Note 15 — Derivative Financial Instruments

The Company uses certain derivative instruments to meet the needs of its customers as well as to manage the interest rate risk associated with certain transactions. The following table summarizes the derivative financial instruments utilized by the Company:


				March 31, 2018						March 31, 2017
	Balance Sheet	Notional		Estimated Fair Value				Notional		Estimated Fair Value
(Dollars in thousands)	Location	Amount		Gain		Loss		Amount		Gain		Loss

Cash flow hedges of interest rate risk:
Pay fixed rate swap with counterparty	Other Liabilities	$	8,000	$	—	$	162	$	8,000	$	—	$	426

Fair value hedge of interest rate risk:
Pay fixed rate swap with counterparty	Other Liabilities	$	2,824	$	—	$	21	$	—	$	—	$	—

Not designated hedges of interest rate risk:
Customer related interest rate contracts:
Matched interest rate swaps with borrowers	Other Assets and Other Liabilities	$	282,047	$	146	$	5,908	$	13,768	$	133	$	—
Matched interest rate swaps with counterparty	Other Assets and Other Liabilities	$	282,047	$	5,609	$	3	$	13,768	$	—	$	121

Not designated hedges of interest rate risk - mortgage banking activities:
Contracts used to hedge mortgage servicing rights	Other Assets	$	69,000	$	390	$	—	$	98,000	$	214	$	—

Forward sales commitments used to hedge mortgage pipeline	Other Assets	$	98,860	$	1,275	$	—	$	114,079		1,679	$	—

Total derivatives		$	742,778	$	7,420	$	6,094	$	247,615	$	2,026	$	547

Cash Flow Hedge of Interest Rate Risk

The Company is exposed to interest rate risk in the course of its business operations and manages a portion of this risk through the use of derivative financial instruments, in the form of interest rate swaps. The Company accounts for its interest rate swap that is classified as a cash flow hedge in accordance with FASB ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging, which requires that all derivatives be recognized as assets or liabilities on the balance sheet at fair value. For more information regarding the fair value of the Company’s derivative financial instruments, see Note 13 to these financial statements.

The Company utilizes an interest rate swap agreement to essentially convert a portion of its variable-rate debt to a fixed rate (cash flow hedge). For derivatives designated as hedging exposure to variable cash flows of a forecasted transaction (cash flow hedge), the effective portion of the derivative’s gain or loss is initially reported as a component of other comprehensive income and subsequently reclassified into earnings when the forecasted transaction affects earnings or when the hedge is terminated. The ineffective portion of the gain or loss is reported in earnings immediately. For derivatives that are not designated as hedging instruments, changes in the fair value of the derivatives are recognized in earnings immediately.

When applying hedge accounting for derivatives, the Company establishes a method for assessing the effectiveness of the hedging derivative and a measurement approach for determining the ineffective aspect of the hedge upon the inception of the hedge.

During 2009, the Company entered into a forward starting interest rate swap agreement with a notional amount of $8.0 million to manage interest rate risk due to periodic rate resets on its junior subordinated debt issued by SCBT Capital Trust II, an unconsolidated subsidiary of the Company established for the purpose of issuing trust preferred securities. The Company hedges the variable rate cash flows of subordinated debt against future interest rate increases by using an interest rate swap that effectively fixed the rate on the debt beginning on June 15, 2010, at which time the debt contractually converted from a fixed interest rate to a variable interest rate. This hedge expires on June 15, 2019. The notional amount on which the interest payments are based will not be exchanged. This derivatives contract calls for the Company to pay a fixed rate of 4.06% on $8.0 million notional amount and receive a variable rate of three-month LIBOR on the $8.0 million notional amount.

The Company recognized an after-tax unrealized gain on its cash flow hedge in other comprehensive income of $65,000 and $44,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. The Company recognized a $162,000 cash flow hedge liability in other liabilities on the balance sheet at March 31, 2018, compared to a $426,000 liability at March 31, 2017. There was no ineffectiveness in the cash flow hedge during the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017.

Credit risk related to the derivative arises when amounts receivable from the counterparty (derivatives dealer) exceed those payable. The Company controls the risk of loss by only transacting with derivatives dealers that are national market makers whose credit ratings are strong. Each party to the interest rate swap is required to provide collateral in the form of cash or securities to the counterparty when the counterparty’s exposure to a mark-to-market replacement value exceeds certain negotiated limits. These limits are typically based on current credit ratings and vary with ratings changes. As of March 31, 2018 and 2017, the Company provided $300,000 and $550,000 of collateral, respectively, which is included in cash and cash equivalents on the balance sheet as interest-bearing deposits with banks. Also, the Company has a netting agreement with the counterparty.

Balance Sheet Fair Value Hedge

The Company maintains one loan swap, with an aggregate notional amount of $2.8 million at March 31, 2018, accounted for as fair value hedges in accordance with ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging. This derivative protects the company from interest rate risk caused by changes in the LIBOR curve in relation to a certain designated fixed rate loan. The derivative converts the fixed rate loan to a floating rate. Settlement occurs in any given period where there is a difference in the stated fixed rate and variable rate. The fair value of this hedge is recorded in other assets and in other liabilities. All changes in fair value are recorded through earnings as noninterest income. There was no gain or loss recorded on this derivative for the three months ended March 31, 2018 or 2017.

Non-designated Hedges of Interest Rate Risk

Customer Swap

The Company maintains interest rate swap contracts with customers that are classified as non-designated hedges and are not speculative in nature. These agreements are designed to convert customer’s variable rate loans with the Company to fixed rate. These interest rate swaps are executed with loan customers to facilitate a respective risk management strategy and allow the customer to pay a fixed rate of interest to the Company. These interest rate swaps are simultaneously hedged by executing offsetting interest rate swaps with unrelated market counterparties to minimize the net risk exposure to the Company resulting from the transactions and allow the Company to receive a variable rate of interest. The interest rate swaps pay and receive interest based on a floating rate based on one month LIBOR plus credit spread, with payments being calculated on the notional amount. The interest rate swaps are settled monthly with varying maturities.

As the interest rate swaps associated with this program do not meet the strict hedge accounting requirements, changes in the fair value of both the customer swaps and the offsetting swaps are recognized directly in earnings. As of March 31, 2018, the interest rate swaps had an aggregate notional amount of approximately $564.1 million and the fair value of the interest rate swap derivatives are recorded in other assets at $5.7 million and in other liabilities at $5.9 million for a net liability position of $156,000, which was recorded through earnings. The fair value of the interest rate swap derivative with the derivatives dealer was in a net asset position of $12,000 at March 31, 2017.

Mortgage Banking

The Company also has derivatives contracts that are classified as non-designated hedges. These derivatives contracts are a part of the Company’s risk management strategy for its mortgage banking activities. These instruments may include financial forwards, futures contracts, and options written and purchased, which are used to hedge MSRs; while forward sales commitments are typically used to hedge the mortgage pipeline. Such instruments derive their cash flows, and therefore their values, by reference to an underlying instrument, index or referenced interest rate. The Company does not elect hedge accounting treatment for any of these derivative instruments and as a result, changes in fair value of the instruments (both gains and losses) are recorded in the Company’s consolidated statements of income in mortgage banking income.

Mortgage Servicing Rights

Derivatives contracts related to MSRs are used to help offset changes in fair value and are written in amounts referred to as notional amounts. Notional amounts provide a basis for calculating payments between counterparties but do not represent amounts to be exchanged between the parties, and are not a measure of financial risk. On March 31, 2018, the Company had derivative financial instruments outstanding with notional amounts totaling $69.0 million related to MSRs, compared to $98.0 million on March 31, 2017. The estimated net fair value of the open contracts related to the MSRs was recorded as a gain of $390,000 at March 31, 2018, compared to a gain of $214,000 at March 31, 2017.

Mortgage Pipeline

The following table presents the Company’s notional value of forward sale commitments and the fair value of those obligations along with the fair value of the mortgage pipeline.



(Dollars in thousands)	March 31, 2018		December 31, 2017		March 31, 2017
Mortgage loan pipeline	$	92,647	$	71,477	$	117,666
Expected closures		69,485		53,608		88,250
Fair value of mortgage loan pipeline commitments		1,190		920		2,066
Forward sales commitments		98,860		89,317		114,079
Fair value of forward commitments		85		19		(387)