COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Lending Commitments

The Company is a party to financial instruments with off‑balance sheet risk in the normal course of business to meet the financing needs of its customers. These financial instruments include commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit. Those instruments involve, to varying degrees, elements of credit risk in excess of the amount recognized in the condensed consolidated balance sheets. The contract or notional amounts of those instruments reflect the extent of involvement the Company has in particular classes of financial instruments.

The following table presents a summary of the financial instruments described above as of the dates indicated:



	June 30,		December 31,
	2018		2017
	(In thousands)
Loan commitments to extend credit	$	6,429,587	$	6,234,061
Standby letters of credit	315,388		320,063
Total	$	6,744,975	$	6,554,124

Commitments to extend credit are contractual agreements to lend to our customers when customers are in compliance with their contractual credit agreements and when customers have contractual availability to borrow under such agreements. 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 increase in loan commitments to extend credit is primarily a result of the continued growth of our real estate construction and venture capital portfolios.

Standby letters of credit are conditional commitments issued by the Company to guarantee the performance of a customer to a third party. We provide standby letters of credit in conjunction with several of our lending arrangements and property lease obligations. Most guarantees expire within one year from the date of issuance. If a borrower defaults on its commitments subject to any letter of credit issued under these arrangements, we would be required to meet the borrower's financial obligation but would seek repayment of that financial obligation from the borrower. In some cases, borrowers have pledged cash and investment securities as collateral with us under these arrangements.

In addition, the Company invests in low income housing project partnerships, which provide income tax credits, and in small business investment companies that call for capital contributions up to an amount specified in the partnership agreements. As of June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, we had commitments to contribute capital to these entities totaling $87.2 million and $62.6 million. We also had commitments to contribute up to an additional $1.5 million and $2.5 million to private equity funds at June 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017.

Legal Matters

In the ordinary course of our business, the Company is party to various legal actions, which we believe are incidental to the operation of our business. The outcome of such legal actions and the timing of ultimate resolution are inherently difficult to predict. In the opinion of management, based upon currently available information, any resulting liability, in addition to amounts already accrued, and taking into consideration insurance which may be applicable, would not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial statements or operations.