9.COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

 

Litigation Matters

In the ordinary course of its operations, the Company and its subsidiaries are parties to various legal proceedings.  Based on the information presently available, and after consultation with legal counsel, management believes that the ultimate outcome in such proceedings, in the aggregate, will not have a material adverse effect on the business,  the financial condition, or results of operations of the Company.

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 include commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit.  These instruments involve elements of credit and interest rate risk in excess of the amount recognized in the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets.  The contractual amounts of these instruments reflect the extent of the Company’s involvement 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 instruments for commitments to extend credit and letters of credit written is represented by the contractual amount of these instruments.  The Company uses the same credit policies in making commitments and conditional obligations as it does for on-balance sheet instruments.  Unless noted otherwise, the Company does not require collateral or other security to support off-balance sheet financial instruments with credit risk. The Company considers credit losses related to off-balance sheet commitments by undergoing a similar process in evaluating losses for loans that are carried on the balance sheet.  The Company considers historical loss rates, current economic conditions, risk ratings, and past due status among other factors in the consideration of whether credit losses are inherent in the Company’s off-balance sheet commitments to extend credit.  The Company does not expect credit losses arising from off-balance sheet commitments to have a material adverse impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

Commitments to extend credit are agreements to lend to customers as long as there are no violations of any conditions established in the contracts.  Commitments generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses and may require payment of a fee.  Because many of the commitments may expire without being completely drawn upon, the total commitment amounts do not necessarily represent future cash requirements.

Letters of credit are conditional commitments issued by the Company to guarantee the performance of customers to third parties.  The credit risk involved in issuing letters of credit is essentially the same as that involved in extending loans to customers.

 

UMG, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bank, uses rate lock commitments and best efforts contracts during the origination process and for loans held for sale.  These best efforts contracts are designed to mitigate UMG’s exposure to fluctuations in interest rates in connection with rate lock commitments and loans held for sale. 

 

The following table presents the balances of commitments (dollars in thousands):

 

 

 

The Company must maintain a reserve against its deposits in accordance with Regulation D of the Federal Reserve Act.  For the final weekly reporting period in the periods ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, the aggregate amount of daily average required reserves was approximately $48.7 million.  

As of December 31, 2015, the Company had approximately $30.9 million in deposits in other financial institutions, of which $10.5 million and $4.4 million serve as collateral for the cash flow hedges and loan swaps, respectively, as discussed in Note 10 “Derivatives.”  The Company had approximately $14.7 million and $6.5 million in deposits in other financial institutions that were uninsured at December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.  On an annual basis, the Company’s management evaluates the loss risk of its uninsured deposits in financial counterparties.

 

For asset/liability management purposes, the Company uses interest rate swap agreements to hedge various exposures or to modify the interest rate characteristics of various balance sheet accounts.  See Note 10 “Derivatives” for additional information.

 

In the ordinary course of business, the Company records an indemnification reserve relating to mortgage loans previously sold based on historical statistics and loss rates; as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, the Company’s indemnification reserve for such mortgage loans was $450,000 and $662,000, respectively.