The table below presents other assets by type.

 

Property, leasehold improvements and equipment is net of accumulated depreciation and amortization of $10.73 billion as of September 2021 and $10.12 billion as of December 2020. Property, leasehold improvements and equipment included $6.55 billion as of September 2021 and $6.54 billion as of December 2020 that the firm uses in connection with its operations, and $218 million as of September 2021 and $318 million as of December 2020 of foreclosed real estate primarily related to distressed loans that were purchased by the firm. The remainder is held by investment entities, including VIEs, consolidated by the firm. Substantially all property and equipment is depreciated on a straight-line basis over the useful life of the asset. Leasehold improvements are amortized on a straight-line basis over the shorter of the useful life of the improvement or the term of the lease. Capitalized costs of software developed or obtained for internal use are amortized on a straight-line basis over three years.

The firm tests property, leasehold improvements and equipment for impairment when events or changes in circumstances suggest that an asset’s or asset group’s carrying value may not be fully recoverable. To the extent the carrying value of an asset or asset group exceeds the projected undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use and eventual disposal of the asset or asset group, the firm determines the asset or asset group is impaired and records an impairment equal to the difference between the estimated fair value and the carrying value of the asset or asset group. In addition, the firm will recognize an impairment prior to the sale of an asset or asset group if the carrying value of the asset or asset group exceeds its estimated fair value.

There were no material impairments during both the three months ended September 2021 and September 2020. There were $134 million of impairments during the nine months ended September 2021 and $132 million of impairments during the nine months ended September 2020.

Goodwill is the cost of acquired companies in excess of the fair value of net assets, including identifiable intangible assets, at the acquisition date.

The table below presents the carrying value of goodwill by reporting unit.

 

Goodwill is assessed for impairment annually in the fourth quarter or more frequently if events occur or circumstances change that indicate an impairment may exist. When assessing goodwill for impairment, first, a qualitative assessment can be made to determine whether it is more likely than not that the estimated fair value of a reporting unit is less than its estimated carrying value. If the results of the qualitative assessment are not conclusive, a quantitative goodwill test is performed. Alternatively, a quantitative goodwill test can be performed without performing a qualitative assessment.

The quantitative goodwill test compares the estimated fair value of each reporting unit with its estimated net book value (including goodwill and identifiable intangible assets). If the reporting unit’s estimated fair value exceeds its estimated net book value, goodwill is not impaired. An impairment is recognized if the estimated fair value of a reporting unit is less than its estimated net book value.

To estimate the fair value of each reporting unit, other than Consumer banking, a relative value technique is used because the firm believes market participants would use this technique to value these reporting units. The relative value technique applies observable multiples or multiples of comparable competitors to reporting units’ net earnings or net book value. To estimate the fair value of Consumer banking, a discounted cash flow valuation approach is used because the firm believes market participants would use this technique to value that reporting unit given its early stage of development. The estimated net carrying value of each reporting unit reflects an allocation of total shareholders’ equity and represents the estimated amount of total shareholders’ equity required to support the activities of the reporting unit under currently applicable regulatory capital requirements.

In the fourth quarter of 2020, the firm performed its annual assessment of goodwill for impairment, for each of its reporting units, by performing a qualitative assessment. Multiple factors, including performance indicators, macroeconomic indicators, firm and industry events, and fair value indicators, were assessed with respect to each of the firm’s reporting units to determine whether it was more likely than not that the estimated fair value of any of these reporting units was less than its estimated carrying value. The qualitative assessment also considered changes since the quantitative test performed in the fourth quarter of 2019.

As a result of the qualitative assessment, the firm determined that it was more likely than not that the estimated fair value of each of the reporting units exceeded its respective estimated carrying value. Therefore, the firm determined that goodwill for each reporting unit was not impaired and that a quantitative goodwill test was not required.

There were no events or changes in circumstances during the nine months ended September 2021 that would indicate that it was more likely than not that the estimated fair value of each of the reporting units did not exceed its respective estimated carrying value as of September 2021.

The table below presents identifiable intangible assets by reporting unit and type.

 

During the nine months ended September 2021, the amount of intangible assets acquired by the firm was not material. The firm acquired $155 million of intangible assets during 2020, primarily related to acquired leases and customer lists, with a weighted average amortization period of 10 years.

Substantially all of the firm’s identifiable intangible assets have finite useful lives and are amortized over their estimated useful lives generally using the straight-line method.

The tables below present information about the amortization of identifiable intangible assets.

 

 

The firm tests intangible assets for impairment when events or changes in circumstances suggest that an asset’s or asset group’s carrying value may not be fully recoverable. To the extent the carrying value of an asset or asset group exceeds the projected undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use and eventual disposal of the asset or asset group, the firm determines the asset or asset group is impaired and records an impairment equal to the difference between the estimated fair value and the carrying value of the asset or asset group. In addition, the firm will recognize an impairment prior to the sale of an asset or asset group if the carrying value of the asset or asset group exceeds its estimated fair value. There were no material impairments during each of the three and nine months ended September 2021 and September 2020.

The firm enters into operating leases for real estate, office equipment and other assets, substantially all of which are used in connection with its operations. For leases longer than one year, the firm recognizes a asset representing the right to use the underlying asset for the lease term, and a lease liability representing the liability to make payments. The lease term is generally determined based on the contractual maturity of the lease. For leases where the firm has the option to terminate or extend the lease, an assessment of the likelihood of exercising the option is incorporated into the determination of the lease term. Such assessment is initially performed at the inception of the lease and is updated if events occur that impact the original assessment.

An operating lease asset is initially determined based on the operating lease liability, adjusted for initial direct costs, lease incentives and amounts paid at or prior to lease commencement. This amount is then amortized over the lease term. The firm recognized $230 million for the nine months ended September 2021 and $152 million for the nine months ended September 2020 of assets and operating lease liabilities in transactions for leases entered into or assumed. See Note 15 for information about operating lease liabilities.

For leases where the firm will derive no economic benefit from leased space that it has vacated or where the firm has shortened the term of a lease when space is no longer needed, the firm will record an impairment or accelerated amortization of assets. There were no material impairments or accelerated amortizations during both the nine months ended September 2021 and September 2020.

Miscellaneous receivables and other included: