ALERUS FINANCIAL CORP Commitments Disclosure

NOTE 15 Commitments and Contingencies

 

In the normal course of business, the Company has outstanding commitment and contingent liabilities, such as commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit, which are not included in the accompanying consolidated financial statements. 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 standby letters of credit is represented by the contractual or notional amount of those instruments. The Company uses the same credit policies in making such commitments as it does for instruments that are included in the statements of financial condition.

 

A summary of the contractual amounts of the Company’s exposure to off-balance sheet risk as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, was as follows:

 

		December 31,				December 31,
(dollars in thousands)		2025				2024
Commitments to extend credit		$	1,038,347			$	1,090,114
Standby letters of credit			14,393				30,033
Total		$	1,052,740			$	1,120,147

 

The Company establishes an ACL on unfunded commitments, except those that are unconditionally cancellable by the Company. As of  December 31, 2025 and 2024, the ACL on unfunded commitments was $3.9 million and $7.5 million, respectively. The ACL on unfunded commitments was presented within accrued expenses and other liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets. The provision release for unfunded commitments for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $3.6 million. The expense for provision for unfunded commitments for the year ended  December 31, 2024 was $0.1 million.

 

Commitments to extend credit are agreements to lend to a client as long as 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 many of the commitments are expected to 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. Collateral held varies but may include accounts receivable, inventory, property and equipment, and income producing commercial properties.

 

The Company was not required to perform on any financial guarantees and did not incur any losses on its commitments during the past two years.

 

The Company utilizes standby letters of credit issued by either the FHLB or the Bank of North Dakota to secure public unit deposits. The Company had fifteen letters of credit outstanding with the FHLB in the amount of $33.6 million as of  December 31, 2025 and five letters of credit outstanding with the FHLB in the amount of $12.0 million as of  December 31, 2024. With the Bank of North Dakota, the Company had one letter of credit outstanding in the amount of $126.0 million and $50.0 million as of  December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. Letters of credit with the Bank of North Dakota were collateralized by loans pledged to the Bank of North Dakota in the amount of $549.0 million and $524.9 million as of December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.