Derivative Hedging Instruments

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2024

Derivative Hedging Instruments

Derivative Hedging Instruments

12.  Derivative Hedging Instruments

The Company can use various interest rate contracts, such as interest rate swaps, caps, floors and swaptions to help manage interest rate and market valuation risk exposure, which is incurred in normal recurrent banking activities.

Interest Rate Swap Agreements

The Company can use derivative instruments, primarily interest rate swaps, to manage interest rate risk and match the rates on certain assets by hedging the fair value of certain fixed rate debt, which converts the debt to variable rates and by hedging the cash flow variability associated with certain variable rate debt by converting the debt to fixed rates.

To accommodate the needs of our customers and support the Company’s asset/liability positioning, we may enter into interest rate swap agreements with customers and a large financial institution that specializes in these types of transactions. These arrangements involve the exchange of interest payments based on the notional amounts. The Company entered into floating rate loans and fixed rate swaps with our customers. Simultaneously, the Company entered into offsetting fixed rate swaps with this large financial institution. In connection with each swap transaction, the Company agrees to pay interest to the customer on a notional amount at a variable interest rate and receive interest from the customer on the same notional amount at a fixed interest rate. At the same time, the Company agrees to pay the large financial institution the same fixed interest rate on the same notional amount and receive the same variable interest rate on the same notional amount. These transactions allow the Company’s customers to effectively convert a variable rate loan to a fixed rate. Because the Company acts as an intermediary for its customers, changes in the fair value of the underlying derivative contracts offset each other and do not significantly impact the Company’s results of operations.

These swaps are considered free-standing derivatives and are reported at fair value within other assets and other liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Disclosures related to the fair value of the swap transactions can be found in Note 16.

The following table summarizes the interest rate swap transactions that impacted the Company’s first six months of 2024 and 2023 performance (in thousands, except percentages).

	At June 30, 2024
							INCREASE
		AGGREGATE		WEIGHTED			(DECREASE)
		NOTIONAL		AVERAGE RATE		REPRICING	IN INTEREST
	HEDGE TYPE	AMOUNT		RECEIVED/(PAID)		FREQUENCY	INCOME
Swap assets	N/A	$	67,778	7.69	%	Monthly	$	1,069
Swap liabilities	N/A		(67,778)	(7.69)		Monthly		(1,069)
Net exposure		$	—	—	%		$	—

	At June 30, 2023
							INCREASE
		AGGREGATE		WEIGHTED			(DECREASE)
		NOTIONAL		AVERAGE RATE		REPRICING	IN INTEREST
	HEDGE TYPE	AMOUNT		RECEIVED/(PAID)		FREQUENCY	INCOME
Swap assets	N/A	$	65,187	7.22	%	Monthly	$	953
Swap liabilities	N/A		(65,187)	(7.22)		Monthly		(953)
Net exposure		$	—	—	%		$	—

Risk Participation Agreements

The Company has entered into risk participation agreements (RPAs) with the lead bank of certain commercial real estate loan arrangements. As a participating bank, the Company guarantees the performance on borrower-related interest rate swap contracts. The Company has no obligations under the RPAs unless the borrower defaults on their swap transaction with the lead bank and the swap is a liability to the borrower. In that instance, the Company has agreed to pay the lead bank a pre-determined percentage of the swap’s value at the time of default. In exchange for providing the guarantee, the Company receives an upfront fee from the lead bank.

RPAs are derivative financial instruments and are recorded at fair value. These derivatives are not designated as hedges and therefore, changes in fair value are recognized in earnings with a corresponding offset within other liabilities. Disclosures related to the fair value of the RPAs can be found in Note 16. The notional amount of the risk participation agreements outstanding at June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023 was $5.0 million and $6.8 million, respectively.

Interest Rate Hedges

The Company has entered into interest rate swaps with a total notional value of $70 million and $60 million as of June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively, in order to hedge the interest rate risk associated with certain floating-rate time deposit accounts. The hedge transactions allow the Company to add stability to interest expense and manage its exposure to interest rate movements. These interest rate swaps are designated as cash flow hedges and involve the receipt of variable rate amounts from a counterparty in exchange for the Company making fixed payments.

For derivatives designated as cash flow hedges, the effective portion of changes in the fair value of the derivative is reported in accumulated other comprehensive loss (within Shareholders’ Equity), net of tax, with a corresponding offset within other assets or other liabilities. Disclosures related to the fair value of the interest rate hedges can be found in Note 16. Amounts recorded in accumulated other comprehensive loss for the effective portion of changes in the fair value are subsequently reclassified to earnings when the hedged transaction affects earnings. The ineffective portion of changes in the fair value of the derivative is recognized directly in earnings. The Company assesses the effectiveness of the hedging relationship by comparing the changes in cash flows of the derivative hedging instrument with the changes in cash flows of the designated hedged transactions. The Company did not recognize any hedge ineffectiveness in earnings during the periods ended June 30, 2024 and 2023.

Amounts reported in accumulated other comprehensive loss related to derivatives will be reclassified to interest expense as interest payments are made on certain of the Company’s variable rate time deposit accounts. During the three months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, the Company had $199,000 and $95,000 of gains, respectively, which resulted in a decrease in interest expense. During the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, the Company had $399,000 and $119,000 of gains, respectively, which resulted in a decrease in interest expense. In the twelve months that follow June 30, 2024, the Company estimates that approximately $799,000 will be reclassified as a decrease to interest expense. This reclassified amount could differ from amounts actually recognized due to changes in interest rates. As of June 30, 2024, the maximum remaining length of time over which forecasted transactions are hedged is approximately two and a half years with all hedge transactions terminating by December 2026.

The following table summarizes the effect of the effective portion of the Company’s cash flow hedge accounting on accumulated other comprehensive loss for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 (in thousands).

	Three months ended June 30, 2024
Derivatives in Cash Flow Hedging Relationships	Amount Recognized in Other Comprehensive Income on Derivative		Location on Consolidated Statements of Operations of Reclassification from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss	Amount Reclassified from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss
Interest rate hedge	$	90	Interest expense - Deposits	$	(199)
Total	$	90		$	(199)

	Three months ended June 30, 2023
Derivatives in Cash Flow Hedging Relationships	Amount Recognized in Other Comprehensive Income on Derivative		Location on Consolidated Statements of Operations of Reclassification from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss	Amount Reclassified from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss
Interest rate hedge	$	1,159	Interest expense - Deposits	$	(95)
Total	$	1,159		$	(95)

	Six months ended June 30, 2024
Derivatives in Cash Flow Hedging Relationships	Amount Recognized in Other Comprehensive Income on Derivative		Location on Consolidated Statements of Operations of Reclassification from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss	Amount Reclassified from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss
Interest rate hedge	$	887	Interest expense - Deposits	$	(399)
Total	$	887		$	(399)

	Six months ended June 30, 2023
Derivatives in Cash Flow Hedging Relationships	Amount Recognized in Other Comprehensive Income on Derivative		Location on Consolidated Statements of Operations of Reclassification from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss	Amount Reclassified from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss
Interest rate hedge	$	330	Interest expense - Deposits	$	(119)
Total	$	330		$	(119)

The Company monitors and controls all derivative products with a comprehensive Board of Directors approved Hedging Policy. This policy permits a total maximum notional amount outstanding of $500 million for interest rate swaps, interest rate caps/floors, and swaptions. All hedge transactions must be approved in advance by the Investment Asset/Liability Committee (ALCO) of the Board of Directors, unless otherwise approved, as per the terms, within the Board of Directors approved Hedging Policy. The Company had no caps or floors outstanding at June 30, 2024 and 2023.