Derivatives and Hedging Activities

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2011

Derivatives and Hedging Activities [Abstract]

Derivatives and Hedging Activities

9. Derivatives and Hedging Activities

          The Corporation, through its mortgage banking, foreign exchange and risk management operations, is party to various derivative instruments that are used for asset and liability management and customers’ financing needs. Derivative instruments are contracts between two or more parties that have a notional amount and underlying variable, require no net investment and allow for the net settlement of positions. The notional amount serves as the basis for the payment provision of the contract and takes the form of units, such as shares or dollars. The underlying variable represents a specified interest rate, index or other component. The interaction between the notional amount and the underlying variable determines the number of units to be exchanged between the parties and influences the market value of the derivative contract. Derivative assets and liabilities are recorded at fair value on the balance sheet and do not take into account the effects of master netting agreements. Master netting agreements allow the Corporation to settle all derivative contracts held with a single counterparty on a net basis, and to offset net derivative positions with related collateral, where applicable.

          The predominant derivative and hedging activities include interest rate swaps and certain mortgage banking activities. Generally, these instruments help the Corporation manage exposure to market risk and meet customer financing needs. Market risk represents the possibility that economic value or net interest income will be adversely affected by fluctuations in external factors, such as interest rates, market-driven rates and prices or other economic factors. Foreign exchange contracts are entered into to accommodate the needs of customers.

Derivatives Designated in Hedge Relationships

          The Corporation’s fixed rate loans result in exposure to losses in value as interest rates change. The risk management objective for hedging fixed rate loans is to convert the fixed rate received to a floating rate. The Corporation hedges exposure to changes in the fair value of fixed rate loans through the use of swaps. For a qualifying fair value hedge, changes in the value of the derivatives that have been highly effective as hedges are recognized in current period earnings along with the corresponding changes in the fair value of the designated hedged item attributable to the risk being hedged.

          Through the Corporation’s Fixed Rate Advantage Program (“FRAP Program”) a customer received a fixed interest rate commercial loan and the Corporation subsequently converted that fixed rate loan to a variable rate instrument over the term of the loan by entering into an interest rate swap with a dealer counterparty. The Corporation receives a fixed rate payment from the customer on the loan and pays the equivalent amount to the dealer counterparty on the swap in exchange for a variable rate payment based on the one month London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) index. These interest rate swaps are designated as fair value hedges. Through application of the “short cut method of accounting”, there is an assumption that the hedges are effective. The Corporation discontinued originating interest rate swaps under the FRAP program in February 2008 and subsequently began a new interest rate swap program for commercial loan customers, termed the Back-to-Back Program. These swaps do not qualify as designated hedges; therefore, each swap is accounted for as a standalone derivative.

          As of June 30, 2011, December 31, 2010 and June 30, 2010, the notional values or contractual amounts and fair value of the Corporation’s derivatives designated in hedge relationships were as follows:

	Asset Derivatives												Liability Derivatives
	June 30, 2011				December 31, 2010				June 30, 2010				June 30, 2011				December 31, 2010				June 30, 2010
					Notional/
	Notional/		Fair		Contract		Fair		Notional/		Fair		Notional/ Contract		Fair		Notional/		Fair		Notional/		Fair
	Contract Amount		Value (a)		Amount		Value (a)		Contract Amount		Value (a)		Amount		Value (b)		Contract Amount		Value (b)		Contract Amount		Value (b)
Interest rate swaps:
Fair value hedges	$	—	$	—	$	6,920	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	267,792	$	25,772	$	303,933	$	28,550	$	350,743	$	33,907

(a)	Included in Other Assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheet
(b)	Included in Other Liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheet

Derivatives Not Designated in Hedge Relationships

          As of June 30, 2011, December 31, 2010 and June 30, 2010, the notional values or contractual amounts and fair value of the Corporation’s derivatives not designated in hedge relationships were as follows:

