Commitments and Contingencies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2013

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments

The Corporation 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.

Those financial instruments include commitments to extend credit and letters of credit, which involve, to varying degrees, elements of credit risk and interest rate risk in excess of the amounts recognized on the Corporation’s consolidated balance sheets. Exposure to credit loss in the event of nonperformance by the other party to the financial instrument for commitments to extend credit and letters of credit is represented by the outstanding amount of those instruments.

The outstanding amounts of commitments to extend credit and letters of credit were as follows:

	March 31, 2013		December 31, 2012
	(in thousands)
Commitments to extend credit	$	4,096,386	$	4,011,741
Standby letters of credit	418,963		425,095
Commercial letters of credit	33,585		26,191

The Corporation records a reserve for unfunded lending commitments, which represents management’s estimate of losses associated with unused commitments to extend credit. See Note E, "Loans and Allowance for Credit Losses," for additional details.

Residential Lending

Residential mortgages are originated and sold by the Corporation through Fulton Mortgage Company, which operates as a division of each of the Corporation's subsidiary banks. Residential mortgage loans sold are primarily conforming, prime loans sold to government sponsored agencies such as the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae).

The Corporation provides customary representations and warranties to investors that specify, among other things, that the loans have been underwritten to the standards established by the investor. The Corporation may be required to repurchase a loan or reimburse the investor for a credit loss incurred on a loan if it is determined that the representations and warranties have not been met. This generally results from an underwriting or documentation deficiency. As of March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, total outstanding repurchase requests totaled approximately $3.6 million and $4.5 million, respectively.

From 2000 to 2011, the Corporation sold loans to the FHLB under its Mortgage Partnership Finance Program (MPF Program). No loans were sold under this program in 2013 or 2012. The Corporation provided a "credit enhancement" for residential mortgage loans sold under the MPF Program whereby it would assume credit losses in excess of a defined "First Loss Account" (FLA) balance, up to specified amounts. The FLA is funded by the FHLB based on a percentage of the outstanding principal balance of loans sold. As of March 31, 2013, the unpaid principal balance of loans sold under the MPF Program was approximately $212 million. As of March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, the reserve for estimated credit losses related to loans sold under the MPF Program was $3.4 million. Required reserves are calculated based on delinquency status and estimated loss rates established through the Corporation's existing allowance for credit loss methodology.

As of March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, the total reserve for losses on residential mortgage loans sold was $5.8 million and $6.0 million, respectively, including both reserves for credit losses under the MPF Program and reserves for representation and warranty exposures. Management believes that the reserves recorded as of March 31, 2013 are adequate. However, declines in collateral values, the identification of additional loans to be repurchased, or a deterioration in the credit quality of loans sold under the MPF Program could necessitate additional reserves in the future.

Other Contingencies

The Corporation and its subsidiaries are involved in various legal proceedings in the ordinary course of business. The Corporation evaluates the possible impact of pending litigation based on, among other factors, the advice of counsel, available insurance coverage and recorded liabilities and reserves for probable legal liabilities and costs. As of the date of this report, the Corporation believes that any liabilities, individually or in the aggregate, which may result from the final outcomes of pending proceedings are not expected to have a material adverse effect on the financial position, the operating results and/or the liquidity of the Corporation. However, litigation is often unpredictable, and the actual results of litigation cannot be determined with certainty.