NOTE 21. FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS WITH OFF-BALANCE SHEET RISK

In the normal course of business, to meet the financing needs of its customers, the Bank is party to financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk. These financial instruments include commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit. The Banks’ exposure to credit loss in the event of nonperformance by the other party to these financial instruments is represented by the contractual amount of the instruments. The Bank uses the same credit policies in making commitments and conditional obligations as they do for on-balance sheet instruments. The Bank generally requires collateral or other security to support the financial instruments with credit risk. The amount of collateral or other security is determined based on management’s credit evaluation of the counterparty. The Bank evaluates each customer’s creditworthiness on a case-by-case basis.

Commitments to extend credit are agreements to lend to a customer as long as there is no violation of any condition established in the contract. Letters of credit are conditional commitments issued by the Bank to guarantee the performance of a customer to a third party. Letters of credit and other commitments generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses and may require payment of a fee. Because many of the letters of credit and commitments are expected to expire without being drawn upon, the total commitment amount does not necessarily represent future cash requirements.

The following table provides information on commitments outstanding as of December 31, 2018 and 2017.


(Dollars in thousands)	December 31, 2018		December 31, 2017
Commitments to extend credit	$	210,463	$	206,065
Letters of credit		6,917		7,142
Total	$	217,380	$	213,207

The Bank has established an allowance for off balance sheet credit exposures. The allowance is established as losses are estimated to have occurred through a loss for off balance sheet credit exposures charged to earnings. Losses are charged against the allowance when management believes the required funding of these exposures is uncollectible. While this evaluation is completed on a regular basis, it is inherently subjective as it requires estimates that are susceptible to significant revision as more information becomes available.