Note 15 - Commitments and Contingencies

Financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk:

In the normal course of business there are various legal proceedings, commitments, and contingent liabilities which are not reflected in the consolidated financial statements. Management does not anticipate any material losses as a result of these transactions and activities. They include, among other things, commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit. The maximum exposure to credit loss, which represents the possibility of sustaining a loss due to the failure of the other parties to a financial instrument to perform according to the terms of the contract, is represented by the contractual amount of these instruments. QNB uses the same lending standards and policies in making credit commitments as it does for on-balance sheet instruments. The activity is controlled through credit approvals, control limits, and monitoring procedures.

A summary of the Bank's financial instrument commitments is as follows:

December 31,	2017		2016
Commitments to extend credit and unused lines of credit	$	313,541	$	277,216
Standby letters of credit		15,211		16,490
Total financial instrument commitments	$	328,752	$	293,706

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 and may require the 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. QNB evaluates each customer’s creditworthiness on a case-by-case basis.

Standby letters of credit are conditional commitments issued by the Bank to guarantee the financial or performance obligation of a customer to a third party. QNB’s exposure to credit loss in the event of nonperformance by the other party to the financial instrument for standby letters of credit is represented by the contractual amount of those instruments. The Bank uses the same credit policies in making conditional obligations as it does for on-balance sheet instruments. Standby letters of credit totaling $14,326,000 expire within one year. The credit risk involved in issuing letters of credit is essentially the same as that involved in extending other loan commitments. The Bank requires collateral and personal guarantees supporting these letters of credit as deemed necessary. The amount of collateral obtained for letters of credit and commitments to extend credit is based on management’s credit evaluation of the customer. Collateral varies, but may include real estate, accounts receivable, marketable securities, pledged deposits, inventory or equipment. Management believes that the proceeds obtained through a liquidation of such collateral and the enforcement of personal guarantees would be sufficient to cover the maximum potential amount of future payments required under the corresponding guarantees. The amount of the liability as of December 31, 2017 and 2016 for guarantees under standby letters of credit issued is not material.

Other commitments:

QNB has committed to various operating leases for several of their branch and office facilities. Some of these leases include renewal options as well as specific provisions relating to rent increases. The minimum annual rental commitments under these leases outstanding at December 31, 2017 are as follows:

	Minimum lease payments
2018	$	576
2019		644
2020		512
2021		420
2022		265
Thereafter		5,596
Total	$	8,013

Some of the leases contain renewal options to extend the initial terms of the lease for periods ranging from one to ten years and certain leases allow for multiple extensions. With the exception of the renewals for a land lease related to a permanent branch site, the commitment for such renewals is not included above if they have not been exercised as of December 31, 2017. Rent expense under leases, which includes common area maintenance costs not included in the minimum lease payments above, for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, was $645,000, $606,000 and $621,000, respectively.