In the normal course of business, the Company enters into various transactions, which, in accordance with GAAP, are not included in its consolidated balance sheets. These transactions are referred to as “off-balance sheet commitments.” The Company enters into these transactions to meet the financing needs of its customers. These transactions include commitments to extend credit and letters of credit, which involve elements of credit risk in excess of the amounts recognized in the consolidated balance sheets. The Company minimizes its exposure to loss under these commitments by subjecting them to credit approval and monitoring procedures.

The Company enters into contractual commitments to extend credit, normally with fixed expiration dates or termination clauses, at specified rates and for specific purposes. Customers use credit commitments to ensure that funds will be available for working capital purposes, for capital expenditures and to ensure access to funds at specified terms and conditions. Substantially all of the Company’s commitments to extend credit are contingent upon customers maintaining specific credit standards at the time of loan funding. Management considers the likelihood of commitments and letters of credit to be funded, along with credit related conditions present in the loan agreements when estimating an ACL for off-balance sheet commitments. Loan agreements executed in connection with construction loans and commercial lines of credit have standard conditions which must be met prior to the Company being required to provide additional funding, including conditions precedent that typically include: (i) no event of default or potential default has occurred; (ii) that no material adverse events have taken place that would materially affect the borrower or the value of the collateral, (iii) that the borrower remains in compliance with all loan obligations and covenants and has made no misrepresentations; (iv) that the collateral has not been damaged or impaired; (v) that the project remains on budget and in compliance with all laws and regulations; and (vi) that all management agreements, lease agreements and franchise agreements that affect the value of the collateral remain in force. If the conditions precedent have not been met, the Company retains the option to cease current draws and/or future funding. As a result of these conditions within our loan agreements, management has determined that credit risk is minimal and there is no recorded ACL with respect to these commitments as of September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021.

Letters of credit are written conditional commitments issued by the Company to guarantee the performance of a customer to a third party. The Company’s policies generally require that letters of credit arrangements contain security and debt covenants similar to those contained in loan agreements. In the event the customer does not perform in accordance with the terms of the agreement with the third party, the Company would be required to fund the commitment. The maximum potential amount of future payments the Company could be required to make is represented by the contractual amount shown in the table below. If the commitment were funded, the Company would be entitled to seek recovery from the customer. As of September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, no amounts have been recorded as liabilities for the Bank’s potential obligations under these guarantees.

Commitments and letters of credit outstanding were as follows as of:


	Contract or Notional Amount
	September 30, 2022		December 31, 2021
Commitments to extend credit	$	529,373	$	405,269
Letters of credit		8,136		8,357

The Company is involved in certain claims and lawsuits occurring in the normal course of business. Management, after consultation with legal counsel, does not believe that the outcome of these actions, if determined adversely, would have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements of the Company.

At September 30, 2022, the Company had letters of credit of $21,883 pledged to secure public deposits, repurchase agreements, and for other purposes required or permitted by law.