SIERRA BANCORP
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
March 31, 2021
(Unaudited)
Note 1 – The Business of Sierra Bancorp
Sierra Bancorp (the “Company”) is a California corporation
headquartered in Porterville, California, and is a registered bank
holding company under federal banking laws. The Company was formed
to serve as the holding company for Bank of the Sierra (the
“Bank”), and has been the Bank’s sole shareholder since
August 2001. The Company exists primarily for the purpose of
holding the stock of the Bank and of such other subsidiaries it may
acquire or establish. As of June 30, 2021, the Company’s only
other subsidiaries were Sierra Statutory Trust II, Sierra Capital
Trust III, and Coast Bancorp Statutory Trust II, which were formed
solely to facilitate the issuance of capital trust pass-through
securities (“TRUPS”). Pursuant to the Financial Accounting
Standards Board (“FASB”) standard on the consolidation of variable
interest entities, these trusts are not reflected on a consolidated
basis in the Company’s financial statements. References herein to
the “Company” include Sierra Bancorp and its consolidated
subsidiary, the Bank, unless the context indicates otherwise.
Bank of the Sierra, a California state-chartered bank headquartered
in Porterville, California, offers a wide range of retail and
commercial banking services via branch offices located throughout
California’s South San Joaquin Valley, the Central Coast, Ventura
County, the Sacramento area, and neighboring communities. The Bank
was incorporated in September 1977, and opened for business in
January 1978 as a one-branch bank with $1.5 million in
capital. Our growth in the ensuing years has largely been
organic in nature, but includes four whole-bank acquisitions:
Sierra National Bank in 2000, Santa Clara Valley Bank in 2014,
Coast National Bank in 2016, and Ojai Community Bank in
October 2017. As of the filing date of this report the Bank
operates 35 full-service branches and an online branch, and
maintains ATMs at all but one of our branch locations as well as
seven non-branch locations. Moreover, the Bank has specialized
lending units which focus on agricultural borrowers, SBA loans, and
mortgage warehouse lending. In addition, in February 2020 the bank
opened a loan production office which is currently located in
Roseville, CA. The Company had total assets of $3.3 billion at June
30, 2021, and for a number of years we have claimed the
distinction of being the largest bank headquartered in the South
San Joaquin Valley. The Bank’s deposit accounts, which totaled $2.8
billion at June 30, 2021, are insured by the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) up to maximum insurable amounts.
Note 2 – Basis of Presentation
The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have
been prepared in a condensed format, and therefore do not include
all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. generally
accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for complete financial
statements. The information furnished in these interim statements
reflects all adjustments that are, in the opinion of Management,
necessary for a fair statement of the results for such periods.
Such adjustments can generally be considered as normal and
recurring unless otherwise disclosed in this Form 10-Q. In
preparing the accompanying financial statements, Management has
taken subsequent events into consideration and recognized them
where appropriate. The results of operations in the interim
statements are not necessarily indicative of the results that may
be expected for any other quarter, or for the full year.
Certain amounts reported for 2020 have been reclassified to be
consistent with the reporting for 2021. The interim financial
information should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2020, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
“SEC”).
Note 3 – Current Accounting Developments
In September 2016 the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses
(Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial
Instruments, which eliminates the probable initial recognition
threshold for credit losses in current U.S. GAAP, and instead
requires an organization to record a current estimate of all
expected credit losses over the contractual term for financial
assets carried at amortized cost. This is commonly referred to as
the current expected credit losses (“CECL”) methodology. Expected
credit losses for financial assets held at the reporting date will
be measured based on historical experience, current conditions, and
reasonable and supportable forecasts. Another change