Commitments, Contingencies and Financial Instruments with Off-Balance Sheet Risk and Concentrations of Credit Risk

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments, Contingencies and Financial Instruments with Off-Balance Sheet Risk and Concentrations of Credit 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 include commitments to originate loans, letters of credit, and unadvanced portions of loans and lines of credit.

The instruments involve, to varying degrees, elements of credit risk in excess of the amount recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The contractual amounts of these instruments reflect the extent of involvement the Company has in the 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 loan commitments and letters of credit is represented by the contractual amounts of those instruments. The Company uses the same credit policies in making commitments and conditional obligations as it does for on-balance sheet instruments.

Financial instruments with off-balance sheet credit risk at December 31, 2020 and 2019 are as follows:


(Dollars in thousands)	2020		2019
Commitments to originate loans	$	22,957	$	25,930
Commitments to originate residential mortgages loans for sale	3,121		1,095
Commitments to sell residential mortgage loans	3,493		1,696
Letters of credit	28,038		25,284
Unadvanced portions of commercial real estate loans	14,935		20,486
Unadvanced portions of commercial loans and lines	530,525		472,419
Unadvanced portions of construction loans (commercial & residential)	228,309		294,744
Unadvanced portions of home equity lines	118,686		113,387
Unadvanced portions of consumer loans	4,269		4,209

Commitments to originate loans are agreements to lend to a customer provided 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 by the customer. Since some of the commitments are expected to expire without being drawn upon, the total commitment amounts do not necessarily represent future cash requirements. The Company evaluates each customer's credit worthiness on a case-by-case basis. The amount of collateral obtained, if deemed necessary by the Company upon extension of credit, is based on management’s credit evaluation of the borrower.

The Company originates residential mortgage loans intended for sale under agreements to sell such loans on an individual loan basis and may retain or sell the servicing when selling the loans. Loans sold are subject to standard secondary market underwriting and eligibility representations and warranties over the life of the loan and are subject to an early payment default period covering the first four payments for certain loan sales.

Letters of credit are conditional commitments issued by the Company to guarantee the financial obligation or performance of a customer to a third party. The credit risk involved in issuing letters of credit is essentially the same as that involved in extending loan facilities to customers. If the letter of credit is drawn upon, a loan is created for the customer, generally a commercial loan, with the same criteria associated with similar commercial loans.

Unadvanced portions of loans and lines of credit represent credit extended to customers but not yet drawn upon and are secured or guaranteed under preexisting loan agreements and credit evaluations having taken into consideration the full commitment amount.

See also Note 9, "Derivatives and Hedging Activities," and Note 1, "Summary of Significant Accounting Policies," under Item (p), "Derivatives," to the Company's consolidated financial statements of this Form 10-K, contained above, for information on the Company's interest-rate lock commitments, interest-rate swaps, and participation in loans originated by third-party banks with potential contingent liabilities.

There are no material pending legal proceedings to which the Company or its subsidiaries are a party or to which any of its property is subject, other than ordinary and routine litigation incidental to the business of the Company. Management does not believe resolution of any present litigation will have a material adverse effect on the consolidated financial condition or results of operations of the Company.