Commitments and Contingencies	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015
Commitments and Contingencies
Commitments and Contingencies	Note 11 Commitments and Contingencies The Company is a 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 extend credit and standby letters of credit. Commitments to extend credit are agreements to lend to a customer so long as there is no violation of any condition established in the contract. Commitments usually have fixed expiration dates up to one year 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. These instruments represent obligations of the Company to extend credit or guarantee borrowings and are not recorded on the consolidated statements of financial condition. The rates and terms of these instruments are competitive with others in the market in which the Company operates. The Company uses the same credit policies in making commitments and conditional obligations as it does for on-balance-sheet instruments. The Company evaluates each customer’s creditworthiness on a case-by-case basis and requires collateral to support financial instruments when deemed necessary. The amount of collateral obtained upon extension of credit is based upon management’s evaluation of the counterparty. Collateral held varies but may include deposits held by the Company, marketable securities, accounts receivable, inventory, property, plant and equipment, and income-producing commercial properties. Standby letters of credit are conditional commitments issued by the Company to guarantee the performance of the contractual obligations by a customer to a third party. The majority of these guarantees extend until satisfactory completion of the customer’s contractual obligations. All standby letters of credit outstanding at March 31, 2015 are collateralized. Commitments to extend credit of $1.3 billion primarily have floating rates as of March 31, 2015. At March 31, 2015, standby letters of credit were $35.9 million. Commitments to extend credit of $449.9 million as of March 31, 2015 are related to George Mason’s mortgage loan funding commitments and are of a short term nature. These off-balance sheet financial instruments may involve, to varying degrees, elements of credit and interest rate risk in excess of the amount recognized in the consolidated statements of financial condition. Credit risk is defined as the possibility of sustaining a loss because the other parties to a financial instrument fail to perform in accordance with the terms of the contract. The Company’s maximum exposure to credit loss under standby letters of credit and commitments to extend credit is represented by the contractual amounts of those instruments. It is uncertain as to the amount, if any, that the Company will be required to fund on these commitments as many such arrangements expire with no amounts drawn. George Mason provides for its estimated exposure to repurchase loans previously sold to investors for which borrowers failed to provide full and accurate information on their loan application or for which appraisals have not been acceptable or where the loan was not underwritten in accordance with the loan program specified by the loan investor, and for other exposure to its investors related to loan sales activities. The Company evaluates the merits of each claim and estimates its reserve based on actual and expected claims received and considers the historical amounts paid to settle such claims. George Mason has a reserve of $150,000 at each of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively. The Company has derivative counter-party risk that may arise from the possible inability of George Mason’s third party investors to meet the terms of their forward sales contracts. George Mason works with third-party investors that are generally well-capitalized, are investment grade and exhibit strong financial performance to mitigate this risk. The Company does not expect any third-party investor to fail to meet its obligation.

Note 11

Commitments and Contingencies

The Company is a 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 extend credit and standby letters of credit. Commitments to extend credit are agreements to lend to a customer so long as there is no violation of any condition established in the contract. Commitments usually have fixed expiration dates up to one year 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. These instruments represent obligations of the Company to extend credit or guarantee borrowings and are not recorded on the consolidated statements of financial condition. The rates and terms of these instruments are competitive with others in the market in which the Company operates.

The Company uses the same credit policies in making commitments and conditional obligations as it does for on-balance-sheet instruments. The Company evaluates each customer’s creditworthiness on a case-by-case basis and requires collateral to support financial instruments when deemed necessary. The amount of collateral obtained upon extension of credit is based upon management’s evaluation of the counterparty. Collateral held varies but may include deposits held by the Company, marketable securities, accounts receivable, inventory, property, plant and equipment, and income-producing commercial properties.

Standby letters of credit are conditional commitments issued by the Company to guarantee the performance of the contractual obligations by a customer to a third party. The majority of these guarantees extend until satisfactory completion of the customer’s contractual obligations. All standby letters of credit outstanding at March 31, 2015 are collateralized.

Commitments to extend credit of $1.3 billion primarily have floating rates as of March 31, 2015. At March 31, 2015, standby letters of credit were $35.9 million. Commitments to extend credit of $449.9 million as of March 31, 2015 are related to George Mason’s mortgage loan funding commitments and are of a short term nature.

These off-balance sheet financial instruments may involve, to varying degrees, elements of credit and interest rate risk in excess of the amount recognized in the consolidated statements of financial condition. Credit risk is defined as the possibility of sustaining a loss because the other parties to a financial instrument fail to perform in accordance with the terms of the contract. The Company’s maximum exposure to credit loss under standby letters of credit and commitments to extend credit is represented by the contractual amounts of those instruments. It is uncertain as to the amount, if any, that the Company will be required to fund on these commitments as many such arrangements expire with no amounts drawn.

George Mason provides for its estimated exposure to repurchase loans previously sold to investors for which borrowers failed to provide full and accurate information on their loan application or for which appraisals have not been acceptable or where the loan was not underwritten in accordance with the loan program specified by the loan investor, and for other exposure to its investors related to loan sales activities. The Company evaluates the merits of each claim and estimates its reserve based on actual and expected claims received and considers the historical amounts paid to settle such claims. George Mason has a reserve of $150,000 at each of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively.

The Company has derivative counter-party risk that may arise from the possible inability of George Mason’s third party investors to meet the terms of their forward sales contracts. George Mason works with third-party investors that are generally well-capitalized, are investment grade and exhibit strong financial performance to mitigate this risk. The Company does not expect any third-party investor to fail to meet its obligation.