Financial Instruments With Off-Balance-Sheet Risk

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Financial Instruments With Off Balance Sheet Risk [Abstract]

Financial Instruments With Off Balance Sheet Risk [Text Block]

Note 12. Financial Instruments With Off-Balance-Sheet Risk

In the normal course of business, the Bank has outstanding commitments and contingent liabilities, such as commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit, which are not included in the accompanying financial statements. The Bank’s exposure to credit loss in the event of nonperformance by the other party to the financial instruments for commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit is represented by the contractual or notional amount of those instruments. The Bank uses the same credit policies in making such commitments as it does for instruments that are included in the balance sheet. At December 31, 2011 and 2010, undisbursed loan commitments aggregated approximately $24,972,000 and $28,774,000, respectively. In addition, there were outstanding standby letters of credit totaling approximately $2,598,000 and $3,539,000, respectively.

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. Commitments generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses and may require payment of a fee. Since many of the commitments are expected to expire without being drawn upon, the total commitment amounts do not necessarily represent future cash requirements. The Bank evaluates each customer’s creditworthiness on a case-by-case basis. The amount of collateral obtained, if deemed necessary by the Bank upon extension of credit, is based on management’s credit evaluation. Collateral held varies but may include accounts receivable, inventory, property and equipment, and income-producing commercial properties.

Standby letters of credit are conditional commitments issued by the Bank to guarantee the performance of a customer to a third party. Standby letters of credit generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses and may require payment of a fee. The credit risk involved in issuing letters of credit is essentially the same as that involved in extending loan facilities to customers. The Bank’s policy for obtaining collateral, and the nature of such collateral, is essentially the same as that involved in making commitments to extend credit.

The Bank incurred insignificant losses on its commitments during 2011, 2010 and 2009.