Interest-Rate Swaps

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2015

Derivative Instruments And Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract]

Interest-Rate Swaps

Interest-Rate Swaps:

The Company uses a program that utilizes interest-rate swaps as part of its asset/liability management strategy. The interest-rate swaps are used to help manage the Company’s interest rate risk position and not as derivatives for trading purposes. The notional amount of the interest-rate swaps does not represent amounts exchanged by the parties. The amount exchanged is determined by reference to the notional amount and the other terms of the individual interest-rate swap agreements.

The objective of the interest-rate swaps is to protect the related fixed rate commercial real estate loans from changes in fair value due to changes in interest rates. The Company has a program whereby it lends to its borrowers at a fixed rate with the loan agreement containing a two-way yield maintenance provision, which will be invoked in the event of prepayment of the loan, and is expected to exactly offset the fair value of unwinding the swap. The yield maintenance provision represents an embedded derivative which is bifurcated from the host loan contract and, as such, the swaps and embedded derivatives are not designated as hedges. Accordingly, both instruments are carried at fair value and changes in fair value are reported in current period earnings.

Summary information about these interest-rate swaps at periods ended March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 is as follows:

	March 31, 2015			December 31, 2014
Notional amounts (In thousands)	$	33,292		$	31,459
Weighted average pay rate on interest-rate swaps		4.27	%		4.26	%
Weighted average receive rate on interest-rate swaps		2.65	%		2.67	%
Weighted average maturity (years)		6.0			5.9
Fair value of combined interest-rate swaps (In thousands)	$	1,012		$	638

The fair value of the yield maintenance provisions and interest-rate swaps is recorded in other assets and other liabilities, respectively, in the consolidated balance sheets. Changes in the fair value of the yield maintenance provisions and interest-rate swaps are reported in earnings, as other noninterest income in the consolidated statements of income. For the three month periods ended March 31, 2015 and 2014 there were no net gains or losses recognized in earnings.