Get Started for Free Contexxia identifies hard-to-find pieces of information in SEC filings. No more highlighters, no more redlining, no more poring over huge documents. FULTON FINANCIAL CORP (700564) 10-K published on Mar 01, 2019 at 4:39 pm
Reporting Period: Dec 30, 2018
In August 2017, the OCC published a notice and request for comment on whether certain aspects of the Volcker Rule should be revised to better accomplish the purposes the Dodd-Frank Act while decreasing the compliance burden on banking organizations and fostering economic growth. The request for comment invited input on ways in which to tailor the Volcker Rule’s requirements and clarify key provisions that define prohibited and permissible activities, as well as input on how the federal regulatory agencies could implement the existing Volcker Rule more effectively without revising the Final Rules. Specifically, the OCC requested comments on the scope of entities subject to the Volcker Rule, the proprietary trading prohibition, the covered funds prohibition, and the compliance program and metrics reporting requirements. In July 2018, the five federal financial regulatory agencies published a joint notice of proposed rulemaking that would simplify and tailor compliance requirements relating to the Volcker Rule. The proposed changes are intended to streamline the rule by eliminating or modifying requirements that are not necessary to effectively implement the statute, while maintaining the core principles of the Volcker Rule as well as the safety and soundness of banking entities. Specifically, the proposal requested comment on narrowing the definition of what is a covered fund that a bank cannot sponsor or invest in, and broadening the "Super 23 A" exemptions to match those in the Federal Reserve Board’s Regulation W. In addition, in December 2018 pursuant to the Economic Growth Act, the five federal financial regulatory agencies invited public comment on a proposal that would exclude community banks with $10 billion or less in total consolidated assets and total trading assets and liabilities of five percent or less of total consolidated assets from the restrictions of the Volcker Rule. Due to the asset threshold under the proposal, this relief would only benefit Fulton Bank of New Jersey, The Columbia Bank, and Lafayette Ambassador Bank. The Corporation cannot predict whether regulations that would simplify compliance with the Final Rules will be adopted or, if such regulations were to be adopted, the extent to which they would reduce the Corporation's compliance
In June 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued an accounting standard update, "Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326), Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments," which replaces the current "incurred loss" model for recognizing credit losses with an "expected loss" model referred to as the Current Expected Credit Loss ("CECL") model. Under the CECL model, the Corporation will be required to present certain financial assets carried at amortized cost, such as loans held for investment and held-to-maturity debt securities, at the net amount expected to be collected. The measurement of expected credit losses is to be based on information about past events, including historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts that affect the collectability of the reported amount. On December 21, 2018, the federal banking agencies approved a final rule modifying their regulatory capital rules and providing an option to phase in over a period of three years the day-one regulatory capital effects of the CECL model. The final rule also revises the agencies’ other rules to reflect the update to the accounting standards. The final rule will take effect April 1, 2019. The new CECL standard will become effective for the Corporation for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 and for interim periods within those fiscal years. The Corporation is currently evaluating the impact the CECL model will have on its financial statements, but expects to recognize a one-time cumulative-effect adjustment to the allowance for credit losses as of the beginning of the first reporting period in which the new standard is adopted, or January 1, 2020 for the Corporation. The Corporation also expects to incur both transition costs and ongoing costs in developing and implementing the CECL methodology.
Net interest income is the difference between interest earned on interest-earning assets and interest paid on interest-bearing liabilities. Net interest income is the most significant component of the Corporation's net income, accounting for approximately 76% of total revenues in 2018. In recent years, as the general level of short-term interest rates has increased, the Corporation's net interest margin, or the difference between interest earned on loans and investments and interest paid on deposits and borrowings, has increased, contributing to growth in the Corporation's net interest income. During this period of rising interest rates, increased competition for deposits has caused the interest rates paid on interest-bearing deposits to increase by a larger amount than in the recent past, for any given increase in market interest rates, causing growth in the Corporation's net interest margin to moderate. The January 2019 statement issued by the Federal Open Market Committee (the "FOMC") of the Federal Reserve Board indicated that the FOMC will be "patient" as it determines future adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate, which has caused some research analysts and economists to expect that, after increasing the target range for the federal funds rate seven times in the past two years, the FOMC may slow or defer further increases in the federal funds rate. The federal funds rate significantly influences the general level of short-term interest rates. The Corporation's ability to continue to expand its net interest margin may be challenged if the general level of short-term interest rates does not increase.
The London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") is the reference rate used for many of the Corporation's transactions, including variable and adjustable rate loans, derivative contracts, borrowings and other financial instruments. However, a reduced volume of interbank unsecured term borrowing coupled with recent legal and regulatory proceedings related to rate manipulation by certain financial institutions has led to international reconsideration of LIBOR as a financial benchmark. The United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA"), which regulates the process for establishing LIBOR, announced in July 2017 that the sustainability of LIBOR cannot be guaranteed. Accordingly, the FCA intends to stop persuading, or compelling, banks to submit to LIBOR after 2021. Until such time, however, FCA panel banks have agreed to continue to support LIBOR. It is impossible to predict what benchmark rate(s) may replace LIBOR or how LIBOR will be determined for purposes of financial instruments that are currently referencing LIBOR if, and when, it ceases to exist. The uncertainty surrounding potential reforms, including the use of alternative reference rates and changes to the methods and processes used to calculate rates, may have an adverse effect on the trading market for LIBOR-based securities, loan yields, and the amounts received and paid on derivative contracts and other financial instruments. In addition, the implementation of LIBOR reform proposals may result in increased compliance and operational costs.
A variety of factors could affect the ultimate values of assets, liabilities, income and expenses recognized and reported in the Corporation's financial statements, and these ultimate values may differ materially from those determined based on management's estimates and assumptions. In addition, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB"), regulatory agencies, and other bodies that establish accounting standards from time to time change the financial accounting and reporting standards governing the preparation of the Corporation's financial statements. Further, those bodies that establish and interpret the accounting standards (such as the FASB, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and banking regulators) may change prior interpretations or positions regarding how these standards should be applied. These changes can be difficult to predict and can materially affect how the Corporation records and reports its financial condition and results of operations.
For example, during 2016, the FASB issued a new accounting standard, Accounting Standards Update 2016-13, that will require the recognition of credit losses on loans and other financial assets based on an entity's current estimate of expected losses over the lifetime of each loan or other financial asset, referred to as the current expected credit loss ("CECL") model, as opposed to current accounting standards, which require recognition of losses on loans and other financial assets only when those losses are "probable." On December 21, 2018, the bank regulatory agencies approved a final rule modifying the agencies' regulatory capital rules and providing an option to phase in over a period of three years the day-one regulatory capital effects of adoption of the CECL model. The final rule also revises the agencies' other rules to reflect the update to the accounting standards. The final rule will take effect April 1, 2019. The new CECL standard will become effective for the Corporation for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 and for interim periods within those fiscal years. The Corporation is currently evaluating the impact the CECL model will have on its financial statements, but expects to recognize a one-time cumulative-effect adjustment to the allowance for credit losses as of the beginning of the first reporting period in which the new standard is adopted, or January 1, 2020 for the Corporation. The Corporation also expects to incur both transition costs and ongoing costs in developing and implementing the CECL methodology. The Corporation cannot yet determine the magnitude of any such one-time cumulative adjustment or of the overall impact of the new standard on its financial condition or results of operations. See "Note 1 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - Recently Issued Accounting Standards" in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8. "Financial Statements and Supplementary Data."