Fifth Third Bank 2011 Annual Report Download - page 23

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Fifth Third Bancorp 21
RECENT ACCOUNTING STANDARDS
Note 1 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements provides
a discussion of the significant new accounting standards adopted by
the Bancorp during 2011 and the expected impact of significant
accounting standards issued, but not yet required to be adopted.
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES
The Bancorp’s Consolidated Financial Statements are prepared in
accordance with U.S. GAAP. Certain accounting policies require
management to exercise judgment in determining methodologies,
economic assumptions and estimates that may materially affect the
value of the Bancorp’s assets or liabilities and results of operations
and cash flows. The Bancorp's critical accounting policies include
the accounting for the ALLL, reserve for unfunded commitments,
income taxes, valuation of servicing rights, fair value measurements
and goodwill. No material changes were made to the valuation
techniques or models described below during the year ended
December 31, 2011.
ALLL
The Bancorp disaggregates its portfolio loans and leases into
portfolio segments for purposes of determining the ALLL. The
Bancorp’s portfolio segments include commercial, residential
mortgage, and consumer. The Bancorp further disaggregates its
portfolio segments into classes for purposes of monitoring and
assessing credit quality based on certain risk characteristics. Classes
within the commercial portfolio segment include commercial and
industrial, commercial mortgage owner-occupied, commercial
mortgage nonowner-occupied, commercial construction, and
commercial leasing. The residential mortgage portfolio segment is
also considered a class. Classes within the consumer segment
include home equity, automobile, credit card, and other consumer
loans and leases. For an analysis of the Bancorp’s ALLL by
portfolio segment and credit quality information by class, see Note
6 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
The Bancorp maintains the ALLL to absorb probable loan and
lease losses inherent in its portfolio segments. The ALLL is
maintained at a level the Bancorp considers to be adequate and is
based on ongoing quarterly assessments and evaluations of the
collectability and historical loss experience of loans and leases.
Credit losses are charged and recoveries are credited to the ALLL.
Provisions for loan and lease losses are based on the Bancorp’s
review of the historical credit loss experience and such factors that,
in management’s judgment, deserve consideration under existing
economic conditions in estimating probable credit losses. In
determining the appropriate level of the ALLL, the Bancorp
estimates losses using a range derived from “base” and
“conservative” estimates. The Bancorp’s strategy for credit risk
management includes a combination of conservative exposure limits
significantly below legal lending limits and conservative
underwriting, documentation and collections standards. The strategy
also emphasizes diversification on a geographic, industry and
customer level, regular credit examinations and quarterly
management reviews of large credit exposures and loans
experiencing deterioration of credit quality.
The Bancorp’s methodology for determining the ALLL is
based on historical loss rates, current credit grades, specific
allocation on loans modified in a TDR and impaired commercial
credits above specified thresholds and other qualitative adjustments.
Allowances on individual commercial loans, TDRs and historical
loss rates are reviewed quarterly and adjusted as necessary based on
changing borrower and/or collateral conditions and actual
collection and charge-off experience. An unallocated allowance is
maintained to recognize the imprecision in estimating and
measuring losses when evaluating allowances for individual loans or
pools of loans.
Larger commercial loans included within aggregate borrower
relationship balances exceeding $1 million that exhibit probable or
observed credit weaknesses, as well as loans that have been
modified in a TDR, are subject to individual review for impairment.
The Bancorp considers the current value of collateral, credit quality
of any guarantees, the guarantor’s liquidity and willingness to
cooperate, the loan structure, and other factors when evaluating
whether an individual loan is impaired. Other factors may include
the industry and geographic region of the borrower, size and
financial condition of the borrower, cash flow and leverage of the
borrower, and the Bancorp’s evaluation of the borrower’s
management. When individual loans are impaired, allowances are
determined based on management’s estimate of the borrower’s
ability to repay the loan given the availability of collateral and other
sources of cash flow, as well as an evaluation of legal options
available to the Bancorp. Allowances for impaired loans are
measured based on the present value of expected future cash flows
discounted at the loan’s effective interest rate, fair value of the
underlying collateral or readily observable secondary market values.
The Bancorp evaluates the collectability of both principal and
interest when assessing the need for a loss accrual.
Historical credit loss rates are applied to commercial loans that
are not impaired or are impaired, but smaller than the established
threshold of $1 million and thus not subject to specific allowance
allocations. The loss rates are derived from a migration analysis,
which tracks the historical net charge-off experience sustained on
loans according to their internal risk grade. The risk grading system
utilized for allowance analysis purposes encompasses ten categories.
Homogenous loans and leases in the residential mortgage and
consumer portfolio segments are not individually risk graded.
Rather, standard credit scoring systems and delinquency monitoring
are used to assess credit risks, and allowances are established based
on the expected net charge-offs. Loss rates are based on the trailing
twelve month net charge-off history by loan category. Historical loss
rates may be adjusted for certain prescriptive and qualitative factors
that, in management’s judgment, are necessary to reflect losses
inherent in the portfolio. Factors that management considers in the
analysis include the effects of the national and local economies;
trends in the nature and volume of delinquencies, charge-offs and
nonaccrual loans; changes in loan mix; credit score migration
comparisons; asset quality trends; risk management and loan
administration; changes in the internal lending policies and credit
standards; collection practices; and examination results from bank
regulatory agencies and the Bancorp’s internal credit reviewers.
Loans acquired by the Bancorp through a purchase business
combination are recorded at fair value as of the acquisition date.
The Bancorp does not carry over the acquired company’s ALLL,
nor does the Bancorp add to its existing ALLL as part of purchase
accounting.
The Bancorp’s primary market areas for lending are the
Midwestern and Southeastern regions of the United States. When
evaluating the adequacy of allowances, consideration is given to
these regional geographic concentrations and the closely associated
effect changing economic conditions have on the Bancorp’s
customers.
Reserve for Unfunded Commitments
The reserve for unfunded commitments is maintained at a level
believed by management to be sufficient to absorb estimated