Note 10 - Commitments and Contingent Liabilities

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Notes to Financial Statements

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]

(10)     Commitments and Contingent Liabilities

As of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, Bancorp had various commitments outstanding that arose in the normal course of business which are properly not reflected in the consolidated financial statements. Total off balance sheet commitments to extend credit follows:

(in thousands)	March 31, 2020		December 31, 2019
Commercial and industrial	$	408,190	$	416,195
Construction and development		270,144		240,503
Home equity		157,851		155,920
Credit cards		27,688		26,439
Overdrafts		32,763		32,715
Letters of credit		24,531		24,193
Other		42,611		40,083
Future loan commitments		152,632		236,885
Total off balance sheet commitments to extend credit	$	1,116,410	$	1,172,933

Commitments to extend credit are an agreement to lend to a customer as long as collateral is available as agreed upon and there is no violation of any condition established in the contract. Commitments generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses. Since some of the commitments are expected to expire without being drawn upon, the total commitment amounts do not necessarily represent future cash requirements. Bancorp uses the same credit and collateral policies in making commitments and conditional guarantees as for on-balance sheet instruments. Bancorp evaluates each customer’s creditworthiness on a case by case basis. The amount of collateral obtained is based on management’s credit evaluation of the customer. Collateral held varies but may include accounts receivable, inventory, securities, equipment and real estate. However, should the commitments be drawn upon and should our customers default on their resulting obligation to us, our maximum exposure to credit loss, without consideration of collateral, is represented by the contractual amount of those instruments.

At March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, Bancorp had accrued $4.2 million and $350,000 in other liabilities for its estimate of inherent risks related to unfunded credit commitments. In accordance with the adoption of ASC 326 on January 1, 2020, the Company’s ACL for off-balance sheet exposures was increased from $350,000 at December 31, 2019 to $3.9 million ($2.6 million net of the DTA) with the offset recorded to retained earnings on a tax-effected basis, with no impact on earnings.

Standby letters of credit are conditional commitments issued by Bancorp to guarantee the performance of a customer to a first party beneficiary. Those guarantees are primarily issued to support commercial transactions. Standby letters of credit generally have maturities of one to two years.

Certain commercial customers require confirmation of Bancorp’s letters of credit by other banks since Bancorp does not have a rating by a national rating agency. Terms of the agreements range from one month to a year with certain agreements requiring between one and six months’ notice to cancel. If an event of default on all contracts had occurred at March 31, 2020, Bancorp would have been required to make payments of approximately $2.6 million, or the maximum amount payable under those contracts. No payments have ever been required as a result of default on these contracts. These agreements are normally secured by collateral acceptable to Bancorp, which limits credit risk associated with the agreements.

As of March 31, 2020, in the normal course of business, there were pending legal actions and proceedings in which claims for damages are asserted. Management, after discussion with legal counsel, believes the ultimate result of these legal actions and proceedings will not have a material adverse effect on the consolidated financial position or results of operations of Bancorp.