Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Commitments and Contingencies [Abstract]

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

(17)    COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS WITH OFF-BALANCE SHEET RISK

The Company is a party to financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk in the normal course of business to meet the financing needs of its customers and to reduce its own exposure to fluctuations in interest rates. These financial instruments involve, to varying degrees, elements of credit and interest rate risk in excess of amounts recognized in the consolidated balance sheets. The Company uses the same credit policies in making commitments and conditional obligations as it does for on-balance sheet instruments.

Off-balance sheet financial instruments whose contractual amounts present credit risk include the following at December 31:

	2011		2010
	(Dollars In Thousands)
Commitments to extend credit:
Fixed rate	$	34,732	$	43,669
Adjustable rate		4,424		9,412
Unused portion of existing credit lines and loan commitments		1,138,256		972,489
Unadvanced construction loans		152,348		108,906
Standby letters of credit		15,705		21,524

The Company’s exposure to credit loss in the event of nonperformance by the counterparty for commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit is represented by the contractual amounts of those instruments. 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. The Bank evaluates each customer’s creditworthiness on an individual basis. The amount of collateral obtained upon extension of the credit is based upon management’s credit evaluation of the customer. Collateral varies but may include accounts receivable, inventory, property, plant and equipment and income-producing commercial real estate. Commitments generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses and may require payment of a fee. Since some of the commitments may 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 Bank to guarantee performance of a customer to a third party. These standby letters of credit are primarily issued to support the financing needs of the Bank’s commercial customers. The credit risk involved in issuing letters of credit is essentially the same as that involved in extending loans to customers. The collateral supporting those commitments is essentially the same as for other commitments. Most guarantees extend for one year.

Guarantees are recorded on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet at fair value at inception. The Company considers standby letters of credit to be guarantees and the amount of the recorded liability related to such guarantees at both December 31, 2011 and 2010 was approximately $88,000 and $95,000, respectively.

LEASES

The Company leases office space, space for ATM locations, and certain branch locations under noncancelable operating leases. The following is a schedule of minimum future lease commitments under such leases as of December 31, 2011:

Years	Lease Commitments
	(Dollars In Thousands)
2012	$	6,948
2013		6,772
2014		6,534
2015		6,440
2016		6,242
Thereafter		26,004
Total future minimum rentals	$	58,940

Rent expense incurred under operating leases was approximately $6.8 million in 2011, $6.9 million in 2010, and $7.0 million in 2009. Several of these leases have renewal options ranging from 3–20 years.

The Company has entered into lease agreements with related third parties on substantially the same terms as those prevailing at the time for comparable transactions with unrelated parties. Rent expense incurred under related third party leases was approximately $1.1 million, $1.0 million, and $1.1 million, in 2011, 2010, and 2009.

OTHER CONTINGENCIES

At December 31, 2011, Rockland Trust was involved in pending lawsuits that arose in the ordinary course of business. Management has reviewed these pending lawsuits with legal counsel and has taken into consideration the view of counsel as to their outcome. In the opinion of management, the final disposition of pending lawsuits is not expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position or results of operations.

The Bank is required to maintain certain reserve requirements of vault cash and/or deposits with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. The amount of this reserve requirement was $22.3 million and $5.5 million at December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.