Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Note 15 – Commitments and Contingencies

Restricted Cash Balances — Reserves (in the form of deposits with the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank) of $136,370,000 and $119,317,000 were maintained to satisfy Federal regulatory requirements at December 31, 2019 and 2018. These reserves are included in cash and due from banks in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.

Financial Instruments with Off-Balance-Sheet Risk — 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, standby letters of credit, and deposit account overdraft privilege. Those instruments involve, to varying degrees, elements of risk in excess of the amount recognized in the balance sheet. The contract amounts of those instruments reflect the extent of involvement the Company has in particular classes of financial instruments.

The Company’s exposure to loss in the event of nonperformance by the other party to the financial instrument for commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit written is represented by the contractual amount of those instruments. The Company uses the same credit policies in making commitments and conditional obligations as it does for on-balance sheet instruments. The Company’s exposure to loss in the event of nonperformance by the other party to the financial instrument for deposit account overdraft privilege is represented by the overdraft privilege amount disclosed to the deposit account holder.

The following table presents a summary of the Bank’s commitments and contingent liabilities:


	December 31,
(in thousands)	2019		2018
Financial instruments whose amounts represent risk:
Commitments to extend credit:
Commercial loans	$	363,793	$	306,191
Consumer loans	533,576		496,575
Real estate mortgage loans	188,959		140,292
Real estate construction loans	222,998		248,996
Standby letters of credit	12,014		11,346
Deposit account overdraft privilege	110,402		111,956

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 of one year or less 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 Company evaluates each customer’s credit worthiness on a case-by-case basis. The amount of collateral obtained, if deemed necessary by the Company upon extension of credit, is based on Management’s credit evaluation of the customer. Collateral held varies, but may include accounts receivable, inventory, property, plant and equipment, residential properties, and income-producing commercial properties.

Standby letters of credit are conditional commitments issued by the Company to guarantee the performance of a customer to a third party. Those guarantees are primarily issued to support private borrowing arrangements. Most standby letters of credit are issued for one year or less. The credit risk involved in issuing letters of credit is essentially the same as that involved in extending loan facilities to customers. Collateral requirements vary, but in general follow the requirements for other loan facilities.

Deposit account overdraft privilege amount represents the unused overdraft privilege balance available to the Company’s deposit account holders who have deposit accounts covered by an overdraft privilege. The Company has established an overdraft privilege for certain of its deposit account products whereby all holders of such accounts who bring their accounts to a positive balance at least once every thirty days

receive the overdraft privilege. The overdraft privilege allows depositors to overdraft their deposit account up to a predetermined level. The predetermined overdraft limit is set by the Company based on account type.

Legal Proceedings — Neither the Company nor its subsidiaries are a party to any other pending legal proceedings that are material, nor is their property the subject of any other material pending legal proceeding at this time. All other legal proceedings are routine and arise out of the ordinary course of the Bank’s business. None of those proceedings are currently expected to have a material adverse impact upon the Company’s and the Bank’s business, their consolidated financial position nor their operations in any material amount not already accrued, after taking into consideration any applicable insurance.

Other Commitments and Contingencies—The Company has entered into employment agreements or change of control agreements with certain officers of the Company providing severance payments and accelerated vesting of benefits under supplemental retirement agreements to the officers in the event of a change in control of the Company and termination for other than cause or after a substantial and material change in the officer’s title, compensation or responsibilities.

The Bank owns 13,396 shares of Class B common stock of Visa Inc. which are convertible into Class A common stock at a conversion ratio of 1.6228 per Class B share. As of December 31, 2019, the value of the Class A shares was $187.90 per share. Utilizing the conversion ratio, the value of unredeemed Class A equivalent shares owned by the Bank was $4,085,000 as of December 31, 2019, and has not been reflected in the accompanying consolidated financial statements. The shares of Visa Class B common stock are restricted and may not be transferred. Visa Member Banks are required to fund an escrow account to cover settlements, resolution of pending litigation and related claims. If the funds in the escrow account are insufficient to settle all the covered litigation, Visa may sell additional Class A shares, use the proceeds to settle litigation, and further reduce the conversion ratio. If funds remain in the escrow account after all litigation is settled, the Class B conversion ratio will be increased to reflect that surplus.

Mortgage loans sold to investors may be sold with servicing rights retained, with only the standard legal representations and warranties regarding recourse to the Bank. Management believes that any liabilities that may result from such recourse provisions are not significant.