Note 20. Commitments and Contingencies

In the normal course of business, the Bank is a party to financial instruments that are not reflected in the accompanying financial statements and are commonly referred to as off-balance-sheet instruments. These financial instruments are entered into primarily to meet the financing needs of the Bank’s customers and include commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit. Those instruments involve, to varying degrees, elements of credit and interest rate risk not recognized in the consolidated balance sheet.

The Corporation’s exposure to credit loss in the event of nonperformance by other parties to the financial instruments for commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit is represented by the contract or notional amount of those instruments. The Bank uses the same credit policies in making commitments and conditional obligations as they do for on-balance-sheet instruments.

The Bank had the following outstanding commitments as of December 31:


(Dollars in thousands)
Financial instruments whose contract amounts represent credit risk	2019		2018
Commercial commitments to extend credit	$	248,251	$	216,913
Consumer commitments to extend credit (secured)		56,898		49,221
Consumer commitments to extend credit (unsecured)		5,088		5,605
	$	310,237	$	271,739
Standby letters of credit	$	26,382	$	25,429

Commitments to extend credit are agreements to lend to a customer as long as there is no violation of any condition established in the contract. Commitments generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses with the exception of home equity lines and personal lines of credit and may require payment of a fee. Since many of the commitments are expected to expire without being drawn upon, the total commitment amounts do not necessarily represent future cash requirements. The Bank evaluates each customer’s creditworthiness on a case-by-case basis. The amount of collateral obtained, if deemed necessary by the Bank, is based on Management’s credit evaluation of the counterparty. Collateral for most commercial commitments varies but may include accounts receivable, inventory, property, plant, and equipment, and income-producing commercial properties. Collateral for secured consumer commitments consists of liens on residential real estate.

Standby letters of credit are instruments issued by the Bank, which guarantee the beneficiary payment by the Bank in the event of default by the Bank’s customer in the nonperformance of an obligation or service. Most standby letters of credit are extended for one-year periods. The credit risk involved in issuing letters of credit is essentially the same as that involved in extending loan facilities to customers. The Bank holds collateral supporting those commitments for which collateral is deemed necessary primarily in the form of certificates of deposit and liens on real estate. Management believes that the proceeds obtained through a liquidation of such collateral would be sufficient to cover the maximum potential amount of future payments required under the corresponding guarantees. As of June 30, 2018, the Bank established a $2.4 million allowance against letters of credit issued in connection with a commercial borrower that declared bankruptcy in the second quarter of 2018 and which remains at December 31, 2019. In February 2020, the Bank was notified that one letter of credit for $250 thousand was cancelled. This amount was reversed from the liability and an offsetting amount recorded in Other income.

Most of the Bank’s business activity is with customers located within its primary market and does not involve any significant concentrations of credit to any one entity or industry.

Legal Proceedings

The nature of the Corporation’s business generates a certain amount of litigation.

We establish accruals for legal proceedings when information related to the loss contingencies represented by those matters indicates both that a loss is probable and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. When we are able to do so, we also determine estimates of probable losses, whether in excess of any accrued liability or where there is no accrued liability.

These assessments are based on our analysis of currently available information and are subject to significant judgment and a variety of assumptions and uncertainties. As new information is obtained, we may change our assessments and, as a result, take or adjust the amounts of our accruals and change our estimates of possible losses or ranges of possible losses. Due to the inherent subjectivity of the assessments and the unpredictability of outcomes of legal proceedings, any amounts that may be accrued or included in estimates of probable losses or ranges of probable losses may not represent the actual loss to the Corporation from any legal proceeding. Our exposure and ultimate losses may be higher, possibly significantly higher, than amounts we may accrue or amounts we may estimate.

In management’s opinion, we do not anticipate, at the present time, that the ultimate aggregate liability, if any, arising out of all litigation to which the Corporation is a party will have a material adverse effect on our financial position. We cannot now determine, however, whether or not any claim asserted against us, other than the Kalan case described below, will have a material adverse effect on our results of operations in any future reporting period, which will depend on, amount other things, the amount of loss resulting from the claim and the amount of income otherwise reported for the reporting period. Thus, at December 31, 2019, we are unable to provide an evaluation of the likelihood of an unfavorable outcome or an estimate of the amount or range of potential loss with respect to such other matters and, accordingly, have not yet established any specific accrual for such other matters, except in connection with the Kalan case described below.

No material proceedings are pending or are known to be threatened or contemplated against us by governmental authorities.

On July 31, 2018, the court entered an order granting final approval of the settlement agreements in the Kalan et al. v. Farmers and Merchants Trust Company of Chambersburg et al. (Case No. 2:15-CV-01435-WB) case filed against F&M Trust in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in March, 2015. Among other things, the order also dismissed the case against F&M Trust with prejudice; certified the settlement class; and, permanently enjoined the named plaintiffs and the members of the settlement class from asserting any further claims arising out of or related to the claims alleged or that could have been alleged in the case against F&M Trust. The settlement agreements provide for the Bank to make a settlement payment of $10 million in full and final settlement of all such claims. The settlement agreements further provided for general releases by all parties. F&M Trust made the settlement payment in May, 2018, in accordance with the court’s earlier order preliminarily approving the settlement agreements. The settlement payment was funded out of available assets. The Corporation previously accrued the $10 million settlement payment in the Kalan case as an expense for the year ended December 31, 2017.