Credit Commitments

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2011

Credit Commitments

Credit Commitments

Note 11.  Credit Commitments

The Company’s credit commitments as of June 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010 were as follows:

(dollars in thousands)	June 30,2011		December 31,2010
Unfunded Commitments to Extend Credit	$	1,822,387	$	1,875,459
Standby Letters of Credit	90,190		97,708
Commercial Letters of Credit	24,335		24,658
Total Credit Commitments	$	1,936,912	$	1,997,825

Unfunded Commitments to Extend Credit

Commitments to extend credit are agreements to lend to a customer as long as there is no violation of the terms or conditions established in the contract.  Commitments generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses and may require payment of a fee.  Since commitments may expire without being drawn, the total commitment amount does not necessarily represent future cash requirements.

Standby and Commercial Letters of Credit

Standby letters of credit are conditional commitments issued by the Company to guarantee the performance of a customer to a third party. Standby letters of credit generally become payable upon the failure of the customer to perform according to the terms of the underlying contract with the third party, while commercial letters of credit are issued specifically to facilitate commerce and typically result in the commitment being drawn on when the underlying transaction is consummated between the customer and a third party.  The contractual amount of these letters of credit represents the maximum potential future payments guaranteed by the Company.  The Company has recourse against the customer for any amount it is required to pay to a third party under a standby letter of credit, and holds cash and deposits as collateral on those standby letters of credit for which collateral is deemed necessary.