Commitments, guarantees and contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]

13. Commitments, guarantees and contingencies

Off-balance sheet financial instruments

In the ordinary course of business, the Bank is a party to financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk to meet the financing needs of its customers. These financial instruments include commitments to extend credit, commitments under credit card lines of credit, and standby letters of credit. These financial instruments involve, to varying degrees, elements of credit and interest-rate risk in excess of amounts recognized in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. The contractual amounts of these financial instruments reflect the extent of the Bank’s involvement in these particular classes of financial instruments. As of December 31, 2012 and 2011, the Bank had no material commitments to extend credit at below-market interest rates and held no significant derivative financial instruments.

The Bank’s exposure to credit loss for commitments to extend credit, commitments under credit card lines of credit, and standby letters of credit is represented by the contractual amount of these instruments. The Bank follows the same credit policies in underwriting and offering commitments and conditional obligations as it does for on-balance sheet financial instruments.

A summary of the Bank’s off-balance sheet financial instruments which are used to meet the financing needs of its customers is approximately as follows at December 31, 2012 and 2011:

	2012		2011
Commitments to extend credit	$	224,531	$	149,452
Commitments under credit card lines of credit		22,847		23,393
Standby letters of credit		4,221		3,201
Total off-balance sheet financial instruments	$	251,599	$	176,046

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 the payment of fees. Since many of the commitments are expected to expire without being drawn upon, the total commitment amounts do not necessarily represent future cash requirements. The Bank applies established credit related standards and underwriting practices in evaluating the creditworthiness of such obligors. The amount of collateral obtained, if it is deemed necessary by the Bank upon the extension of credit, is based on management’s credit evaluation of the counterparty.

The Bank typically does not obtain collateral related to credit card commitments. Collateral held for other commitments varies but may include accounts receivable, inventory, property and equipment, residential real estate, and income-producing commercial properties.

Standby letters of credit are written conditional commitments issued by the Bank to guarantee the performance of a customer to a third-party. These guarantees are primarily issued to support public and private borrowing arrangements. In the event that the customer does not perform in accordance with the terms of the agreement with the third-party, the Bank would be required to fund the commitment. The maximum potential amount of future payments the Bank could be required to make is represented by the contractual amount of the commitment. If the commitment was funded, the Bank would be entitled to seek recovery from the customer. The Bank’s policies generally require that standby letter of credit arrangements contain security and debt covenants similar to those involved in extending loans to customers. The credit risk involved in issuing standby letters of credit is essentially the same as that involved in extending loan facilities to customers.

The Bank considers the fees collected in connection with the issuance of standby letters of credit to be representative of the fair value of its obligations undertaken in issuing the guarantees. In accordance with GAAP related to guarantees, the Bank defers fees collected in connection with the issuance of standby letters of credit. The fees are then recognized in income proportionately over the life of the related standby letter of credit agreement. At December 31, 2012 and 2011, the Bank’s deferred standby letter of credit fees, which represent the fair value of the Bank’s potential obligations under the standby letter of credit guarantees, were insignificant to the accompanying consolidated financial statements.

Lease commitments

The Bank leases certain land and facilities under operating leases, some of which include renewal options and escalation clauses. At December 31, 2012, the aggregate minimum rental commitments under operating leases that have initial or remaining non-cancelable lease terms in excess of one year were approximately as follows:

2013	$	1,642
2014		1,146
2015		875
2016		460
2017		456
Thereafter		3,673
	$	8,252

Total rental expense was approximately $2.1 million in 2012 and $2.2 million in both 2011, and 2010.

Litigation

The Company is subject to legal proceedings, claims, and litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. While the outcome of these matters is currently not determinable, management does not expect that the ultimate costs to resolve these matters will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows as of and for the year ended December 31, 2012.

Other

The Bank is a public depository and, accordingly, accepts deposit funds belonging to, or held for the benefit of, the state of Oregon, political subdivisions thereof, municipal corporations, and other public funds. In accordance with applicable state law, in the event of default of one bank, all participating banks in the state collectively assure that no loss of funds is suffered by any public depositor. Generally, in the event of default by a public depository and to the extent sufficient collateral is unavailable to repay public funds, the assessment applicable to all public depositories is allocated on a pro rata basis in proportion to the maximum liability of each public depository as it existed on the date of loss. The Bank has pledged letters of credit issued by the FHLB which collateralizes public deposits not otherwise insured by the FDIC. At December 31, 2012 there was no liability associated with the Bank’s participation in this pool because all participating banks are presently required to fully collateralize uninsured Oregon public deposits, and there were no occurrences of an actual loss on Oregon public deposits at such participating banks. The maximum future contingent liability is dependent upon the occurrence of an actual loss, the amount of such loss, the failure of collateral to cover such a loss, and the resulting share of loss to be assessed to the Company.

The Company has entered into employment contracts and benefit plans with certain executive officers and members of the Board that allow for payments (or accelerated payments) contingent upon a change in control of the Company.