Note 6. Commitments and Contingent Liabilities

In the normal course of business, the Bank has entered into off-balance sheet financial instruments which include commitments to extend credit (i.e., including unfunded lines of credit) and standby letters of credit. Commitments to extend credit are usually the result of lines of credit granted to existing borrowers under agreements that the total outstanding indebtedness will not exceed a specific amount during the term of the indebtedness. Typical borrowers are commercial concerns that use lines of credit to supplement their treasury management functions, thus their total outstanding indebtedness may fluctuate during any time period based on the seasonality of their business and the resultant timing of their cash flows. Other typical lines of credit are related to home equity loans granted to consumers. Commitments to extend credit generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses and may require payment of a fee.

Standby letters of credit are generally issued on behalf of an applicant (our customer) to a specifically named beneficiary and are the result of a particular business arrangement that exists between the applicant and the beneficiary. Standby letters of credit have fixed expiration dates and are usually for terms of two years or less unless terminated beforehand due to criteria specified in the standby letter of credit. A typical arrangement involves the applicant routinely being indebted to the beneficiary for such items as inventory purchases, insurance, utilities, lease guarantees or other third party commercial transactions. The standby letter of credit would permit the beneficiary to obtain payment from the Company under certain prescribed circumstances. Subsequently, the Company would then seek reimbursement from the applicant pursuant to the terms of the standby letter of credit.

The Company follows the same credit policies and underwriting practices when making these commitments as it does for on-balance sheet instruments. Each customer’s creditworthiness is evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and the amount of collateral obtained, if any, is based on management’s credit evaluation of the customer. Collateral held varies but may include cash, real estate and improvements, marketable securities, accounts receivable, inventory, equipment, and personal property.

The contractual amounts of these commitments are not reflected in the consolidated financial statements and would only be reflected if drawn upon. Since many of the commitments are expected to expire without being drawn upon, the contractual amounts do not necessarily represent future cash requirements. However, should the commitments be drawn upon and should our customers default on their resulting obligation to us, the Company’s maximum exposure to credit loss, without consideration of collateral, is represented by the contractual amount of those instruments.

A summary of the Company’s total contractual amount for all off-balance sheet commitments at March 31, 2015 is as follows:


Commitments to extend credit	$	325,328,000
Standby letters of credit	$	32,318,000

The Company originates residential mortgage loans, sells them to third-party purchasers, and does not retain the servicing rights. These loans are originated internally and are primarily to borrowers in the Company’s geographic market footprint. These sales are typically on a best efforts basis to investors that follow conventional government sponsored entities (GSE) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development/U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (HUD/VA) guidelines. Generally, loans held for sale are underwritten by the Company, including HUD/VA loans.

Each purchaser has specific guidelines and criteria for sellers of loans, and the risk of credit loss with regard to the principal amount of the loans sold is generally transferred to the purchasers upon sale. While the loans are sold without recourse, the purchase agreements require the Company to make certain representations and warranties regarding the existence and sufficiency of file documentation and the absence of fraud by borrowers or other third parties such as appraisers in connection with obtaining the loan. If it is determined that the loans sold were in breach of these representations or warranties, the Company has obligations to either repurchase the loan for the unpaid principal balance and related investor fees or make the purchaser whole for the economic benefits of the loan.

To date, repurchase activity pursuant to the terms of these representations and warranties has been insignificant and has resulted in insignificant losses to the Company.

Based on information currently available, management believes that it does not have significant exposure to contingent losses that may arise relating to the representations and warranties that it has made in connection with its mortgage loan sales.

Various legal claims also arise from time to time in the normal course of business. In the opinion of management, the resolution of these claims outstanding at March 31, 2015 will not have a material impact on the Company’s financial statements.