Commitments and Contingencies

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2020

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Credit-related financial instruments: The Bank 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, commitments to sell loans, and standby letters of credit. These instruments involve, to varying degrees, elements of credit risk in excess of the amount recognized in the balance sheets.

The Bank uses the same credit policies in making commitments and conditional obligations as it does for on-balance-sheet instruments. The following table summarizes the Bank's commitments as of the dates indicated:


	June 30, 2020		December 31, 2019
(in thousands)
Commitments to extend credit	$	892,199	$	859,212
Commitments to sell loans	12,048		5,400
Standby letters of credit	30,809		36,192
Total	$	935,056	$	900,804

The Bank's exposure to credit loss in the event of nonperformance by the counterparty to the financial instrument for commitments to extend credit is represented by the contractual amount of those instruments. 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. Since many of the commitments are expected to expire without being drawn upon, the total commitment amounts do not necessarily represent a future requirements. The Bank evaluates each customer's creditworthiness on a case-by-case basis. The amount of collateral obtained, if deemed necessary by the Bank upon extension of credit, is based on management's credit evaluation of the party.

Collateral held varies, but may include accounts receivable, crops, livestock, inventory, property and equipment, residential real estate and income-producing commercial properties.

Commitments to sell loans are agreements to sell loans held for sale to third parties at an agreed upon price.

Standby letters of credit are conditional commitments issued to guarantee the performance of a customer to a third party. Those guarantees are primarily issued to support public and private borrowing arrangements and, generally, have terms of one year or less. 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, which may include accounts receivable, inventory, property, equipment and income-producing properties, that support those commitments, if deemed necessary. In the event the customer does not perform in accordance with the terms of the agreement with the third party, the Bank would be required to fund the commitment. The maximum potential amount of future payments the Bank could be required to make is represented by the contractual amount shown in the summary above. If the commitment is funded, the Bank would be entitled to seek recovery from the customer.

Liability for Off-Balance Sheet Credit Losses: The Company records a liability for off-balance sheet credit losses through a charge to credit loss expense (or a reversal of credit loss expense) on the Company's consolidated statements of income and other liabilities on the Company's consolidated balance sheets. At June 30, 2020, the liability for off-balance-sheet credit losses totaled $4.2 million, whereas the total amount recorded within credit loss expense for the six months ended was $772 thousand. No liability was recorded in the prior year.

Litigation: In the normal course of business, the Company and its subsidiaries have been named, from time to time, as defendants in various legal actions. Certain of the actual or threatened legal actions may include claims for substantial compensatory and/or punitive damages or claims for indeterminate amounts of damages. Management, after consulting with legal counsel, is of the opinion that the ultimate liability, if any, resulting from these pending or threatened actions and proceedings will not have a material effect on the financial statements of the Company.

Concentrations of credit risk: Substantially all of the Bank’s loans, commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit have been granted to customers in the Bank’s market areas. Although the loan portfolio of the Bank is diversified, approximately 64% of the loans are real estate loans and approximately 8% are agriculturally related. The concentrations of credit by type of loan are set forth in Note 4 . Loans Receivable and the Allowance for Credit Losses. Commitments to extend credit are primarily related to commercial loans and home equity loans. Standby letters of credit were granted primarily to commercial borrowers. Investments in securities issued by state and political subdivisions involve certain governmental entities within Iowa and Minnesota. The carrying value of investment securities of Iowa and Minnesota political subdivisions totaled 34% and 20%, respectively, as of June 30, 2020.