Note P—Financial Instruments with Off-Balance-Sheet Risk and Concentrations of Credit Risk

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 financial instruments are recorded in the consolidated financial statements when they become payable. These instruments involve, to varying degrees, elements of credit and interest rate risk in excess of the amount recognized in the consolidated balance sheets. The contractual, or notional, amounts of those instruments reflect the extent of involvement the Company has in particular classes of financial instruments.

The approximate contract amounts and maturity term of the Company’s unused credit commitments are as follows:


	December 31,
	2019	2018
	(in thousands)
Financial instruments whose contract amounts represent credit risk
Commitments to extend credit	$ 2,340,954	$ 1,683,499
Standby letters of credit	3,512	1,150
	$ 2,344,466	$ 1,684,649

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. The Company evaluates each customer’s creditworthiness 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. The vast majority of commitments to extend credit arise from security backed lines of credit (SBLOC) which are variable rate and which represent collateral values available to support additional extensions of credit, and not expected usage. The majority of such lines of credit have historically not been drawn upon.

Standby letters of credit are conditional commitments issued by the Company to guarantee the performance of a customer to a third party. Those guarantees are primarily issued to support public and private borrowing arrangements, including commercial paper, bond financing and similar transactions. The credit risk involved in issuing letters of credit is essentially the same as that involved in extending loan facilities to customers. The Company holds residential or commercial real estate, accounts receivable, inventory and equipment as collateral supporting those commitments for which collateral is deemed necessary. Based upon periodic analysis of the Company’s standby letters of credit, management has determined that a reserve is not necessary at December 31, 2019. The Company reduces any potential liability on its standby letters of credit based upon its estimate of the proceeds obtainable upon the liquidation of the collateral held. Fair values of unrecognized financial instruments, including commitments to extend credit and the fair value of letters of credit, are considered immaterial. The standby letters of credit expire as follows: $3.4 million in 2020 and $124,000 in 2021.

The Company’s exposure to credit loss in the event of non-performance by the other party to the financial instrument for commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit is represented by the contractual or notional amount of those instruments. The Company uses the same credit policies in making commitments and conditional obligations as it does for on-balance-sheet instruments.