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OTHER COMMITMENTS, CONTINGENCIES, AND OFF-BALANCE SHEET ACTIVITIES
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
OTHER COMMITMENTS, CONTINGENCIES, AND OFF-BALANCE SHEET ACTIVITIES OTHER COMMITMENTS, CONTINGENCIES, AND OFF-BALANCE SHEET ACTIVITIES
Credit Related Financial Instruments. 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. Such commitments involve, to varying degrees, elements of credit, and interest rate risk in excess of the amount recognized in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets.

The Company’s exposure to credit loss in the event of non-performance by the other party to the financial instrument is represented by the contractual amount of these commitments. The Company uses the same credit policies in making commitments as it does for on-balance-sheet instruments. A summary of financial instruments outstanding whose contract amounts represent credit risk is as follows at year-end:
(In thousands)20232022
Commitments to originate new loans$256,877 $305,474 
Unused funds on commercial and other lines of credit1,146,415 966,523 
Unadvanced funds on home equity lines of credit347,543 336,924 
Unadvanced funds on construction and real estate loans467,702 694,091 
Standby letters of credit18,975 21,387 
Total$2,237,512 $2,324,399 

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. The commitments for lines of credit may expire without being drawn upon. Therefore, the total commitment amounts do not necessarily represent future cash requirements. The Company evaluates each customer’s creditworthiness on a case-by-case basis.

Standby letters of credit are conditional commitments issued by the Company to guarantee the performance of a customer to a third party. These letters of credit are primarily issued to support borrowing arrangements. The credit risk involved in issuing letters of credit is essentially the same as that involved in extending loan facilities to customers. The Company considers standby letters of credit to be guarantees and the amount of the recorded liability related to such guarantees was not material at year-end 2023 and 2022.

The Company has 28.9 million of commitments remaining for tax credit investments as of December 31, 2023.

Employment and Change in Control Agreements. The Company and the Bank have change in control agreements with several officers which provide a severance payment in the event employment is terminated in conjunction with a defined change in control.
Legal Claims. Various legal claims arise from time to time in the normal course of business. As of December 31, 2023, neither the Company nor the Bank was involved in any pending legal proceedings believed by management to be material, that are not accrued for, to the Company’s financial condition or results of operations.