The Bank is a party to credit related financial instruments with off-balance-sheet risk in the normal course of business to meet the financing need of its customers. These financial instruments include commitments to extend credit, Standby Letters of Credit, and Commercial Letters of Credit. Such commitments involve, to varying degrees, elements of credit and interest rate risk in excess of the amount recognized in the Company's consolidated balance sheets.

The Bank's exposure to credit loss is represented by the contractual amount of these commitments. The Bank follows the same credit policies in making commitments as it does for on-balance-sheet instruments. The allowance for credit losses as it relates to unfunded loan commitments (AULC) is included under other liabilities. The AULC as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 was $825 thousand and $1.0 million, respectively.

At December 31, 2023 and 2022, the following financial instruments were outstanding whose contract amounts represent credit risk:


	(In Thousands)
	2023		2022
Commitments to extend credit	$	640,023	$	691,501
Standby letters of credit		825		1,046

Commitments to extend credit and Standby Letters of Credit all include exposure to some credit loss in the event of nonperformance of the customer. The Bank’s credit policies and procedures for credit commitments and financial guarantees are the same as those for extensions of credit that are recorded in the financial statements. Due to the fact that these instruments have fixed maturity dates, and because many of them expire without being drawn upon, they generally do not present any significant liquidity risk to the Bank. On May 1, 2022, the Bank sold the credit card portfolio thus eliminating credit risk for 2022.

To reduce credit risk related to the use of credit-related financial instruments, the Bank might deem it necessary to obtain collateral. The amount and nature of the collateral obtained is based on the Bank's credit evaluation of the customer. Collateral held varies but may include cash, securities, accounts receivable, inventory, property, plant, and real estate.

Various legal claims also arise from time to time in the normal course of business, which, in the opinion of management, will have no material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.