CREDIT COMMITMENTS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments Disclosure [Text Block]

NOTE 16–CREDIT COMMITMENTS

The Company is a party to commitments to extend credit and commercial and standby letters of credit in the normal course of business to meet the financing needs of its customers. These instruments involve, in varying degrees, elements of credit risk and interest rate risk in excess of the amount recognized in the consolidated balance sheets. The interest rate risk associated with these credit commitments relates primarily to the commitments to originate fixed-rate loans. As more fully described in Note 8 to the consolidated financial statements, the interest rate risk of the commitments to originate fixed-rate loans has been hedged with forward commitments to sell mortgage-backed securities. The credit risk amounts are equal to the contractual amounts, assuming the amounts are fully advanced and the collateral or other security is of no value. The Company uses the same credit policies in granting commitments and conditional obligations as it does for on-balance sheet items.

Commitments to extend fixed and variable rate credit, and commercial and standby letters of credit, at December 31, 2011 and 2010 were as follows:

	December 31,
	2011		2010
	(dollars expressed in thousands)
Commitments to extend credit	$	683,186	917,974
Commercial and standby letters of credit		65,993	90,463
Total	$	749,179	1,008,437

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 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. Each customer’s creditworthiness is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The amount of collateral obtained, if deemed necessary upon extension of credit, is based on management’s credit evaluation of the counterparty. Collateral held varies but may include accounts receivable, inventory, property, plant, equipment, income-producing commercial properties or single family residential properties. In the event of nonperformance, the Company may obtain and liquidate the collateral to recover amounts paid under its guarantees on these financial instruments.

Commercial and standby letters of credit are conditional commitments issued to guarantee the performance of a customer to a third party. The letters of credit are primarily issued to support public and private borrowing arrangements, including commercial paper, bond financing and similar transactions. Most letters of credit extend for less than one year. The credit risk involved in issuing letters of credit is essentially the same as that involved in extending loan facilities to customers. Upon issuance of the commitments, the Company typically holds marketable securities, certificates of deposit, inventory, real property or other assets as collateral supporting those commitments for which collateral is deemed necessary. The standby letters of credit at December 31, 2011 expire, at various dates, within six years.

Standby letters of credit issued by the FHLB on First Bank’s behalf were $28.6 million and $50.9 million at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

The reserve for letters of credit and unfunded loan commitments was $2.8 million and $3.1 million at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.