Note 23 Commitments and Contingencies

In the normal course of business, the Company enters into various off-balance sheet commitments to help meet the financing needs of clients. These financial instruments include commitments to extend credit, commercial and consumer lines of credit and standby letters of credit. The same credit policies are applied to these commitments as the loans on the consolidated statements of financial condition; however, these commitments involve varying degrees of credit risk in excess of the amount recognized in the consolidated statements of financial condition. At December 31, 2015 and 2014, the Company had loan commitments totaling $627.2 million and $485.5 million, respectively, and standby letters of credit that totaled $9.8 million and $10.0 million, respectively. The total amounts of unused commitments do not necessarily represent future credit exposure or cash requirements, as commitments often expire without being drawn upon. However, the contractual amount of these commitments, offset by any additional collateral pledged, represents the Company’s potential credit loss exposure.

Total unfunded commitments at December 31, 2015 and 2014 were as follows:


	December 31, 2015		December 31, 2014
Commitments to fund loans:
Residential	$	3,053	$	1,683
Commercial and commercial real estate		208,355		202,604
Construction and land development		44,282		35,814
Consumer		5,314		4,376
Credit card lines of credit		18,418		18,065
Unfunded commitments under lines of credit		347,822		222,950
Commercial and standby letters of credit		9,770		9,965
Total	$	637,014	$	495,457

Commitments to fund loans—Commitments to fund loans are legally binding agreements to lend to clients in accordance with predetermined contractual provisions providing there have been no violations of any conditions specified in the contract. These commitments are generally at variable interest rates and are for specific periods or contain termination clauses and may require the payment of a fee. The total amounts of unused commitments are not necessarily representative of future credit exposure or cash requirements, as commitments often expire without being drawn upon.

Credit card lines of credit—The Company extends lines of credit to clients through the use of credit cards issued by the Bank. These lines of credit represent the maximum amounts allowed to be funded, many of which will not exhaust the established limits, and as such, these amounts are not necessarily representations of future cash requirements or credit exposure.

Unfunded commitments under lines of credit—In the ordinary course of business, the Company extends revolving credit to its clients. These arrangements may require the payment of a fee.

Commercial and standby letters of credit—As a provider of financial services, the Company routinely issues commercial and standby letters of credit, which may be financial standby letters of credit or performance standby letters of credit. These are various forms of “back-up” commitments to guarantee the performance of a client to a third party. While these arrangements represent a potential cash outlay for the Company, the majority of these letters of credit will expire without being drawn upon. Letters of credit are subject to the same underwriting and credit approval process as traditional loans, and as such, many of them have various forms of collateral securing the commitment, which may include real estate, personal property, receivables or marketable securities.

Contingencies

In the ordinary course of business, the Company and the Bank may be subject to litigation. Based upon the available information and advice from the Company’s legal counsel, management does not believe that any potential, threatened or pending litigation to which it is a party will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s liquidity, financial condition or results of operations.