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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
 
FORM 10-K/A 
(Amendment No. 1)

    ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2020
OR
    TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM __________to__________
 Commission File Number 0-26584
BANNER CORPORATION
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Washington 91-1691604
 (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation  (I.R.S. Employer
 or organization)  Identification Number)
10 South First Avenue, Walla Walla, Washington 99362
(Address of principal executive offices and zip code)
 Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (509) 527-3636
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Common Stock, par value $.01 per shareBANRThe NASDAQ Stock Market LLC
(Title of Each Class)(Trading Symbol)(Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered)
 
Securities registered pursuant to section 12(g) of the Act:
None.
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act Yes  X No _  
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act Yes __No X
 
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes   X    No  ____
 
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files) Yes   X     No  ____
 
Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulations S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ____
 
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or emerging growth company. See definition of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer," "smaller reporting company" and emerging growth company in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act:
Large accelerated filer  X
Accelerated filer _____Non-accelerated filer _____ Smaller reporting company ____Emerging growth company ____
   
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ____

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U. S. C 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. Yes X No ___

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act) Yes ____ No X
 
The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by nonaffiliates of the registrant based on the closing sales price of the registrant’s common stock quoted on The NASDAQ Stock Market on June 30, 2020, was:
Common Stock – $1,320,288,340



 (The exclusion from such amount of the market value of the shares owned by any person shall not be deemed an admission by the Registrant
that such person is an affiliate of the Registrant.)
 The number of shares outstanding of the registrant’s classes of common stock as of January 31, 2021:
Common Stock, $.01 par value – 35,155,818 shares
 Documents Incorporated by Reference
Portions of Proxy Statement for Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held April 28, 2021 are incorporated by reference into Part III.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Explanatory Note4
PART II Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, pp 91 to 93 of the Annual Report5 to 7
PART IV Item 15. Exhibits8
SIGNATURES9
3


EXPLANATORY NOTE

This amended annual report on Form 10-K/A amends the annual report on Form 10-K of Banner Corporation (“Registrant”) for the year ended December 31, 2020 initially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 23, 2021 (the “Original Filing”) for the sole purpose of including the signature of Moss Adams LLP, the Registrant’s independent registered public accounting firm, in two separate places where such signatures were inadvertently omitted in the Original Filing. The signatures were timely provided by Moss Adams LLP and received by the Registrant at the time of the Original Filing. We have not modified or updated disclosures presented in the Original Filing except by amending the Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm - Opinions on the Consolidated Financial Statements and Internal Control over Financial Reporting and Exhibit 23.1 – Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm to include the signature of Moss Adams LLP, the Registrant’s independent registered public accounting firm.

Three pages of the Form 10-K and one Exhibit (Exhibit 23.1) have been corrected as a result of this Amendment solely to add "/s/ Moss Adams LLP":

1. Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, pp 91-93 of the Annual Report.

These three pages, as amended, read as follows:

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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Shareholders and the Board of Directors of
Banner Corporation and Subsidiaries

Opinions on the Consolidated Financial Statements and Internal Control over Financial Reporting

We have audited the accompanying consolidated statements of financial condition of Banner Corporation and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income, changes in shareholders’ equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2020, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). We also have audited the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO).

In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, and the consolidated results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2020, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Also, in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by COSO.

Change in Accounting Principle

As discussed in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements, on January 1, 2020, the Company adopted ASU 2016-13 “Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments,” applicable to financial assets measured at amortized cost including loan receivables and held to maturity debt securities.

Basis for Opinions

The Company’s management is responsible for these consolidated financial statements, for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud, and whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.

Our audits of the consolidated financial statements included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures to respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.

Definition and Limitations of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail,
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accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the Company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the Company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the Company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the Company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Critical Audit Matters

The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current period audit of the consolidated financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the consolidated financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matters below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.

