COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Commitments And Contingencies

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

11. Commitments and Contingencies

We are a party to financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk in the normal course of business to meet the financing needs of our customers. These financial instruments include commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit. Those instruments involve, to varying degrees, elements of credit, interest rate, and liquidity risk. Our exposure to credit loss in the event of nonperformance by the other party to the financial instrument for commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit is essentially the same as that involved in extending loan facilities to customers. We use the same credit policies in making commitments and conditional obligations as it does for on-balance sheet instruments.

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 expire without being drawn upon, the total commitment amounts do not necessarily represent future cash requirements. If deemed necessary, the amount of collateral obtained upon extension of credit is based on our credit evaluation of the borrower. Collateral held varies, but may include accounts receivable, negotiable instruments, inventory, property, plant and equipment, and real estate. Commitments to extend credit, including unused lines of credit, amounted to $87,622,437 and $62,597,548 at December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

Standby letters of credit represent our obligation to a third party contingent upon the failure by our customer to perform under the terms of an underlying contract with the third party or obligates us to guarantee or stand as surety for the benefit of the third party. The underlying contract may entail either financial or nonfinancial obligations and may involve such things as the shipment of goods, performance of a contract, or repayment of an obligation. Under the terms of a standby letter, generally drafts will be drawn only when the underlying event fails to occur as intended. We can seek recovery of the amounts paid from the borrower. The majority of these standby letters of credit are unsecured. Commitments under standby letters of credit are usually for one year or less. At December 31, 2015 and 2014, we have recorded no liability for the current carrying amount of the obligation to perform as a guarantor; as such amounts are not considered material. The maximum potential amount of undiscounted future payments related to standby letters of credit at December 31, 2015 and 2014 was $745,187 and $557,943, respectively.