NOTE 8 – COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

The Bank is party to 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. Such commitments involve, to varying degrees, elements of credit and interest rate risk in excess of the amount recognized in the condensed consolidated balance sheets. Commitments may expire without being utilized. The Bank’s exposure to credit loss is represented by the contractual amount of these commitments, although material losses are not anticipated. The Bank follows the same credit policies in making commitments as it does for on‑balance sheet instruments.

The following presents the Company’s financial instruments whose contract amounts represent credit risk, as of the dates noted (in thousands):


	June 30, 2019				December 31, 2018
	Fixed Rate		Variable Rate		Fixed Rate		Variable Rate
Unused lines of credit	$	21,424	$	252,755	$	33,571	$	271,580
Standby letters of credit		25		23,833		40		23,508
Commitments to make loans to sell		83,309		—		17,207		—
Commitments to make loans		16,154		46,306		2,750		19,762

Unused lines of 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. Several of the commitments may expire without being drawn upon. Therefore, the total commitment amounts do not necessarily represent future cash requirements. The amount of collateral obtained, if it is deemed necessary by the Bank, is based on management’s credit evaluation of the customer.

Unused lines of credit under commercial lines of credit, revolving credit lines and overdraft protection agreements are commitments for possible future extensions of credit to existing customers. 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. Those letters of credit are primarily issued to support public and private borrowing arrangements. Substantially all 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 holds collateral supporting those commitments if deemed necessary.

Commitments to make loans to sell are agreements to sell a loan to an investor in the secondary market for which the interest rate has been locked with the customer, provided there is no violation of any condition within the contract with either party. Commitments to make loans to sell have fixed interest rates. Since commitments may expire without being extended, total commitment amounts may not necessarily represent cash requirements.

Commitments to make loans are agreements to lend to a customer, provided there is no violation of any condition within the contract. Commitments to make loans generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses. Since commitments may expire without being extended, total commitment amounts may not necessarily represent cash requirements.

Litigation, Claims and Settlements

The Company, from time to time, is involved in various legal actions arising in the normal course of business. While the ultimate outcome of any such proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty, it is the opinion of management, based on advice from legal counsel, that no proceedings exist, either individually or in the aggregate, which, if determined adversely to the Company, would have a material effect on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements.