DERATIVE INSTRUMENTS AND HEDGING ACTIVITIES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract]

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Text Block]

NOTE 21. DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS AND HEDGING ACTIVITIES

Accounting guidance under GAAP defines derivatives, requires that derivatives be carried at fair value on the balance sheet and provides for hedge accounting when certain conditions are met. Changes in the fair values of derivative instruments designated as “cash flow” hedges, to the extent the hedges are highly effective, are recorded in other comprehensive income, net of taxes. Ineffective portions of cash flow hedges, if any, are recognized in current period earnings. The net interest settlement on cash flow hedges is treated as an adjustment of the interest income or interest expense of the hedged assets or liabilities. The Company uses derivative instruments to hedge its exposure to changes in interest rates. The Company does not use derivatives for any trading or other speculative purposes.

During the second quarter of 2009, the Company purchased interest rate caps for $7.1 million to effectively fix the interest rate at 2.97% for five years on $70 million of the Company’s money market deposit accounts related to our participation in the IND Program. In the fourth quarter of 2012, the Company decided to partially exit the IND Program in an effort to reduce its excess liquidity and a portion of the interest rate caps used to hedge the interest rates on these deposits was terminated. In the second quarter of 2013, the Company fully exited the IND Program and the remainders of the interest rate caps were terminated. Because the interest rate caps qualified for hedge accounting, a $1.3 million loss on the ineffective portion of the cash flow hedge was recognized in both the second quarter of 2013 and the fourth quarter of 2012.

The aggregate fair value of the interest rate caps was $14 thousand at December 31, 2012. The adjustments that reduced the balance to $0 at December 31, 2013 included an increase of $681 thousand to reflect unrealized holding gains on the interest rate caps and a decrease of $695 thousand to reflect the charge to interest expense associated with the hedged money market deposit accounts. Interest expense for 2014 did not reflect this adjustment because the interest rate caps were terminated in June of 2013.

By entering into derivative instrument contracts, the Company exposes itself, from time to time, to counterparty credit risk. Counterparty credit risk is the risk that the counterparty will fail to perform under the terms of the derivative contract. When the fair value of a derivative contract is in an asset position, the counterparty has a liability to the Company, which creates credit risk for the Company. The Company attempts to minimize this risk by selecting counterparties with investment grade credit ratings, limiting its exposure to any single counterparty and regularly monitoring its market position with each counterparty. Collateral required by the counterparties, recorded in other liabilities, was $0 at December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.