DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS AND BRANCH SALE

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2022

Discontinued Operations and Disposal Groups [Abstract]

During the first quarter of 2019, the Company reached the decision to pursue the sale of the national mortgage banking operations of First Choice Loan Services, Inc. (“FCLS”) – a subsidiary of the Bank. The decision was based on a number of strategic priorities and other factors, including the competitiveness of the mortgage industry. As a result of these actions, the Company classified the operations of FCLS as discontinued under ASC 205-20. The Consolidated Balance Sheets, Consolidated Statements of Operations, and Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows present discontinued operations retrospectively for current and prior periods.

On May 7, 2020, the Company completed a transaction to sell certain assets and liabilities related to the operations of FCLS. During the fourth quarter of 2020, the Company completed the final wind-down of the operations of FCLS. Operating results for the year ended December 31, 2020, included expenses related to the wind-down of operations.

At year-end 2022 and 2021, there were no assets or liabilities related to the discontinued operations of FCLS.

The following presents operating results of the discontinued operations of FCLS for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021, and 2020:


	Years Ended December 31,
(in thousands)	2022		2021		2020
Interest income	$	—	$	—	$	1,525
Interest expense	—		—		391
Net interest income	—		—		1,134
Non-interest (loss)/income	—		—		(4,740)
Total net revenue	—		—		(3,606)
Non-interest expense	—		—		23,249
(Loss) from discontinued operations before income taxes	—		—		(26,855)
Income tax (benefit)	—		—		(7,013)
Net (loss) from discontinued operations	$	—	$	—	$	(19,842)

Mid-Atlantic Branch Sale

On August 27, 2021 the Company completed the sale of eight Mid-Atlantic branches to Investors Bank of Short Hills, New Jersey. This sale was made pursuant to a purchase and assumption agreement entered into by the banks on December 2, 2020.

The sale included all branch premises and equipment, and Investors also assumed related operations and the employment of associated staff. The branch sale is not expected to impact Berkshire’s growing Mid-Atlantic specialized commercial lending operations, including SBA lending at its 44 Business Capital Division and its asset-based lending relationships.

The sale involved the assignment of deposits which totaled $631 million and loans which totaled $220 million as of August 27, 2021. These instruments were classified as held for sale in the financial statements and were not included in total deposits and total loans reported by the Company at December 31, 2020. Investors Bank paid a premium of 3.0% of the deposit balance transferred. The Company provided a settlement cash payment of $391 million as part of the sale for the assumption of covered deposit liabilities by Investors. The Company recorded a $14.7 million pre-tax gain related to this branch sale in 2021, which is included in gain on sale of business operations and assets on the Consolidated Statements of Operations.

As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, there were no assets and liabilities held for sale related to the branch sale.