(8)Commitments

The Bank enters into credit-related 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, standby letters of credit and commercial letters of credit. Such commitments involve, to varying degrees, elements of credit and interest rate risk in excess of the amount recognized in the consolidated balance sheets.

The Bank’s exposure to credit loss is represented by the contractual amount of these commitments. The Bank follows the same credit policies in making commitments as it does for on-balance sheet instruments.

At the dates indicated, the following financial instruments were outstanding whose contract amounts represented credit risk:



		March 31, 2014		December 31, 2013

		(In thousands)
Commitments to extend credit:
Variable	$	328,290	$	290,564
Fixed		29,199		30,343
Total commitments to extend credit	$	357,489	$	320,907

Standby letters of credit	$	10,000	$	10,217

At March 31, 2014, the rates on the fixed rate commitments to extend credit ranged from 2.40% to 7.25%.

A commitment to extend credit is an agreement to lend to a customer as long as there is no violation of any condition established in the underlying contract. Commitments generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses and may require payment of a fee. Several of the commitments may expire without being drawn upon. Therefore, the total commitment amounts do not necessarily represent future cash requirements. Off-balance sheet risk to credit loss exists up to the face amount of these instruments, although material losses are not anticipated. The same credit policies used for loans are used to make such commitments, including obtaining collateral, if necessary, at exercise of the commitment.

A commitment to extend credit under an overdraft protection agreement is a commitment for a possible future extension of credit to an existing deposit customer. These lines of credit are uncollateralized and usually do not contain a specified maturity date and may not be drawn upon to the total extent to which the Bank is committed.

Standby letters of credit are conditional commitments issued by the Bank to guarantee the performance of a customer to a third party. These letters of credit are primarily issued to support public and private borrowing arrangements. A majority of letters of credit issued have expiration dates within one year. The credit risk involved in issuing letters of credit is essentially the same as that involved in extending loan facilities to customers. The Bank generally holds collateral supporting those commitments if deemed necessary.