LEASES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

NOTE 8 - LEASES

Citizens as Lessee

The Company determines if an arrangement is a lease at inception and records a right-of-use asset and a corresponding lease liability. A right-of-use asset represents the value of the Company’s contractual right to use an underlying leased asset and a lease liability represents the Company’s contractual obligation to make payments on the same underlying leased asset. Operating and finance lease right-of-use assets and liabilities are recognized at commencement date based on the present value of the lease payments over the non-cancelable lease term. As most of the Company’s leases do not specify an implicit rate, the Company uses an incremental borrowing rate based on information available at the lease commencement date to determine the present value of the lease payments. The Company evaluates right-of-use assets for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the asset may not be recoverable.

In its normal course of business, the Company leases both equipment and real estate, including office and branch space. Lease terms predominantly range from one year to ten years and may include options to extend the lease, terminate the lease, or purchase the underlying asset at the end of the lease. Certain lease agreements include rental payments based on an index or are adjusted periodically for inflation. The Company has lease agreements that contain lease and non-lease components and for certain real estate leases, these components are accounted for as a single lease component.

Leases with an initial term of 12 months or less are not recorded on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets and are recognized in occupancy expense in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations on a straight-line basis over the remaining lease term. The Company may also enter into subleases with third parties for certain leased real estate properties that are no longer occupied.

The components of operating lease cost are presented below.


	Year Ended December 31,
(in millions)	2020	2019
Operating lease cost	$165	$165
Short-term lease cost	4	10
Variable lease cost	8	7
Sublease income	(4)	(3)
Total	$173	$179

Operating lease cost is recognized on a straight line basis over the lease term and is recorded in occupancy, equipment and software expense, and other income on the Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Supplemental Consolidated Balance Sheet information related to the Company’s operating lease arrangements is presented below:

(in millions)

December 31, 2020

December 31, 2019

Affected Line Item in Consolidated Balance Sheets

Operating lease right-of-use assets

$800

$699

Other assets

Operating lease liabilities

835

721

Other liabilities

Supplemental information related to the Company’s operating lease arrangements is presented below:


	Year Ended December 31,
(in millions)	2020	2019
Cash paid for amounts included in measurement of liabilities:
Operating cash flows from operating leases	$167	$164
Right-of-use assets in exchange for new operating lease liabilities	268	117

The weighted average remaining lease term and weighted average discount rate for operating leases as of December 31, 2020 is eight years and 2.48%, respectively. The weighted average remaining lease term and weighted average discount rate for operating leases as of December 31, 2019 is seven years and 3.15%, respectively.

At December 31, 2020, lease liabilities maturing under non-cancelable operating leases are presented below for the years ended December 31.


(in millions)			Operating Leases
2021			$149
2022			147
2023			130
2024			111
2025			90
Thereafter			294
Total lease payments			921
Less: Interest			86
Present value of lease liabilities			$835

Citizens as Lessor

Operating lease assets where Citizens was the lessor totaled $153 million and $57 million as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Operating lease rental income for leased assets where Citizens is the lessor is recognized in other income on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

Depreciation expense associated with operating lease assets is recorded on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life, considering the estimated residual value of the leased asset and is included in other operating expense in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. On a periodic basis, operating lease assets are reviewed for impairment. Impairment loss is recognized in other operating expense if the carrying amount of the leased asset exceeds fair value and is not recoverable. The carrying amount of a leased asset is not recoverable if it exceeds the sum of the undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the lease payments and the estimated residual value upon the eventual disposition of the asset.

For discussion of direct finance and sales-type leases where Citizens is lessor, refer to Note 4.