Note 7 - Commitments and Contingencies

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

Notes to Financial Statements

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]

NOTE 7. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Financial Instruments with Off-Balance Sheet Risk

Our consolidated financial statements do not reflect various commitments and contingent liabilities that arise in the normal course of our business and involve elements of credit, liquidity, and interest rate risk. In the normal course of business we are party to financial instruments with off-balance sheet credit risk to meet the financing needs of our customers. These financial instruments include commitments to extend credit, standby letters of credit and financial guarantees. These instruments involve elements of credit and interest rate risk similar to the amounts recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The contract or notional amounts of these instruments reflect the extent of our involvement in particular classes of financial instruments.

The following table presents a summary of our commitments and contingent liabilities at September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019.

(Amounts in thousands)	September 30, 2020		December 31, 2019
Commitments:
Commitments to extend credit	$	254,987	$	267,248
Standby letters of credit		4,723		4,406
Affordable housing grant sponsorships		3,338		3,338
Access to housing and economic assistance for development grant sponsorships		60		110
Total commitments and contingent liabilities	$	263,108	$	275,102

We were not required to perform on any financial guarantees during the nine months ended September 30, 2020, or during the year ended December 31, 2019. At September 30, 2020, approximately $4.4 million of standby letters of credit will expire within one year, and $322 thousand will expire thereafter.

Affordable Housing Grants and Access to Housing and Economic Assistance for Development Grant Sponsorships

In fulfilling our CRA responsibilities, we are a sponsor for various nonprofit organizations that receive cash grants from the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco. Those grants require the nonprofit organization to comply with stipulated conditions of the grant over specified periods of time which typically vary from 10 to 15 years. If the nonprofit organization fails to comply, Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco can require us to refund the amount of the grant to Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco. To mitigate this contingent credit risk, our Credit Administration underwrites the financial strength of the nonprofit organization and reviews their systems of internal control to determine, as best as possible, that they will comply with the conditions of the grant.

Death Benefit Agreement

The Company has entered into agreements with certain employees to pay a cash benefit to designated beneficiaries following the death of the employee. The payment will be made only if, at the time of death, the deceased employee was employed by the Bank and the Bank owned a life insurance policy on the employee’s life. Depending on specific facts and circumstances, the payment amount can vary up to a maximum of $225 thousand per employee and may be taxable to the beneficiary. Neither the employee nor the designated beneficiaries have a claim against the Bank’s life insurance policy on the employee’s life.

Legal Proceedings

We are involved in various pending and threatened legal actions arising in the ordinary course of business and if necessary, we maintain reserves for losses from legal actions, which are both probable and estimable. In our opinion, the disposition of claims currently pending will not have a material adverse effect on our financial position or results of operations.

Concentrations of Credit Risk

We grant many loans collateralized by real estate. In our judgment, a concentration exists in real estate related loans, which represented approximately 74% of our gross loan portfolio (86% of our gross loan portfolio excluding PPP loans) and 83% of our gross loan portfolio at September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively. We underwrite real estate loans in accordance with loan policies that set underwriting criteria, including property types, loan-to-value limits and minimum debt service coverage ratios. We employ a variety of real estate concentration risk management tools including monitoring of limits on concentration levels, limits by property type and geography, annual property reviews including site visits and portfolio stress testing.

Although we believe such concentrations have no more than the normal risk of collectability, a substantial decline in the economy in general, material increases in interest rates, changes in tax policies, tightening credit or refinancing markets, or a decline in real estate values in our principal market areas in particular, could have an adverse impact on the repayment of these loans. Business and personal incomes, cash flows from rental operations, proceeds from the sale of real property, or proceeds from refinancing, represent the primary sources of repayment for a majority of these loans.

We recognize the credit risks inherent in dealing with other depository institutions. Accordingly, to prevent excessive exposure to other depository institutions in aggregate or individually, we have established general standards for selecting correspondent banks as well as internal limits for allowable exposure to other depository institutions in aggregate or individually. In addition, we have an investment policy that sets forth limitations that apply to all investments with respect to credit rating and concentrations with an issuer.