As described in Notes 1 and 5 to the consolidated financial statements, the balance of the Company’s consolidated allowance for credit losses – loans was $167.3 million at December 31, 2020. The allowance for credit losses is a valuation account that is deducted from the amortized cost basis of financial assets to present the net carrying value at the amount expected to be collected on such financial assets. The measurement of expected credit losses is based on relevant information about past events, including historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts that affect the collectability of the financial assets. The allowance for credit losses is maintained at a level sufficient to provide for expected credit losses over the life of the loan based on evaluating historical credit loss experience and making adjustments to historical loss information for differences in the specific risk characteristics in the current loan portfolio. These factors include, among others, changes in the size and composition of the loan portfolio, differences in underwriting standards, delinquency rates, actual loss experience and current economic conditions. Management also considers qualitative, forecasted economic conditions and environmental factors for each loan category to adjust for differences between the historical periods used to calculate historical loss rates and expected conditions over the remaining lives of the loans in the portfolio.
We identified the estimation and application of forecasted economic conditions used in the allowance for credit losses – loans as a critical audit matter. The economic forecast component of the allowance for credit losses is used to compare the conditions that existed during the historical period to current conditions and future expectations, and to make adjustments to the historical data accordingly. Auditing management’s judgments regarding the estimation of forecasted economic conditions and the method by which management applied these forecasts to the allowance for credit losses involved a high degree of subjectivity and complexity.

The primary procedures we performed to address this critical audit matter included:
Testing the design, implementation, and operating effectiveness of controls relating to management’s calculation of the allowance for credit losses, including controls over the determination of the forecasted economic conditions used.
Obtaining management’s analysis and supporting documentation related to the forecasted economic conditions, and testing whether the forecasts used in the calculation of the allowance for credit losses are reasonable and supportable based on the analysis provided by management.
Testing the appropriateness of the methodology and assumptions used in the calculation of the allowance for credit losses, and testing completeness and accuracy of the data used in the calculation, application of the forecasted economic conditions determined by management and used in the calculation, and recalculation of the allowance for credit losses balance.

We identified the estimation of qualitative and environmental factors used in the allowance for credit losses – loans as a critical audit matter. The qualitative and environmental factors are used to estimate credit losses related to matters that are not captured in the historical loss rates and are based on management’s evaluation of available internal and external data. Auditing management’s judgments regarding the qualitative and environmental factors applied to the allowance for credit losses involved a high degree of subjectivity.
The primary procedures we performed to address this critical audit matter included:
Testing the design, implementation, and operating effectiveness of controls relating to management’s calculation of the allowance for credit losses, including controls over the determination of the qualitative and environmental factors used.
6


Obtaining management’s analysis and supporting documentation related to the qualitative and environmental factors, and testing whether the environmental and qualitative factors used in the calculation of the allowance for credit losses are supported by the analysis provided by management.
Testing the appropriateness of the methodology and assumptions used in the calculation of the allowance for credit losses, and testing completeness and accuracy of the data used in the calculation, application of the environmental and qualitative factors determined by management and used in the calculation, and recalculation of the allowance for credit losses balance.

We identified management’s risk ratings of loans which are used in the allowance for credit losses – loans as a critical audit matter. The Company uses internally determined risk ratings as credit indicators to classify loans into pools and to estimate expected loss rates for each of the loan pools. Those loan pools are then included in the calculation of the allowance for credit losses. Auditing management’s judgments regarding risk ratings of loans involved a high degree of subjectivity.

The primary procedures we performed to address this critical audit matter included:
Testing the design, implementation, and operating effectiveness of controls over the accuracy of risk ratings of loans.
Testing a risk-based targeted selection of loans to gain substantive evidence that the Company is appropriately rating these loans in accordance with its policies, and that the risk ratings for the loans are reasonable.
Testing the completeness and accuracy of the loan data used in the allowance for credit losses calculation, including application of the loan risk ratings determined by management and used in the calculation, and recalculation of the allowance for credit losses balance.



/s/ Moss Adams LLP

Spokane, Washington
February 23, 2021

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2004.
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PART IV

Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules.
Exhibits

(a)     Documents filed as part of this report:

1.Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.
2.There are no financial statements included in this Form 10-K/A.
3.There are no financial statement schedules included in this Form 10-K/A.
4.The exhibits listed on the “Exhibit Index” to this Form 10-K/A are filed with this Form 10-K/A.

(b)     The exhibits listed on the “Exhibit Index” to this Form 10-K/A are filed with this Form 10-K/A.

(c)     Additional Financial Statement Schedules

None.
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Signatures
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
  Banner Corporation
Date: February 26, 2021 /s/ Mark J. Grescovich
  Mark J. Grescovich
  President and Chief Executive Officer
(Principal Executive Officer)
   
   
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EXHIBIT INDEX
23.1
31.1
31.2
32
10