Note 13 - Financial Instruments with Off-balance-sheet Risk

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2022

Notes to Financial Statements

Financial Instruments Disclosure [Text Block]

(13) Financial Instruments with Off-Balance-Sheet Risk

The Company is party to financial instruments with off-balance-sheet risk in the normal course of business to meet the financing needs of its customers. These financial instruments consist primarily of commitments to extend credit. These instruments involve, to varying degrees, elements of credit risk in excess of the amount recognized in the consolidated balance sheets. The contract or notional amounts of those instruments reflect the extent of involvement the Company has in particular classes of financial instruments.

The Company's exposure to credit loss in the event of nonperformance by the other party to the financial instrument for commitments to extend credit is represented by the contractual notional amount of those instruments. The Company uses the same credit policies in making commitments and conditional obligations as it does for on-balance-sheet instruments.

	In Thousands
	Contract or Notional Amount
	2022		2021
Financial instruments whose contract amounts represent credit risk:
Unused commitments to extend credit	$	1,217,963		1,147,654
Standby letters of credit		118,064		90,929
Total	$	1,336,027		1,238,583

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 payment of a fee. Since many of the commitments are expected to be drawn upon, the total commitment amounts generally represent future cash requirements. The Company evaluates each customer's credit-worthiness on a case-by-case basis. The amount of collateral, if deemed necessary by the Company upon extension of credit, is based on management's credit evaluation of the counterparty. Collateral normally consists of real property.

Standby letters of credit are conditional commitments issued by the Company to guarantee the performance of a customer to a third party. Those guarantees are primarily issued to support public and private borrowing arrangements, including commercial paper, bond financing, and similar transactions. Most guarantees extend from one to two years. The credit risk involved in issuing letters of credit is essentially the same as that involved in extending loan facilities to customers. The fair value of standby letters of credit is estimated using the fees currently charged to enter into similar agreements, taking into account the remaining terms of the agreements, the likelihood of the counterparties drawing on such financial instruments and the present creditworthiness of such counterparties. Such commitments have been made on terms which are competitive in the markets in which the Company operates; thus, the fair value of standby letters of credit equals the carrying value for the purposes of this disclosure. The maximum potential amount of future payments that the Company could be required to make under the guarantees totaled $118,064,000 at December 31, 2022.

The following table details activity in the allowance for credit losses on off-balance-sheet credit exposures for the years ended  December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020.

	(In Thousands)
	2022			2021		2020
Beginning balance, January 1	$	955			693		434
Impact of adopting ASC 326		6,195			—		—
Credit loss expense (benefit)		(1,014	)		262		259
Ending balance, December 31,	$	6,136			955		693

The Bank originates residential mortgage loans, sells them to third-party purchasers, and  may or  may 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 to investors that follow guidelines of conventional government sponsored entities ("GSE") and the Department of Housing and Urban Development/U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ("HUD/VA"). Generally, loans held for sale are underwritten by the Company, including HUD/VA loans. The Bank participates in a mandatory delivery program that requires the Bank to deliver a particular volume of mortgage loans by agreed upon dates. A majority of the Bank’s secondary mortgage volume is delivered to the secondary market via mandatory delivery with the remainder done on a best efforts basis. The Bank does not realize any exposure delivery penalties as the mortgage department only bids loans post-closing to ensure that 100% of the loans are deliverable to the investors. 

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 Bank 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 or the loan had an early payoff or payment default, the Bank 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 or due to early payoffs or payment defaults has been insignificant and has resulted in insignificant losses to the Company.

Based on information currently available, management believes that the Bank 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 or for early payoffs or payment defaults of such mortgage loans.

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  December 31, 2022 will not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.