FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS WITH OFF-BALANCE SHEET RISK

The Company is party to financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk in the normal course of business to meet the financing needs of its clients. These financial instruments include commitments to originate loans, unadvanced portion of loans, unused lines of credit, standby letters of credit, commitments to sell loans, and rate locks related to loans that if originated will be held for sale. The instruments involve, to varying degrees, elements of credit and interest rate risk in excess of the amount recognized in the consolidated balance sheets. The contract or notional amounts of those instruments reflect the extent of involvement the Company has in particular classes of financial instruments.

The Company’s exposure to credit loss in the event of nonperformance by the other party to the financial instrument for loan commitments and standby letters of credit is represented by the contractual amount of those instruments. The Company uses the same credit policies in making commitments and conditional obligations as it does for on-balance sheet instruments.

Commitments to originate loans, the unadvanced portion of loans, and the unused lines of credit are agreements to lend to a client, provided there is no violation of any condition established in the contract. Commitments generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses and may require payment of a fee. Since certain commitments may expire without being drawn upon, the total commitment amounts do not necessarily represent future cash requirements. The Company evaluates each client’s creditworthiness on a case-by-case basis. The amount of collateral obtained, if deemed necessary by the Company upon extension of credit, is based on management’s credit evaluation of the borrower.

Standby letters of credit are conditional commitments issued by the Company to guarantee the performance by a client to a third party. The credit risk involved in issuing standby letters of credit is essentially the same as that involved in extending loan facilities to clients.

Loans sold to investors have recourse to the Company on any loans that are deemed to have been fraudulent or misrepresented. In addition, investors would require the Company to repurchase any loan sold which has a first payment default. The Company has not repurchased any loans during the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016.

Financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk are summarized as follows:



	December 31,
	2017		2016
	(In thousands)
Commitments to originate loans
Variable rate	$	56,410	$	103,189
Fixed rate	79,784		65,563
Total commitments to originate new loans	$	136,194	$	168,752
Unadvanced portion of loans and unused lines of credit	$	1,327,140	$	1,280,648
Standby letters of credit	$	46,291	$	38,391
Forward commitments to sell loans	$	16,886	$	9,663