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SUPPLEMENTAL INSTRUCTIONS June 2003 Call Report Materials
For financial and performance standby letters of credit and other types of guarantees subject to the interpretation, when a bank issues the guarantee, it must recognize on its balance sheet a liability for that guarantee. In general, the initial measurement of the liability is the fair value of the guarantee at its inception. When a bank issues a guarantee in a standalone arm's length transaction with a party outside the consolidated bank, which would typically be the case for a standby letter of credit, the liability recognized at the inception of the guarantee should be the premium or fee received or receivable by the guarantor. However, if the bank issues a guarantee for no consideration on a standalone basis, the liability recognized at inception should be an estimate of the guarantee's fair value. In the unusual circumstance where, at the inception of a guarantee, it is probable that a loss has been incurred and its amount can be reasonably estimated, the liability to be initially recognized for that guarantee should be the greater of the premium or fee received or receivable by the guarantor or the estimated loss from the loss contingency that must be accrued under FASB Statement No. 5, Accounting for Contingencies. Interpretation No. 45 does not prescribe a specific account for the guarantor's offsetting entry when it recognizes the liability at the inception of a guarantee because that offsetting entry depends on the circumstances. If a bank issued a standby letter of credit or other guarantee in a standalone transaction for a premium or fee, the offsetting entry would reflect the consideration the bank received, such as cash, a receivable, or a reduction of a deposit liability. In contrast, if the bank received no consideration for issuing the guarantee, the offsetting entry would be to expense. The interpretation does not describe in detail how a bank's liability for its obligations under its guarantees should be measured subsequent to initial recognition. However, the accounting for fees received for issuing standby letters of credit has been, and should continue to be, governed by FASB Statement No. 91, Accounting for Nonrefundable Fees and Costs Associated with Originating or Acquiring Loans and Initial Direct Costs of Leases. Under Statement No. 91, such fees are termed "commitment fees." For Call Report purposes, banks should apply the initial recognition and measurement provisions of Interpretation No. 45 on a prospective basis to guarantees issued or modified after December 31, 2002, irrespective of the bank's fiscal year end. A bank's previous accounting for guarantees issued prior to January 1, 2003, should not be revised. FASB Interpretation No. 46 The FASB issued Interpretation No. 46, Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities, in January 2003. This interpretation explains how to identify a "variable interest entity" (previously referred to as a "special purpose entity") and how an institution should assess its interests in a variable interest entity to decide whether to consolidate that entity. Variable interest entities often are created for a single specified purpose, for example, to facilitate securitization, leasing, hedging, research and development, and reinsurance. Most small banks are unlikely to have any "variable interests" in variable interest entities. In general, a variable interest entity is an entity in which either the controlling financial interests are not voting interests or the equity investors do not bear the entity's residual economic risks. A variable interest is a contractual or ownership interest in an entity that changes when the value of the entity's net assets changes. An organization that has a variable interest (or a combination of variable interests) that will absorb a majority of a variable interest entity's expected losses if they occur, receive a majority of the entity's expected residual returns if they occur, or both, is the "primary beneficiary" of the variable interest entity and must consolidate it. For Call Report purposes, banks with variable interests in variable interest entities created after January 31, 2003, must apply the provisions of Interpretation No. 46 to those entities immediately. A bank that is a public company, or a subsidiary of a public company, and has a variable interest in a variable interest entity created before February 1, 2003, must apply the provisions of Interpretation No. 46 to that entity no later than the beginning of the first interim or annual reporting period beginning after June 15, 2003. A bank that is neither a public company nor a subsidiary of a public company, but has a variable interest in a variable interest entity created before February 15, 2003, must apply the provisions of Interpretation No. 46 to that entity no later than the end of the first annual reporting period beginning after June 15, 2003. Equity-Indexed Certificates of Deposit Under FASB Statement No. 133, a certificate of deposit (CD) that pays "interest" based on changes in an equity securities index is a hybrid instrument with an embedded derivative that must be accounted for separately from the host contract, i.e., the CD. Examples of equity-indexed CDs include the "Index Powered® CD" and the "Dow Jones Industrials Indexed Certificate of Deposit." At the maturity date of a typical equity-indexed CD, the holder of the CD receives the original amount invested in the CD plus some or all of the appreciation, if any, in an index of stock prices over the term of the CD. Thus, the equity-indexed CD contains an embedded equity call option. To manage the market risk of its equity-indexed CDs, a bank that issues these CDs normally enters into one or more separate freestanding equity derivative contracts with an overall term that matches the term of the CDs. At