3.SECURITIES

 

The amortized cost, gross unrealized gains and losses, and estimated fair values of securities available for sale as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 are summarized as follows (dollars in thousands):

 

 

 

Due to restrictions placed upon the Bank’s common stock investment in the Federal Reserve Bank and FHLB, these securities have been classified as restricted equity securities and carried at cost.  These restricted securities are not subject to the investment security classifications and are included as a separate line item on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets.  At March 31, 2015, the FHLB required the Bank to maintain stock in an amount equal to 4.25% of outstanding borrowings and a specific percentage of the Bank’s total assets.  At December 31, 2014, the FHLB required the Bank to maintain stock in an amount equal to 4.5% of outstanding borrowings and a specific percentage of the Bank’s total assets.    The Federal Reserve Bank required the Bank to maintain stock with a par value equal to 6% of its outstanding capital at both March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014.  Restricted equity securities consist of Federal Reserve Bank stock in the amount of $23.8 million for both March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 and FHLB stock in the amount of $29.3 million and $31.0 million as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively. 

The following table shows the gross unrealized losses and fair value (in thousands) of the Company’s investments with unrealized losses that are not deemed to be other-than-temporarily impaired.  These are aggregated by investment category and length of time that the individual securities have been in a continuous unrealized loss position.

 

 

As of March 31, 2015, there were $69.0 million, or 30 issues, of individual securities that had been in a continuous loss position for more than 12 months.  Additionally, these securities had an unrealized loss of $820,000 and consisted of municipal obligations, mortgage-backed securities, and corporate bonds.  As of December 31, 2014, there were $96.4 million, or 60 issues, of individual securities that had been in a continuous loss position for more than 12 months.  Additionally, these securities had an unrealized loss of $1.1 million and consisted of municipal obligations, mortgage-backed securities, corporate bonds, and other securities.  The Company has determined that these securities are temporarily impaired as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 for the reasons set out below:

 

U.S. Government agencies and corporations. The unrealized losses in this category of investments were caused by interest rate fluctuations. The contractual terms of the investments do not permit the issuer to settle the securities at a price less than the cost basis of each investment.  Because the Company does not intend to sell any of the investments and the accounting standard of “more likely than not” has not been met for the Company to be required to sell any of these investments before recovery of its amortized cost basis, which may be maturity, the Company does not consider these investments to be other-than-temporarily impaired.

 

Mortgage-backed securities. This category’s unrealized losses are primarily the result of interest rate fluctuations.  Since the decline in market value is attributable to changes in interest rates and not credit quality, the Company does not intend to sell the investments, and it is not more likely than not that the Company will be required to sell the investments before recovery of their amortized cost basis, which may be maturity, the Company does not consider those investments to be other-than-temporarily impaired.  Also, the majority of the Company’s mortgage-backed securities are agency securities, which have a government guarantee.

 

State and political subdivisions. This category’s unrealized losses are primarily the result of interest rate fluctuations and also a certain few ratings downgrades brought about by the impact of the economic downturn on states and political subdivisions. The contractual terms of the investments do not permit the issuer to settle the securities at a price less than the cost basis of each investment.  Because the Company does not intend to sell any of the investments and the accounting standard of “more likely than not” has not been met for the Company to be required to sell any of the investments before recovery of its amortized cost basis, which may be maturity, the Company does not consider these investments to be other-than-temporarily impaired.

 

Corporate debt securities. The Company’s unrealized losses in corporate debt securities are related to both interest rate fluctuations and ratings downgrades for a limited number of securities. The majority of the securities remain investment grade and the Company’s analysis did not indicate the existence of a credit loss.  The contractual terms of the investments do not permit the issuer to settle the securities at a price less than the cost basis of each investment. Because the Company does not intend to sell any of the investments before recovery of its amortized cost basis, which may be maturity, the Company does not consider these investments to be other-than-temporarily impaired.

 

During each quarter, the Company conducts an assessment of the securities portfolio for OTTI consideration.  The assessment considers factors such as external credit ratings, delinquency coverage ratios, market price, management’s judgment, expectations of future performance, and relevant industry research and analysis.  An impairment is other-than-temporary if any of the following conditions exist: the entity intends to sell the security; it is more likely than not that the entity will be required to sell the security before recovery of its amortized cost basis; or the entity does not expect to recover the security’s entire amortized cost basis (even if the entity does not intend to sell).  If a credit loss exists, but an entity does not intend to sell the impaired debt security and is not more likely than not to be required to sell before recovery, the impairment is other-than-temporary and should be separated into a credit portion to be recognized in earnings and the remaining amount relating to all other factors recognized as other comprehensive loss.  Based on the assessment for the quarter ended March  31, 2015, and in accordance with the guidance, no OTTI was recognized.

 

The following table presents the amortized cost and estimated fair value of securities as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, by contractual maturity (dollars in thousands).  Expected maturities may differ from contractual maturities because borrowers may have the right to call or prepay obligations with or without call or prepayment penalties.

 

 

 

Securities with a market value of $402.3 million and $397.0 million as of March  31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively, were pledged to secure public deposits, repurchase agreements, and for other purposes.