Note 4 - Loans

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2012

Loans, Notes, Trade and Other Receivables Disclosure [Text Block]

4.  LOANS

The following table presents the Company’s loan portfolio by class.

Loan Portfolio

(Dollar amounts in thousands)

	June 30, 2012		December 31, 2011
Commercial and industrial	$	1,597,427	$	1,458,446
Agricultural		272,742		243,776
Commercial real estate:
Office, retail, and industrial		1,391,129		1,299,082
Multi-family		308,250		288,336
Residential construction		88,908		105,836
Commercial construction		147,626		144,909
Other commercial real estate		817,071		888,146
Total commercial real estate		2,752,984		2,726,309
Total corporate loans		4,623,153		4,428,531
Home equity		398,428		416,194
1-4 family mortgages		237,341		201,099
Installment loans		39,104		42,289
Total consumer loans		674,873		659,582
Total loans, excluding covered loans		5,298,026		5,088,113
Covered loans (1)		230,047		260,502
Total loans	$	5,528,073	$	5,348,615
Deferred loan fees included in total loans	$	6,753	$	7,828
Overdrawn demand deposits included in total loans	$	2,582	$	2,850

(1) For information on covered loans, refer to Note 5, “Covered Assets.”

The Company primarily lends to small and mid-sized businesses, commercial real estate customers, and consumers in the markets in which the Company operates. Within these areas, the Company seeks to diversify its loan portfolio by loan type, industry, and borrower.

It is the Company’s policy to review each prospective credit to determine the appropriateness and the adequacy of security or collateral prior to making a loan. In the event of borrower default, the Company seeks recovery in compliance with state lending laws, the Company’s lending standards, and credit monitoring and remediation procedures.