, strained cash flow, increasing leverage and/or weakening market fundamentals that indicate above average risk.

When The Bank of Greene County classifies problem assets as either Substandard or Doubtful, it generally establishes a specific valuation allowance or "loss reserve" in an amount deemed prudent by management.  General allowances represent loss allowances that have been established to recognize the inherent risk associated with lending activities, but which, unlike specific allowances, have not been allocated to particular loans.  When The Bank of Greene County identifies problem loans as being impaired, it is required to evaluate whether the Bank will be able to collect all amounts due either through repayments or the liquidation of the underlying collateral.  If it is determined that impairment exists, the Bank is required either to establish a specific allowance for losses equal to the amount of impairment of the assets, or to charge-off such amount.  Regulatory agencies may require The Bank of Greene County to recognize additions to the allowance based on their judgment about information available to them at the time of their examination.  The Bank of Greene County reviews its portfolio monthly to determine whether any assets require classification in accordance with applicable regulations.

The Bank primarily has four segments within its loan portfolio that it considers when measuring credit quality: real estate loans, home equity, consumer installment and commercial loans.  The real estate portfolio consists of residential, nonresidential, and construction loan classes. The inherent risk within the loan portfolio varies depending upon each of these loan types.

The Bank of Greene County’s primary lending activity is the origination of residential mortgage loans, including home equity loans, which are collateralized by residences.   Generally, residential mortgage loans are made in amounts up to 80 % of the appraised value of the property.  However, The Bank of Greene County will originate residential mortgage loans with loan-to-value ratios of up to 95%, with private mortgage insurance.  In the event of default by the borrower, The Bank of Greene County will acquire and liquidate the underlying collateral.    By originating the loan at a loan-to-value ratio of 80% or less or obtaining private mortgage insurance, The Bank of Greene County limits its risk of loss in the event of default.  However, the market values of the collateral may be adversely impacted by declines in the economy.  Home equity loans may have an additional inherent risk if The Bank of Greene County does not hold the first mortgage.  The Bank of Greene County may stand in a secondary position in the event of collateral liquidation resulting in a greater chance of insufficiency to meet all obligations.

Construction lending generally involves a greater degree of risk than other residential mortgage lending.  The repayment of the construction loan is, to a great degree, dependent upon the successful and timely completion of the construction of the subject property within specified cost limits.  The Bank of Greene County completes inspections during the construction phase prior to any disbursements.  The Bank of Greene County limits its risk during the construction as disbursements are not made until the required work for each advance has been completed.  Construction delays may further impair the borrower's ability to repay the loan.

Loans collateralized by nonresidential mortgage loans, and multi-family loans, such as apartment buildings generally are larger than residential loans and involve a greater degree of risk. Commercial mortgage loans often involve large loan balances to single borrowers or groups of related borrowers. Payments on these loans depend to a large degree on the results of operations and management of the properties or underlying businesses, and may be affected to a greater extent by adverse conditions in the real estate market or the economy in general. Accordingly, the nature of nonresidential mortgage loans makes them more difficult for management to monitor and evaluate.

Consumer loans generally have shorter terms and higher interest rates than residential mortgage loans. In addition, consumer loans expand the products and services offered by The Bank of Greene County to better meet the financial services needs of its customers.  Consumer loans generally involve greater credit risk than residential mortgage loans because of the difference in the nature of the underlying collateral.  Repossessed collateral for a defaulted consumer loan may not provide an adequate source of repayment of the outstanding loan balance because of the greater likelihood of damage, loss or depreciation in the underlying collateral. The remaining deficiency often does not warrant further substantial collection efforts against the borrower beyond obtaining a deficiency judgment. In addition, consumer loan collections depend on the borrower's personal financial stability.  Furthermore, the application of various federal and state laws, including federal and state bankruptcy and insolvency laws, may limit the amount that can be recovered on such loans.

Commercial lending generally involves greater risk than residential mortgage lending and involves risks that are different from those associated with residential and nonresidential mortgage lending. Real estate lending is generally considered to be collateral-based, with loan amounts based on fixed loan-to-collateral values, and liquidation of the underlying real estate collateral is viewed as the primary source of repayment in the event of borrower default. Although commercial loans may be collateralized by equipment or other business assets, the liquidation of collateral in the event of a borrower default is often an insufficient source of repayment because equipment and other business assets may be obsolete or of limited use, among other things. Accordingly, the repayment of a commercial loan depends primarily on the creditworthiness of the borrower (and any guarantors), while liquidation of collateral is a secondary and often insufficient source of repayment.

