Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements, Commitments, and Contingencies

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2024

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements, Commitments, and Contingencies

Legal Proceedings

As of April 20, 2023, a putative class action lawsuit entitled Chad Key, et al. v. Horizon Bancorp, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:23-cv-02961 (”Securities Action”) was filed against the Company and two of its officers in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The Securities Action asserts claims under §§ 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 alleging, among other things, the Company made materially false and misleading statements and failed to disclose material adverse facts which allegedly resulted in harm to a putative class of purchasers of our securities from March 9, 2022 and March 10, 2023.

As of (1) August 28, 2023, a lawsuit related to the Securities Action was filed by Sally Hundley, derivatively on behalf of the Company, against the Company, as nominal defendant, and 2 of the Company's officers and 10 of its directors and (2) August 31, 2023, a lawsuit also related to the Securities Action was filed by Aziz Chowdhury, derivatively on behalf of the Company, against the Company, as nominal defendant, and 2 of the Company's officers and 10 of its directors (the “Derivatives Actions”) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The Derivative Actions allege, among other things, breach of the officers and directors' fiduciary duties. The Derivative Actions have been consolidated and stayed pending resolution of any motion to dismiss in the Securities Action.

Based on our initial review of these actions, management believes that the Company has strong defenses to the claims and intends to vigorously defend against them. As of June 30, 2024, no liabilities related to the above matters were recorded because we have concluded such liabilities are not probable and the amounts of such liabilities are not reasonably estimable.

In addition to the matters described above, from time to time, Horizon and its subsidiaries are involved in various legal proceedings incidental to the conduct of their business. Management does not expect that the outcome of any such proceedings will have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position or results of operations.

Financial Instruments with Off-Balance Sheet Risk

In the normal course of business, the Company is a party to financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk to meet the financing needs of its clients. These financial instruments include commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit. These instruments involve, to varying degrees, elements of credit and interest rate risk in excess of amounts recorded in the consolidated balance sheets.

Commitments to extend credit are legally binding agreements to lend to a client, so long as there is no violation of any condition established in the commitment contract. Since many of the commitments are expected to expire without being drawn upon, the total commitment amounts do not necessarily represent future cash requirements.

Standby letters of credit are conditional commitments issued by the Company to guarantee the performance of a client to a third party. The credit risk involved in issuing letters of credit is essentially the same as the credit risk involved in extending loan facilities to clients. The Company’s policy for obtaining collateral, and determining the nature of such collateral, is essentially the same as in the Company’s policies for making commitments to extend credit. The methodology for estimating the liability for unfunded loan commitments is consistent with the allowance for credit losses on loans.

The following table represents the commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit as of June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively:


	June 30, 2024		December 31, 2023
Commitments to extend credit	$	1,103,746	$	1,118,417
Standby letters of credit	18,969		16,493
Total	$	1,122,715	$	1,134,910