	Asset Derivatives													Liability Derivatives
	June 30, 2011				December 31, 2010				June 30, 2010					June 30, 2011				December 31, 2010				June 30, 2010
	Notional/				Notional/				Notional/					Notional/				Notional/				Notional/
	Contract		Fair		Contract		Fair		Contract		Fair			Contract		Fair		Contract		Fair		Contract		Fair
	Amount		Value (a)		Amount		Value (a)		Amount		Value (a)			Amount		Value (b)		Amount		Value (b)		Amount		Value (b)
Interest rate swaps	$	863,344	$	46,246	$	774,623	$	44,270	$	717,915	$	49,391		$	863,344	$	46,246	$	774,623	$	44,270	$	717,915	$	49,391
Mortgage loan commitments		129,909		1,539		118,119		1,384		200,883		4,057			—		—		—		—		—		—
Forward sales contracts		84,517		5		113,426		2,106		132,084		(1,939	)		—		—		—		—		—		—
Credit contracts		—		—		—		—		—		—			24,714		—		44,983		—		61,175		—
Foreign exchange		4,076		19		3,733		4		3,167		102			4,076		19		3,733		4		3,167		102
Other		—		—		—		—		—		—			17,506		—		14,622		—		14,699		—
Total	$	1,081,846	$	47,809	$	1,009,901	$	47,764	$	1,054,049	$	51,611		$	909,640	$	46,265	$	837,961	$	44,274	$	796,956	$	49,493

(a)	Included in Other Assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheet
(b)	Included in Other Liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheet

          Interest Rate Swaps. In 2008, the Corporation implemented the Back-to-Back Program, which is an interest rate swap program for commercial loan customers. The Back-to-Back Program provides the customer with a fixed rate loan while creating a variable rate asset for the Corporation through the customer entering into an interest rate swap with the Corporation on terms that match the loan. The Corporation offsets its risk exposure by entering into an offsetting interest rate swap with a dealer counterparty. These swaps do not qualify as designated hedges; therefore, each swap is accounted for as a standalone derivative.

          Mortgage banking. In the normal course of business, the Corporation sells originated mortgage loans into the secondary mortgage loan markets. During the period of loan origination and prior to the sale of the loans in the secondary market, the Corporation has exposure to movements in interest rates associated with mortgage loans that are in the “mortgage pipeline” and the “mortgage warehouse”. A pipeline loan is one in which the Corporation has entered into a written mortgage loan commitment with a potential borrower that will be held for resale. Once a mortgage loan is closed and funded, it is included within the mortgage warehouse of loans awaiting sale and delivery into the secondary market.

          Written loan commitments that relate to the origination of mortgage loans that will be held for resale are considered free-standing derivatives and do not qualify for hedge accounting. Written loan commitments generally have a term of up to 60 days before the closing of the loan. The loan commitment does not bind the potential borrower to entering into the loan, nor does it guarantee that the Corporation will approve the potential borrower for the loan. Therefore, when determining fair value, the Corporation makes estimates of expected “fallout” (loan commitments not expected to close), using models, which consider cumulative historical fallout rates and other factors. Fallout can occur for a variety of reasons including falling rate environments when a borrower will abandon an interest rate lock loan commitment at one lender and enter into a new lower interest rate lock loan commitment at another, when a borrower is not approved as an acceptable credit by the lender, or for a variety of other non-economic reasons. In addition, expected net future cash flows related to loan servicing activities are included in the fair value measurement of a written loan commitment.

          Written loan commitments in which the borrower has locked in an interest rate results in market risk to the Corporation to the extent market interest rates change from the rate quoted to the borrower. The Corporation economically hedges the risk of changing interest rates associated with its interest rate lock commitments by entering into forward sales contracts.

          The Corporation’s warehouse (mortgage loans held for sale) is subject to changes in fair value, due to fluctuations in interest rates from the loan’s closing date through the date of sale of the loan into the secondary market. Typically, the fair value of the warehouse declines in value when interest rates increase and rises in value when interest rates decrease. To mitigate this risk, the Corporation enters into forward sales contracts on a significant portion of the warehouse to provide an economic hedge against those changes in fair value. Mortgage loans held for sale and the forward sales contracts were recorded at fair value with ineffective changes in value recorded in current earnings as Loan sales and servicing income.

          The Corporation periodically enters into derivative contracts by purchasing To Be Announced (“TBA”) Securities which are utilized as economic hedges of its MSRs to minimize the effects of loss of value of MSRs associated with increase prepayment activity that generally results from declining interest rates. In a rising interest rate environment, the value of the MSRs generally will increase while the value of the hedge instruments will decline. The hedges are economic hedges only, and are terminated and reestablished as needed to respond to changes in market conditions. There were no outstanding TBA Securities contracts as of June 30, 2011, December 31, 2010 or June 30, 2010.

          Credit contracts. Prior to implementation of the Back-to-Back Program, certain of the Corporation’s commercial loan customers entered into interest rate swaps with unaffiliated dealer counterparties. The Corporation entered into swap participations with these dealer counterparties whereby the Corporation guaranteed payment in the event that the counterparty experienced a loss on the interest rate swap due to a failure to pay by the Corporation’s commercial loan customer. The Corporation simultaneously entered into reimbursement agreements with the commercial loan customers obligating the customers to reimburse the Corporation for any payments it makes under the swap participations. The Corporation monitors its payment risk on its swap participations by monitoring the creditworthiness of its commercial loan customers, which is based on the normal credit review process the Corporation would have performed had it entered into these derivative instruments directly with the commercial loan customers. At June 30, 2011, the remaining terms on these swap participation agreements generally ranged from one to eight years. The Corporation’s maximum estimated exposure to written swap participations, as measured by projecting a maximum value of the guaranteed derivative instruments based on interest rate curve simulations and assuming 100% default by all obligors on the maximum values, was approximately $2.9 million as of June 30, 2011. The fair values of the written swap participations were not material at June 30, 2011, December 31, 2010 and June 30, 2010.

          Gains and losses recognized in income on non-designated hedging instruments for the quarters ended June 30, 2011 and 2010 are as follows:

		Amount of Gain / (Loss)
		Recognized in Income on
	Location of Gain / (Loss)	Derivative
Derivatives not designated as	Recognized in Income on	Quarter ended,		Quarter ended,
hedging instruments	Derivative	June 30, 2011		June 30, 2010
Mortgage loan commitments	Other income	$	107	$	2,818
Forward sales contracts	Other income		175		(2,064	)
Total		$	282	$	754

Counterparty Credit Risk

          Like other financial instruments, derivatives contain an element of “credit risk”— the possibility that the Corporation will incur a loss because a counterparty, which may be a bank, a broker-dealer or a customer, fails to meet its contractual obligations. This risk is measured as the expected positive replacement value of contracts. All derivative contracts may be executed only with exchanges or counterparties approved by the Corporation’s Asset and Liability Committee, and only within the Corporation’s Board of Directors Credit Committee approved credit exposure limits. Where contracts have been created for customers, the Corporation enters into derivatives with dealers to offset its risk exposure. To manage the credit exposure to exchanges and counterparties, the Corporation generally enters into bilateral collateral agreements using standard forms published by the International Swaps and Derivatives Association. These agreements are to include thresholds of credit exposure or the maximum amount of unsecured credit exposure which the Corporation is willing to assume. Beyond the threshold levels, collateral in the form of securities made available from the investment portfolio or other forms of collateral acceptable under the bilateral collateral agreements are provided. The threshold levels for each counterparty are established by the Corporation’s Asset and Liability Committee. The Corporation generally posts collateral in the form of highly rated Government Agency issued bonds or MBSs. Collateral posted against derivative liabilities was $91.2 million, $85.2 million and $95.8 million as of June 30, 2011, December 31, 2010 and June 30, 2010, respectively.