Commitments and Contingent Liabilities

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]

Note 5. Commitments and Contingent Liabilities

Off Balance Sheet Arrangements - In the normal course of business, the Bank has entered into off-balance sheet financial instruments which include commitments to extend credit (i.e., including unfunded lines of credit) and standby letters of credit. Commitments to extend credit are usually the result of lines of credit granted to existing borrowers under agreements that the total outstanding indebtedness will not exceed a specific amount during the term of the indebtedness. Typical borrowers are commercial concerns that use lines of credit to supplement their treasury management functions; thus their total outstanding indebtedness may fluctuate during any time period based on the seasonality of their business and the resultant timing of their cash flows. Other typical lines of credit are related to home equity loans granted to consumers. Commitments to extend credit generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses and may require payment of a fee.

Standby letters of credit are generally issued on behalf of an applicant (our customer) to a specifically named beneficiary and are the result of a particular business arrangement that exists between the applicant and the beneficiary. Standby letters of credit have fixed expiration dates and are usually for terms of two years or less unless terminated beforehand due to criteria specified in the standby letter of credit. A typical arrangement involves the applicant routinely being indebted to the beneficiary for such items as inventory purchases, insurance, utilities, lease guarantees or other third party commercial transactions. The standby letter of credit would permit the beneficiary to obtain payment from the  Bank under certain prescribed circumstances. Subsequently, the Bank would then seek reimbursement from the applicant pursuant to the terms of the standby letter of credit.

The Bank follows the same credit policies and underwriting practices when making these commitments as it does for on-balance sheet instruments. Each customer’s creditworthiness is evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and the amount of collateral obtained, if any, is based on management’s credit evaluation of the customer. Collateral held varies but may include cash, real estate and improvements, marketable securities, accounts receivable, inventory, equipment and personal property.

The contractual amounts of these commitments are not reflected in the consolidated financial statements and would only be reflected if drawn upon. Since many of the commitments are expected to expire without being drawn upon, the contractual amounts do not necessarily represent future cash requirements. However, should the commitments be drawn upon and should customers default on their resulting obligation, the Bank’s maximum exposure to credit loss, without consideration of collateral, is represented by the contractual amount of those instruments.

A summary of the Bank’s total contractual amount for all off-balance sheet commitments at September 30, 2011 is as follows:

 

Commitments to extend credit	$	27.7 million
Standby letters of credit	$	2.6 million

Various legal claims also arise from time to time in the normal course of business. In the opinion of management, the resolution of claims outstanding at September 30, 2011 will not have a material effect on Cornerstone’s consolidated financial statements.