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New CECL FAQs released; FASB won't move forward with proposal
Financial regulators Wednesday released a new current expected credit loss (CECL) FAQ document to help institutions implement the standard. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) also indicated it won't move forward with a proposal put forward by a group of banks outlining an alternative to the income statement impact of the standard.
The 43-page FAQ document was issued by the NCUA, Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and FDIC. It addresses a variety of issues, including effective dates, methods, qualitative factors, third-party vendors, supervisory expectations and more. Access the document here.
The board made the decision during Wednesday's meeting, which NAFCU monitored. It determined that the proposal would not result in an incremental improvement and that the proposal was operationally complex and could result in added costs for preparers and auditors.
FASB also discussed the burden of creating more detailed disclosures to accommodate the proposal and their expectation for increased scrutiny of management's decision to bifurcate the credit loss provision between the income statement and accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI).
The proposal had been put forward during a NAFCU-attended roundtable in January.
Also during Wednesday's meeting, the board agreed that entities should follow the codification guidance, rather than what is illustrated in Example 15 relative to gross write-offs and gross recoveries, when preparing certain credit quality disclosures. This provides some relief for preparers.
NAFCU has devoted considerable time and resources to educate credit unions on CECL requirements and to share the industry's concerns with FASB. The association has also shared these concerns with key decision makers and has worked to obtain certain changes and more guidance on the standard.
Last month, the association urged FASB to exempt credit unions from the standard and also joined with a group of financial services trades asking for a delay to its implementation date.
Credit unions can also register for a webinar happening next week where regulators will address CECL-related questions.