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Loan Commitments and Standby Letters of Credit
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015
Guarantees [Abstract]  
Loan Commitments and Standby Letters of Credit
Loan Commitments and Standby Letters of Credit

Loan commitments are made to accommodate the financial needs of the Bank's customers. Standby letters of credit commit the Bank to make payments on behalf of customers when certain specified future events occur. They primarily are issued to facilitate a customers' normal course of business transactions. Standby performance letters of credit are written conditional commitments issued by the Bank to guarantee the performance of a customer to a third party.
 
The credit risk associated with letters of credit is essentially the same as that of traditional loan facilities and are subject to the Bank's standard underwriting and in accordance with its credit policy. Letters of credit generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses. Management generally believes that the proceeds obtained through a liquidation of collateral, the enforcement of guarantees and normal collection activities against the borrower would be sufficient to cover the potential amount of future payment required under the corresponding letters of credit. Historically, almost all of the Company's standby letters of credit have expired unfunded. Since the majority of the commitments are expected to expire without being drawn upon, the total commitment amount does not necessarily represent future funding requirements.

The Company had $34.7 million and $34.6 million of standby letters of credit at March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively. The Bank does not issue any guarantees that would require liability recognition or disclosure, other than standby letters of credit. At March 31, 2015, there was $1.0 million within other liabilities on the Company's balance sheet for guarantees under standby letters of credit. This liability relates to the possibility that the Company may be required to perform under one specific unsecured standby letter of credit. On March 27, 2015, the Company was notified of a planned intention to draw on this standby letter of credit unless an alternative financing was arranged. The Company determined the alternative financing to be undesirable compared to performing under the standby letter of credit and reserved for this contingency. The corresponding expense is included in loan expense in the Company's Statement of Income for the three months ended March 31, 2015. At December 31, 2014, there was no liability recorded for guarantees under standby letters of credit.

In addition to standby letters of credit, in the normal course of business there are unadvanced loan commitments. The Company had $629.4 million and $637.1 million in total unused commitments, including the standby letters of credit, at March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively. Management does not anticipate any additional material losses as a result of these transactions.