maturity, these separate derivatives are expected to provide the bank with a cash payment in an amount equal to the amount of appreciation, if any, in the same stock price index that is embedded in the CDs, thereby providing the bank with the funds to pay the "interest" on the equity-indexed CDs. During the term of the separate freestanding equity derivative contracts, the bank will periodically make either fixed or variable payments to the counterparty on these contracts. When a bank issues an equity-indexed CD, it must account for the written equity call option embedded in the CD separately from the CD host contract. The fair value of this embedded derivative on the date the CD is issued must be deducted from the amount the purchaser invested in the CD, creating a discount on the CD that must be amortized to interest expense over the term of the CD using the effective interest method. This interest expense should be reported in the income statement in the appropriate subitem of Schedule RI, item 2.a, "Interest on deposits." The equity call option must be "marked to market" at least quarterly with any changes in the fair value of the option recognized in earnings. On the balance sheet, the carrying value of the CD host contract and the fair value of the embedded equity derivative may be combined and reported together as deposit liabilities on the balance sheet (Schedule RC) and in the deposit schedule (Schedule RC E). As for the separate freestanding derivative contracts the bank enters into to manage its market risk, these derivatives must be carried on the balance sheet as assets or liabilities at fair value and "marked to market" at least quarterly with changes in their fair value recognized in earnings. The fair value of the freestanding derivatives should not be netted against the fair value of the embedded equity derivatives for Call Report balance sheet purposes because these two derivatives have different counterparties. The periodic payments to the counterparty on these freestanding derivatives must be accrued with the expense reported in earnings along with the change in the derivative's fair value. In the Call Report income statement (Schedule RI), the changes in the fair value of the embedded and freestanding derivatives, including the effect of the accruals for the payments to the counterparty on the freestanding derivatives, should be netted and reported consistently in either "Other noninterest income" (item 5.l) or "Other noninterest expense" (item 7.d). The notional amounts of the embedded and freestanding equity derivatives must be reported in column C of Schedule RC-L, items 12.d.(1) and 12.e, respectively. The notional amounts of both derivatives must also be included in Schedule RC-L, item 14, column C. The fair values of these two derivative contracts must be included in the appropriate subitems of Schedule RC-L, item 15.b, column C. The equity derivative embedded in the indexed CD is a written option, which is not covered by the agencies' risk-based capital standards. However, the freestanding equity derivative is covered by these standards. A bank that purchases an equity-indexed CD for investment purposes must account for the embedded purchased equity call option separately from the CD host contract. The fair value of this embedded derivative on the date of purchase must be deducted from the purchase price of the CD, creating a discount on the CD that must be accreted into income over the term of the CD using the effective interest method. This accretion should be reported in the Call Report income statement in Schedule RI, item 1.c. The embedded equity derivative must be "marked to market" at least quarterly with any changes in its fair value recognized in earnings. These fair value changes should be reported consistently in either "Other noninterest income" (item 5.l) or "Other noninterest expense" (item 7.d). The carrying value of the CD host contract and the fair value of the embedded equity derivative may be combined and reported together as interest-bearing balances due from other depository institutions on the balance sheet in Schedule RC, item 1.b. The notional amount of the embedded derivative must be reported in Schedule RC-L, item 12.d.(2), column C, and item 14, column C, and its fair value (which will always be positive or zero, but not negative) must be reported in Schedule RC L, item 15.b.(1), column C. The embedded equity derivative in the indexed CD is a purchased option, which is subject to the agencies' risk-based capital standards. FASB Statements Nos. 141 and 142 In July 2001, the FASB issued Statement No. 141, Business Combinations, and Statement No. 142, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets. In October 2002, the FASB issued a related accounting standard, Statement No. 147, Acquisitions of Certain Financial Institutions, which is discussed in the following section. Banks must follow each of these three accounting standards for Call Report purposes. Statement No. 141 requires all business combinations (i.e., mergers and acquisitions), except for combinations between two or more mutual enterprises, to be accounted for by the purchase method. The use of the pooling-of-interests method is prohibited. Statement No. 141 also changes the requirements for recognizing intangible assets as assets apart from goodwill in business combinations accounted for by the purchase method. The statement specifically identifies core deposit intangibles as one type of intangible that must be recognized as an asset separate from goodwill. Statement No. 142 addresses how intangible assets that are acquired individually or with a group of other assets (but not in a business combination) should be accounted for upon their acquisition. It also explains how goodwill and other intangible assets should be accounted for after they have been acquired. In this regard, under Statement No. 142, goodwill should not be