18
Future Legislative Developments
Various
bills are from time to time introduced in Congress and the
Florida legislature. This legislation may change banking and
tax statutes and the environment in which our banking
subsidiary and we operate in substantial and unpredictable ways. We
cannot determine the ultimate effect that
potential legislation, if enacted, or implementing regulations with
respect thereto, would
have upon our financial condition or results of operations
or that of our banking subsidiary.
COVID-19 and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and
Economic Security Act
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic,
the CARES Act was signed into law
on March 27, 2020 to provide national
emergency
economic relief measures. Many of the
CARES Act’s programs are dependent upon the direct
involvement of U.S. financial
institutions, such as the Company
and the Bank, and have been implemented
through rules and guidance adopted
by federal
departments and agencies, including
the U.S. Department of Treasury,
the Federal Reserve and other federal
banking agencies,
including those with direct supervisory
jurisdiction over the Company and
the Bank. Furthermore, as the on-going
COVID-19
pandemic evolves, federal regulatory
authorities continue to issue additional
guidance with respect to the implementation,
lifecycle,
and eligibility requirements for
the various CARES Act programs as well
as industry-specific recovery
procedures for COVID-19.
In addition, it is likely that
Congress will enact supplementary
COVID-19 response legislation,
including amendments to the
CARES Act or new bills comparable
in scope to the CARES Act. The Company
continues to assess the impact
of the CARES Act
and other statues, regulations and
supervisory guidance related to
the COVID-19 pandemic.
Paycheck Protection Program
. The CARES Act amended the SBA’s loan program, in which the Bank participates, to create
a
guaranteed, unsecured loan program, the
PPP, to fund operational costs of eligible businesses, organizations
and self-employed
persons during COVID-19. In June 2020,
the Paycheck Protection Program
Flexibility Act was enacted, which
among other things,
gave borrowers additional time and
flexibility to use PPP loan proceeds.
On June 5, 2020, the Paycheck Protection
Program
Flexibility Act (the “Flexibility
Act”) was signed into law, and made significant changes
to the PPP to provide additional relief
for
small businesses. The Flexibility
Act increased flexibility for small
businesses that have been unable to
rehire employees due to
lack of employee availability, or have been unable to
operate as normal due to COVID-19
related restrictions, extended the
period
that businesses have to use PPP
funds to qualify for loan forgiveness
to 24 weeks, up from 8 weeks under
the original rules, and
relaxed the requirements that loan
recipients must adhere to in order
to qualify for loan forgiveness. In
addition, the Flexibility Act
extended the payment deferral period
for PPP loans until the date when
the amount of loan forgiveness is
determined and remitted
to the lender.
For PPP recipients who do not apply
for forgiveness, the loan deferral
period is 10 months after the applicable
forgiveness period ends. On July 4,
2020, Congress enacted a new law
to extend the deadline for applying
for a PPP loan to August
8, 2020. The program was re-opened
on January 11, 2021 with updated guidance outlining
program changes to enhance its
effectiveness and accessibility. This round of the PPP will
serve new borrowers, as well
as allow certain existing PPP
borrowers to
apply for a second draw PPP Loan
and make a request to modify their
first draw PPP loan. As a participating
lender in the PPP, the
Bank continues to monitor legislative,
regulatory, and supervisory developments related thereto.
Troubled Debt Restructuring and Loan Modifications for Affected Borrower
s. The CARES Act permitted banks
to suspend
requirements under GAAP for loan modifications
to borrowers affected by COVID-19 that would
otherwise be characterized as
TDRs and suspend any determination related
thereto if (i) the loan modification
was made between March 1, 2020
and the earlier
of December 31, 2020 or 60 days
after the end of the COVID-19 emergency
declaration, and (ii) the applicable
loan was not more
than 30 days past due as of December
31, 2019. The federal banking agencies
also issued guidance to encourage
banks to make
loan modifications for borrowers
affected by COVID-19 and to assure banks
that they would not be criticized
by examiners for
doing so. We applied this guidance to qualifying loan modifications.
Main Street Lending Program.
The CARES Act encouraged the Federal
Reserve, in coordination with
the Secretary of the
Treasury, to establish or implement various programs to help
midsize businesses, nonprofits,
and municipalities. On April 9, 2020,
the Federal Reserve proposed the creation
of the Main Street Lending Program
(“MSLP”) to implement certain of these
recommendations. The MSLP supports lending
to small and medium-sized businesses
that were in sound financial condition
before
the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The
MSLP operates through five facilities:
the Main Street New Loan Facility, the Main
Street Priority Loan Facility, the Main Street Expanded
Loan Facility, the Nonprofit Organization New Loan Facility, and the
Nonprofit Organization Expanded Loan Facility. The Bank continues
to monitor developments related thereto.