NOTE 16: COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES AND FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS WITH OFF-BALANCE-SHEET RISK

Financial Instruments with Off-Balance-Sheet Risk

The Company enters into commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit to meet customer financing needs and, in accordance with GAAP, these commitments are not reflected as liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets. Due to the nature of these commitments, the amounts disclosed in the tables below do not necessarily represent future cash requirements.

Commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit as of the dates indicated below were as follows:

December 31, 

(Dollars in thousands)

2021

2020

Commitments to extend credit, variable interest rate

$

714,084

$

659,385

Commitments to extend credit, fixed interest rate

 

60,876

 

80,346

Total commitments

$

774,960

$

739,731

Standby letters of credit

$

18,109

$

26,078

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, generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses and may expire without being fully drawn upon.

Standby letters of credit are conditional commitments issued by the Company to guarantee the performance of a customer to a third-party. The credit risk involved in issuing letters of credit is essentially the same as that involved in extending loan facilities to the Company’s customers.

Litigation

The Company is subject to claims and lawsuits which arise primarily in the ordinary course of business. Based on information presently available and advice received from legal counsel representing the Company, it is the opinion of management that the disposition or ultimate determination of such claims and lawsuits will not have a material adverse effect on the financial position or results of operations of the Company.

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Historical Timeline

Fiscal YearFiled
2021Feb 25, 2022Showing above
2020Feb 26, 2021
2019Feb 26, 2020
2018Feb 28, 2019
2017Mar 23, 2018

About Commitments Disclosures

Commitments and contingencies disclosures catalog a company's off-balance-sheet obligations and legal exposures — purchase commitments, guarantee arrangements, pending litigation, and regulatory proceedings. These items represent potential future cash outflows that may not appear as liabilities on the balance sheet until they become probable and estimable.

Key signals: litigation reserves and disclosed loss ranges quantify management's estimate of legal exposure, but unquantified "reasonably possible" losses often represent the larger risk. Watch for changes in language around pending cases — shifts from "remote" to "reasonably possible" or increases in estimated loss ranges signal deteriorating outcomes. Unconditional purchase obligations and take-or-pay contracts create fixed cost structures that reduce operational flexibility. Guarantee arrangements for subsidiaries or joint ventures can create cascading obligations. Compare the total commitment schedule against projected free cash flow to assess whether the company can meet its obligations without additional financing.