HVBC 2016 Annual Report

38 The following represents our critical accounting policies: Allowance for loan losses. The allowance for loan losses is the amount estimated by management as necessary to cover losses inherent in the loan portfolio at the balance sheet date. The allowance is established through the provision for loan losses, which is charged to income. Determining the amount of the allowance for loan losses necessarily involves a high degree of judgment. The allowance for loan losses represents management’s estimate of losses inherent in the loan portfolio as of the balance sheet date and is recorded as a reduction to loans. The allowance for loan losses is increased by the provision for loan losses, and decreased by charge-offs, net of recoveries. Loans deemed to be uncollectible are charged against the allowance for loan losses, and subsequent recoveries, if any, are credited to the allowance. All, or part, of the principal balance of loans receivable are charged off to the allowance as soon as it is determined that the repayment of all, or part, of the principal balance is highly unlikely. The allowance for loan losses is maintained at a level considered adequate to provide for losses that can be reasonably anticipated. Management performs a quarterly evaluation of the adequacy of the allowance. The allowance is based on the Bank’s past loan loss experience, known and inherent risks in the portfolio, adverse situations that may affect the borrower’s ability to repay, the estimated value of any underlying collateral, composition of the loan portfolio, current economic conditions and other relevant factors. This evaluation is inherently subjective as it requires material estimates that may be susceptible to significant revision as more information becomes available. The allowance consists of specific, and general components. The specific component relates to loans that are classified as impaired. For loans that are classified as impaired, an allowance is established when the discounted cash flows (or collateral value or observable market price) of the impaired loan is lower than the carrying value of that loan. The general component covers pools of loans by loan class including commercial loans not considered impaired, as well as smaller balance homogeneous loans, such as residential mortgage, home equity, home equity lines of credit and consumer loans. These pools of loans are evaluated for loss exposure based upon historical loss rates for each of these categories of loans, adjusted for qualitative factors. These qualitative risk factors include: • Lending policies and procedures, including underwriting standards and collection, charge-off, and recovery practices; • National, regional, and local economic and business conditions as well as the condition of various market segments, including the value of underlying collateral for collateral dependent loans; • Nature and volume of the portfolio and terms of loans; • Volume and severity of past due, classified and nonaccrual loans as well as and other loan modifications; • Existence and effect of any concentrations of credit and changes in the level of such concentrations; and • Effect of external factors, such as competition and legal and regulatory requirements. Although we believe that we use the best information available to establish the allowance for loan losses, future adjustments to the allowance may be necessary if economic conditions differ substantially from the assumptions used in making the evaluation. In addition, the FDIC and the Pennsylvania Department of Banking, as an integral part of their examination process, periodically review our allowance for loan losses. These agencies may require us to recognize adjustments to the allowance based on judgments about information available to them at the time of their examination. A large loss could deplete the allowance and require increased provisions to replenish the allowance, which would adversely affect earnings. See Note 1 of the notes to the audited consolidated financial statements of the Company included in this annual report.