NOTE 12. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

The following table presents a summary of commitments described below as of the dates indicated:



	December 31,
	2018		2017
	(In thousands)
Loan commitments to extend credit	$	7,528,248	$	6,234,061
Standby letters of credit	364,210		320,063
Commitments to contribute capital to low income housing project partnerships
and small business investment companies	101,991		62,553
Commitments to contribute capital to private equity funds	50		2,541
Total	$	7,994,499	$	6,619,218

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 consolidated balance sheets. The contract or notional amounts of those instruments reflect the extent of involvement that the Company has in particular classes of financial instruments.

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.

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 some 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, we invest 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 December 31, 2018 and 2017, we had commitments to contribute capital to these entities totaling $102.0 million and $62.6 million. We also had commitments to contribute up to an additional $50,000 and $2.5 million to private equity funds at December 31, 2018 and 2017.

Legal Matters

In the ordinary course of our business, we are 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 information currently available to us, 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.