Loan balances by internal credit quality indicator as of December 31, 2013 are shown below.

 

Loan balances by internal credit quality indicator as of June 30, 2013 are shown below.

 

The Company had no loans classified Doubtful or Loss at December 31, 2013 or June 30, 2013.

Management places loans on nonaccrual status once the loans have become 90 days or more delinquent or sooner if there is a significant reason for management to believe the collectability is questionable and, therefore, interest on the loan will no longer be recognized on an accrual basis.  Nonaccrual is defined as a loan in which collectability is questionable and therefore interest on the loan will no longer be recognized on an accrual basis.  A loan is not placed back on accrual status until the borrower has demonstrated the ability and willingness to make timely payments on the loan.    A loan does not have to be 90 days delinquent in order to be classified as nonaccrual.   Nonaccrual loans consisted primarily of loans secured by real estate at December 31, 2013 and June 30, 2013.  While the Bank makes every reasonable effort to work with the borrowers to collect amounts due, the number of loans in process of foreclosure has grown substantially over the past several years.  This growth has been the result of adverse changes within the economy and increases in local unemployment.   The growth is also due in part to the extended length of time required to meet all of the legal requirements mandated by New York State law prior to a foreclosure sale, which may be in excess of two years.   Loans on nonaccrual status totaled $6.0 million at December 31, 2013 of which $3.8 million were in the process of foreclosure.  Included in nonaccrual loans were $1.7 million of loans which were less than 90 days past due at December 31, 2013, but have a recent history of delinquency greater than 90 days past due.   These loans will be returned to accrual status once they have demonstrated a history of timely payments.  Included in total loans past due were $346,000 of loans which were making payments pursuant to forbearance agreements.  Under the forbearance agreements, the customers have made arrangements with the Bank to bring the loans current over a specified period of time (resulting in an insignificant delay in repayment).  During this term of the forbearance agreement, the Bank has agreed not to continue foreclosure proceedings.  Loans on nonaccrual status totaled $6.3 million at June 30, 2013 of which $4.9 million were in the process of foreclosure.  Included in nonaccrual loans, were $781,000 of loans which were less than 90 days past due at June 30, 2013, but have a recent history of delinquency greater than 90 days past due.

The following table sets forth information regarding delinquent and/or nonaccrual loans as of December 31, 2013:

 

The following table sets forth information regarding delinquent and/or nonaccrual loans as of June 30, 2013:

The Bank of Greene County had accruing loans delinquent more than 90 days as of December 31, 2013 totaling $273,000 and had accruing loans delinquent more than 90 days as of June 30, 2013 totaling $559,000.    The loans delinquent more than 90 days and accruing consist of loans that are well collateralized and the borrowers have demonstrated the ability and willingness to pay.  The borrowers have made arrangements with the Bank to bring the loans current within a specified time period and have made a series of payments as agreed.

The Company identifies impaired loans and measures the impairment in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) subtopic “Receivables – Loan Impairment.”  Management may consider a loan impaired once it is classified as nonaccrual and when it is probable that the borrower will be unable to repay the loan according to the original contractual terms of the loan agreement or the loan is restructured in a troubled debt restructuring.  It should be noted that management does not evaluate all loans individually for impairment.  The Bank of Greene County considers residential mortgages, home equity loans, smaller commercial loans and installment loans as small, homogeneous loans, which are evaluated for impairment collectively based on historical loan experience and other factors.  In contrast, large commercial mortgage, construction, multi-family and commercial loans are viewed individually and considered impaired if it is probable that The Bank of Greene County will not be able to collect scheduled payments of principal and interest when due, according to the contractual terms of the loan agreement.  The measurement of impaired loans is generally based on the fair value of the underlying collateral.  The majority of The Bank of Greene County loans, including most nonaccrual loans, are small homogenous loan types adequately supported by collateral.  Management considers the payment status of loans in the process of evaluating the adequacy of the allowance for loan losses among other factors.  Loans that are either delinquent a minimum of 60 days or are on nonaccrual status, and are not individually evaluated for impairment, are either designated as Special Mention or Substandard, and the allocation of the allowance for loan loss is based upon the risk associated with such designation.  Loans that have been modified as a troubled debt restructuring are included in impaired loans.  The measurement of impairment is generally based on the discounted cash flows based on the original rate of the loan before the restructuring, unless it is determined that the restructured loan is collateral dependent.  If the restructured loan is deemed to be collateral dependent, impairment is based on the fair value of the underlying collateral.

The tables below detail additional information on impaired loans at the date or periods indicated: