Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

In the normal course of business, to meet the financial needs of its customers, the Bank is a party to financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk. These financial instruments include commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit. 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 for the years ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022.


(Dollars in thousands)	December 31, 2023		December 31, 2022
Commitments to extend credit	$	613,266	$	406,353
Letters of credit	28,519		8,009
Total	$	641,785	$	414,362

The Bank has established a reserve for off balance sheet credit exposures of $1.1 million.The reserve 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.

The Company provides banking services to customers who do business in the cannabis industry. Prior to the second quarter of 2022, the Company restricted these businesses to include only those in the medical-use cannabis industry in the state of Maryland. During the second quarter of 2022, the Company expanded its cannabis banking program to include both medical and adult-use licensees in other states, with an initial offering of the Company’s existing Maryland customers with multi-state operations. While the Company is providing banking

services to customers that are engaged in growing, processing, and sales of both medical and adult-use cannabis in a manner that complies with applicable state law, such customers engaged in those activities currently violate Federal law. The Company may be deemed to be aiding and abetting illegal activities through the services that it provides to these customers. While we are not aware of any instance of a federally insured financial institution being subject to such aiding and abetting liability, the strict enforcement of Federal laws regarding cannabis would likely result in the Company’s inability to continue to provide banking services to these customers and the Company could have legal action taken against it by the Federal government, including imprisonment and fines. There is an uncertainty of the potential impact to the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements if the Federal government takes actions against the Company. As of December 31, 2023, the Company has not accrued an amount for the potential impact of any such actions.

Following is a summary of the level of business activities with our cannabis customers:

•Deposit and loan balances at December 31, 2023 were approximately $310.2 million, or 5.80% of total deposits, and $73.7 million, or 1.60% of total gross loans, respectively.

•Interest and noninterest income for the year ended December 31, 2023, were approximately $11.2 million and $1.1 million, respectively.

In the normal course of business, Shore Bancshares, Inc. and its subsidiaries may become involved in litigation arising from banking, financial, and other activities. Management, after consultation with legal counsel, does not anticipate that the future liability, if any, arising out of current proceedings will have a material effect on the Company’s financial condition, operating results, or liquidity.