JP Morgan Chase 2013 Annual Report Download - page 254

Notes to consolidated financial statements
260 JPMorgan Chase & Co./2013 Annual Report
Loans at fair value
Loans used in a market-making strategy or risk managed on
a fair value basis are measured at fair value, with changes
in fair value recorded in noninterest revenue.
For these loans, the earned current contractual interest
payment is recognized in interest income. Changes in fair
value are recognized in noninterest revenue. Loan
origination fees are recognized upfront in noninterest
revenue. Loan origination costs are recognized in the
associated expense category as incurred.
Because these loans are recognized at fair value, the Firm’s
nonaccrual, allowance for loan losses, and charge-off
policies do not apply to these loans.
See Note 4 on pages 215–218 of this Annual Report for
further information on the Firm’s elections of fair value
accounting under the fair value option. See Note 3 and Note
4 on pages 195–215 and 215–218 of this Annual Report
for further information on loans carried at fair value and
classified as trading assets.
PCI loans
PCI loans held-for-investment are initially measured at fair
value. PCI loans have evidence of credit deterioration since
the loan’s origination date and therefore it is probable, at
acquisition, that all contractually required payments will not
be collected. Because PCI loans are initially measured at fair
value, which includes an estimate of future credit losses, no
allowance for loan losses related to PCI loans is recorded at
the acquisition date. See page 274 of this Note for
information on accounting for PCI loans subsequent to their
acquisition.
Loan classification changes
Loans in the held-for-investment portfolio that management
decides to sell are transferred to the held-for-sale portfolio
at the lower of cost or fair value on the date of transfer.
Credit-related losses are charged against the allowance for
loan losses; losses due to changes in interest rates or
foreign currency exchange rates are recognized in
noninterest revenue.
In the event that management decides to retain a loan in
the held-for-sale portfolio, the loan is transferred to the
held-for-investment portfolio at the lower of cost or fair
value on the date of transfer. These loans are subsequently
assessed for impairment based on the Firm’s allowance
methodology. For a further discussion of the methodologies
used in establishing the Firm’s allowance for loan losses,
see Note 15 on pages 284–287 of this Annual Report.
Loan modifications
The Firm seeks to modify certain loans in conjunction with
its loss-mitigation activities. Through the modification,
JPMorgan Chase grants one or more concessions to a
borrower who is experiencing financial difficulty in order to
minimize the Firm’s economic loss, avoid foreclosure or
repossession of the collateral, and to ultimately maximize
payments received by the Firm from the borrower. The
concessions granted vary by program and by borrower-
specific characteristics, and may include interest rate
reductions, term extensions, payment deferrals, principal
forgiveness, or the acceptance of equity or other assets in
lieu of payments.
Such modifications are accounted for and reported as
troubled debt restructurings (“TDRs”). A loan that has been
modified in a TDR is generally considered to be impaired
until it matures, is repaid, or is otherwise liquidated,
regardless of whether the borrower performs under the
modified terms. In certain limited cases, the effective
interest rate applicable to the modified loan is at or above
the current market rate at the time of the restructuring. In
such circumstances, and assuming that the loan
subsequently performs under its modified terms and the
Firm expects to collect all contractual principal and interest
cash flows, the loan is disclosed as impaired and as a TDR
only during the year of the modification; in subsequent
years, the loan is not disclosed as an impaired loan or as a
TDR so long as repayment of the restructured loan under its
modified terms is reasonably assured.
Loans, except for credit card loans, modified in a TDR are
generally placed on nonaccrual status, although in many
cases such loans were already on nonaccrual status prior to
modification. These loans may be returned to performing
status (the accrual of interest is resumed) if the following
criteria are met: (a) the borrower has performed under the
modified terms for a minimum of six months and/or six
payments, and (b) the Firm has an expectation that
repayment of the modified loan is reasonably assured based
on, for example, the borrower’s debt capacity and level of
future earnings, collateral values, loan-to-value (“LTV”)
ratios, and other current market considerations. In certain
limited and well-defined circumstances in which the loan is
current at the modification date, such loans are not placed
on nonaccrual status at the time of modification.
Because loans modified in TDRs are considered to be
impaired, these loans are measured for impairment using
the Firm’s established asset-specific allowance
methodology, which considers the expected re-default rates
for the modified loans. A loan modified in a TDR remains
subject to the asset-specific allowance methodology
throughout its remaining life, regardless of whether the
loan is performing and has been returned to accrual status
and/or the loan has been removed from the impaired loans
disclosures (i.e., loans restructured at market rates). For
further discussion of the methodology used to estimate the
Firm’s asset-specific allowance, see Note 15 on pages 284–
287 of this Annual Report.