Derivatives and Hedging Activities

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Derivatives and Hedging Activities [Abstract]

Derivatives and Hedging Activities

Note 18:           Derivatives and Hedging Activities

Risk Management Objective of Using Derivatives

The Company is exposed to certain risks arising from both its business operations and economic conditions.  The Company principally manages its exposures to a wide variety of business and operational risks through management of its core business activities. The Company manages economic risks, including interest rate, liquidity, and credit risk, primarily by managing the amount, sources, and duration of its assets and liabilities.  In the normal course of business, the Company may use derivative financial instruments (primarily interest rate swaps) from time to time to assist in its interest rate risk management.  However, the Company’s existing interest rate derivatives result from a service provided to certain qualifying loan customers and, therefore, are not used to manage interest rate risk in the Company’s assets or liabilities. The Company manages a matched book with respect to its derivative instruments in order to minimize its net risk exposure resulting from such transactions.     

The table below presents the fair value of the Company’s derivative financial instruments as well as their classification on the Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition:

	Location in	Fair Value
	Consolidated Statements	December 31,	December 31,
	of Financial Condition	2011	2010
Asset Derivatives		(In Thousands)
Derivatives not designated
as hedging instruments
Interest rate products	Prepaid expenses and other assets	$111	$—
Total derivatives not designated
as hedging instruments		$111	$—
Liability Derivatives
Derivatives not designated
as hedging instruments
Interest rate products	Accrued expenses and other liabilities	$121	$—
Total derivatives not designated
as hedging instruments		$121	$—

Nondesignated Hedges

None of the Company’s derivatives are designated in qualifying hedging relationships.  Derivatives not designated as hedges are not speculative and result from a service the Company provides to certain loan customers, which the Company implemented during the fourth quarter of 2011.  The Company executes interest rate swaps with commercial banking customers to facilitate their respective risk management strategies.  Those interest rate swaps are simultaneously hedged by offsetting interest rate swaps that the Company executes with a third party, such that the Company minimizes its net risk exposure resulting from such transactions.  As the interest rate swaps associated with this program do not meet the strict hedge accounting requirements, changes in the fair value of both the customer swaps and the offsetting swaps are recognized directly in earnings.  As of December 31, 2011, the Company had two interest rate swaps with an aggregate notional amount of $15.8 million related to this program.  During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company recognized a net loss of $9,900 in noninterest income related to changes in the fair value of these swaps.

Agreements with Derivative Counterparties

The Company has agreements with its derivative counterparties containing certain provisions that must be met.  If the Company defaults on any of its indebtedness, including default where repayment of the indebtedness has not been accelerated by the lender, then the Company could also be declared in default on its derivative obligations.  If the Bank fails to maintain its status as a well / adequately capitalized institution, then the counterparty could terminate the derivative positions and the Company would be required to settle its obligations under the agreements.  Similarly, the Company could be required to settle its obligations under certain of its agreements if certain regulatory events occurred, such as the issuance of a formal directive, or if the Company’s credit rating is downgraded below a specified level.

As of December 31, 2011, the termination value of derivatives in a net liability position, which included accrued interest but excluded any adjustment for nonperformance risk, related to these agreements was $120,668. The Company has minimum collateral posting thresholds with its derivative counterparties. At December 31, 2011, the Company’s activity with its derivative counterparties had not yet met the level in which the minimum collateral posting thresholds take effect.  If the Company had breached any of these provisions at December 31, 2011, it could have been required to settle its obligations under the agreements at the termination value.

Other Interest Rate Swaps

At December 31, 2010 and 2009, the Company had no derivative financial instruments.  However, during a portion 2009, the Company had interest rate swaps to convert the economic interest payments on certain brokered CDs from a fixed rate to a floating rate based on LIBOR.  The related net gain recognized in earnings was $1.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2009.