Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

NOTE 13. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

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


	December 31,
	2020		2019
	(In thousands)
Loan commitments to extend credit	$	7,601,390	$	8,183,158
Standby letters of credit	337,336		355,503
Commitments to contribute capital to SBICs and
CRA-related loan pools	55,499		40,698
Commitments to contribute capital to low income housing
project partnerships (1)	—		88,515
Commitments to contribute capital to private equity funds	—		50
Total	$	7,994,225	$	8,667,924

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(1) During the first quarter of 2020, the Company increased the amount of its investment in low income housing project partnerships by $101 million representing the amount of related unfunded commitments, with an offset to a liability included in "Accrued interest payable and other liabilities" on the consolidated balance sheets.

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 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 under these arrangements.

Additionally, we have commitments to invest in SBICs that call for capital contributions up to an amount specified in the partnership agreements, and in CRA-related loan pools. As of December 31, 2020, such commitments totaled $55.5 million. As of December 31, 2019, in addition to commitments for SBICs and CRA-related loan pools, we also had commitments to invest in low income housing projects that provide income tax credits. Total commitments to these entities totaled $129.2 million. We also had commitments to contribute up to an additional $50,000 to private equity funds at December 31, 2019.

The following table presents the years in which commitments are expected to be paid for our commitments to contribute capital to SBICs and CRA-related loan pools as of the date indicated:


	December 31, 2020
	(In thousands)
Year Ending December 31,
2021	$	27,750
2022	27,749




Total	$	55,499

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. The range of any reasonably possible liabilities is also not significant.