Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
We invite analyst to participate in the question and answer session. (Operator Instructions). Our first question comes from Kevin Fitzsimmons of Sandler O'Neill.
Kevin Fitzsimmons - Sandler O'Neill
Good morning everyone.
Mack Whittle
Morning, Kevin.
Kevin Fitzsimmons - Sandler O'Neill
Just one question on credit, I know the allowance ratio came down really, probably due to the timing difference with Spruce Pine, but given Lynn's commentary on the market and it just seem like -- we are hearing it from lot of banks these days and I am sure its no different in your franchise, but that things are deteriorating and customers are under more pressure, even though maybe the losses aren't emerging at the current time. And just want to get a sense to how comfortable you are with the allowance, where it is and how you're going to look going forward provisioning relative to net charge-offs and then I just have one follow-up as well. Thanks?
Lynn Harton
Sure Kevin. No there is no single individual ratio that drives reserve levels. So there is not anything that I would be particularly focused on. We look at several different data points. It's a fairly mathematical process that looks at that. This isn't a prediction or anything else but if you look back in the past for example coverage of nonperforming assets. We've been exposed to [non] which was much higher than that today. I would make a couple of points in thinking about the reserve, we tend to take charge-offs early and that nonperforming assets would not have a significant loss built into them.
So as we put them in nonperforming, we try to take the loss at that point and we also tend to put on our loans on non-accrual earlier, put them in nonperforming. If you look at us relative to other banks and our 90 days is still accruing for example you will see that we are much more conservative when we put things on nonperforming. So [let me commit it], the summary is we are very comfortable with our reserve ratios now and we are going to continue to look at all those data points and make the right adjustments going forward.
Kevin Fitzsimmons - Sandler O'Neill
Okay great. Mack, just one question on the follow up on the First Manhattan study, I recognized that they are providing an outsider a new way to look at things, but just listening to some of the areas they are focusing on and some of the things they might do, the thing that strikes me is these are things and these are areas that you all have been talking about and focusing on for quite a while, with retail for example, Chris has been, you know, that's been his mandate to get core deposits up and to focus on the branch level, and I am just wondering what kind of new revelations really stood out for you from bringing them in? Was it just a formalization of the things you already knew or was there really any really light bulbs that when off in terms of that you really all had not thought of before? Thanks.
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