amortized, but should be tested for impairment in accordance with the provisions of this accounting standard. In addition, core deposit intangibles have a finite useful life and must be amortized over this period using a method that reflects the pattern in which the economic benefit of the asset is consumed. For core deposit intangibles, this results in the use of an accelerated method of amortization. Although the accounting rules for goodwill and other intangible assets have changed, there has been no change in the regulatory capital treatment of these assets. The existing regulatory capital limits on servicing assets and purchased credit card relationships remain in effect, and goodwill and other intangible assets continue to be deducted from capital and assets in determining a bank's capital ratios. FASB Statement No. 147 FASB Statement No. 147 clarifies that acquisitions of financial institutions (except transactions between two or more mutual enterprises), including branch acquisitions that meet the definition of a business combination, should be accounted for by the purchase method under FASB Statement No. 141. Statement No. 147 also clarifies that branch acquisitions that do not meet the definition of a business combination because the transferred net assets and activities do not constitute a business represent acquisitions of net assets and do not give rise to goodwill. An institution should refer to FASB Emerging Issues Task Force Issue No. 98-3, "Determining Whether a Nonmonetary Transaction Involves Receipt of Productive Assets or of a Business," for guidance in determining whether a branch acquisition meets the definition of a business combination. An institution should consider all facts and circumstances when evaluating whether the transferred net assets and activities in a particular branch acquisition constitute a business under Issue No. 98-3. Statement No. 147 took effect October 1, 2002. Banks must adopt FASB Statement No. 147 for Call Report purposes. This accounting standard includes transition provisions that apply to unidentifiable intangible assets previously accounted for in accordance with FASB Statement No. 72. If the transaction (such as a branch acquisition) in which an unidentifiable intangible asset arose does not meet the definition of a business combination, this intangible asset should not be reported as "Goodwill" on the Call Report balance sheet (Schedule RC). Rather, this unidentifiable intangible asset should be reported in Schedule RC, item 10.b, "Other intangible assets," and must continue to be amortized. The amortization expense should be reported in item 7.c.(2) of the Call Report income statement (Schedule RI). In contrast, if the transaction (such as a branch acquisition) that gave rise to an unidentifiable intangible asset under FASB Statement No. 72 meets the definition of a business combination, this asset should be reclassified to goodwill for balance sheet purposes and should no longer be amortized. This reclassified goodwill should be recorded on the balance sheet at its carrying amount as of the date FASB Statement No. 142 was initially applied in its entirety (January 1, 2002, for most banks) or the date of acquisition of this intangible asset, whichever is later (subject to the results of the transitional impairment testing provisions of Statement No. 147). Questions about the application of Statement No. 147 for Call Report purposes should be directed to your primary federal regulator. Banks also are encouraged to consult with their outside accountants concerning their implementation of this new accounting standard. Reporting of Funds Invested Through Bentley Financial Services, Inc. On October 30, 2001, the agencies issued a joint release advising depository institutions that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had filed suit against Robert L. Bentley, Entrust Group, and Bentley Financial Services, Inc. Specifically, the SEC alleged that the defendants were representing to investors that they were selling federally-insured certificates of deposit when, in fact, they were selling uninsured securities issued by the defendants. In addition, a temporary restraining order was issued against the defendants, freezing the defendants' accounts and appointing a receiver to exercise control over the defendants' assets. In light of these events and other developments, banks that have invested funds through Bentley Financial Services should report these funds as "All other assets" in Schedule RC-F, item 5, not as "Interest bearing balances" due from depository institutions in Schedule RC, item 1.b. In addition, these Bentley-related assets should be placed in nonaccrual status and reported as nonaccrual assets in Schedule RC-N, item 9, column C. Any write-downs of Bentley-related assets and charges to establish valuation allowances against these assets should be reported as other noninterest expense. In addition, these assets should be risk-weighted at 100 percent in item 42, column F, in Schedule RC-R, Regulatory Capital. Optional Tax Worksheet For assistance in calculating year to date applicable income taxes in accordance with FASB Statement No. 109, Accounting for Income Taxes, an optional worksheet geared toward smaller banks is available upon request. For a copy of this worksheet, state member banks should contact their Federal Reserve District Bank. National and FDIC supervised banks should telephone the FDIC's Reports Analysis and Quality Control Section in Washington, D.C., toll free at (800) 688 FDIC. The optional tax worksheet also is available on the FDIC's Web site (www.fdic.gov/regulations/resources/call/index.html). Call Report Software Vendors For information on available Call Report software, banks should contact:
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Last Updated 4/26/2005 | communications@fdic.gov |
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