COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Some financial instruments, such as loan commitments, credit lines, letters of credit, and overdraft protection, are issued to meet customer financing needs. These are agreements to provide credit or to support the credit of others, as long as conditions established in the contract are met, and usually have expiration dates. Commitments may expire without being used. Off-balance sheet risk to credit loss exists up to the face amount of these instruments, although material losses are not anticipated. The same credit policies are used to make such commitments as are used for loans, including obtaining collateral at exercise of the commitment.

The contractual amounts of financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk at year-end were as follows (in thousands):


	2020				2019
	Fixed Rate		Variable Rate		Fixed Rate		Variable Rate
Commitments to make loans	$	28,459	$	39,056	$	15,560	$	25,233
Unused lines of credit	$	1,300	$	268,075	$	1,062	$	229,137
Standby letters of credit	$	—	$	16,094	$	—	$	16,272

Commitments to make real estate and home equity loans are generally made for periods of sixty days or less. As of December 31, 2020, the fixed rate real estate and home equity commitments to make loans have interest rates ranging from 2.63% to 5.50% and maturities ranging from three years to thirty years. Commitments to fund commercial draw notes are generally made for periods of three months to twenty-four months. As of December 31, 2020, the fixed rate commercial draw commitments have interest rates ranging from 3.50% to 6.25%.

Because many commitments and almost all standby letters of credit expire without being funded in whole or in part, the contract amounts are not estimates of future cash flows. Loan commitments and unused lines of credit have off-balance sheet credit risk because only origination fees are recognized on the consolidated balance sheet until commitments are fulfilled or expire. The credit risk amounts are equal to the contractual amounts, assuming the amounts are fully advanced and collateral or other security is of no value. The Corporation does not anticipate losses as a result of these transactions. These commitments also have off-balance sheet interest rate risk in that the interest rate at which these commitments were made may not be at market rates on the date the commitments are fulfilled.

The Corporation has issued conditional commitments in the form of standby letters of credit to guarantee payment on behalf of a customer and guarantee the performance of a customer to a third party. Standby letters of credit generally arise in connection with lending relationships. The credit risk involved in issuing these instruments is essentially the same as that involved in extending loans to customers. Contingent obligations under standby letters of credit totaled $16.1 million at December 31, 2020 and represent the maximum potential future payments the Corporation could be required to make. Typically, these instruments have terms of twelve months or less and expire unused; therefore, the total amounts do not necessarily represent future cash requirements. Each customer is evaluated individually for creditworthiness under the same underwriting standards used for commitments to extend credit and on-balance sheet instruments. Corporation policies governing loan collateral apply to standby letters of credit at the time of credit extension. The carrying amount and fair value of the Corporation's standby letters of credit at December 31, 2020 was not significant.

On March 23, 2016, the Bank received a summons and complaint for an action brought in the State of New York Supreme Court for the County of Tompkins, regarding its lease of 202 East State Street, Ithaca, NY, a branch location which the Bank had vacated. The owner of the leased premises has alleged that the Bank has breached its contract and is requesting a judgment declaring that the term of the lease runs through December 31, 2025 or a judgment in his favor in the amount of $4.0 million. The Bank has denied that it breached the contract. On July 25, 2016, the Corporation received Notice of Entry of the decision and order of the New York Supreme Court for the County of Tompkins, involving claims by the owner of the leased premises at 202 East State Street, Ithaca, New York against the Bank. The Court granted, in part, partial summary judgment in favor of the plaintiff - on the issue of liability only - for anticipatory breach and breach of contract. The fraud claims were dismissed, and summary judgment was denied on the plaintiff’s trespass claims. The Court set the matter down for an inquest on damages at a later date, with the original claim by the plaintiff seeking $4.0 million in damages. The Corporation established a legal reserve of $1.2 million in connection with this case during the second quarter of 2016.

Subsequent to an appeal of the lower court determination, which was perfected in the Appellate Division, Third Department of State Supreme Court, on June 29, 2017, the Bank received Notice of Entry of the decision and Order of that Court which affirmed the lower court’s decision in favor of the plaintiff with damages to be determined at a later proceeding. The Bank established an additional legal reserve in the amount of $850 thousand, in connection with this case, during the second quarter of 2017. The Bank’s total reserve with respect to this matter stood at $2.3 million, including $0.2 million accrued for related expenses not yet paid as of June 30, 2017. A motion to the Appellate Division for reargument or permission for leave to appeal to the Court of Appeals was filed and denied during the fourth quarter of 2017.

On June 15, 2018, the Bank, through mediation, reached a resolution by way of a settlement agreement in the matter of Fane v. Chemung Canal Trust Company (the “Action”). The parties agreed to release each other from any and all liabilities, claims, counterclaims, demands, charges, complaints and causes of action, to dismiss the Action with prejudice, and the Bank agreed to pay Fane $3.3 million in connection with the settlement of the Action. As of March 31, 2018, the Corporation had a legal reserve of $2.3 million for the Action and therefore recognized an additional $1.0 million of legal expense during the second quarter of 2018.

In the normal course of business, there are various outstanding claims and legal proceedings involving the Corporation or its subsidiaries. Except for the above matter, the Corporation believes that it is not a party to any pending legal, arbitration, or regulatory proceedings that could have a material adverse impact on its financial results or liquidity.