Catalyst Bancorp, Inc. Commitments Disclosure

NOTE 11. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

In the ordinary course of business, the Company has various outstanding commitments and contingent liabilities that are not reflected in the accompanying financial statements. In the opinion of management, the ultimate disposition of these matters is not expected to have a material adverse effect on our financial statements.

The Company is not involved in any pending legal proceedings as a plaintiff or defendant other than routine legal proceedings occurring in the ordinary course of business, and at December 31, 2025, we were not involved in any legal proceedings, the outcome of which would be material to our financial condition or results of operations.

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. These financial instruments consist of unfunded commitments to extend credit. These instruments involve, to varying degrees, elements of credit risk in excess of the amounts recognized in the statement of financial position. The contract or notional amounts of these instruments reflect the extent of the Company’s involvement in particular classes of instruments.

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The Company’s exposure to credit loss in the event of nonperformance by the other party to the financial instrument for commitments to extend credit is represented by the contractual notional 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.

The following table summarizes the Company’s financial instruments with off-balance-sheet risk as of the dates indicated.

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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. Commitments generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses. Since some of the commitments may possibly expire without being drawn upon, the total commitment amounts do not necessarily represent future cash requirements. The Company evaluates each customer’s creditworthiness on a case-by-case basis. The amount of collateral obtained, if it is deemed necessary by the Company upon extension of credit, is based on management’s credit evaluation of the counterparty. Collateral usually consists of a first mortgage on the underlying properties.

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Standby letters of credit are conditional commitments issued by the Company to guarantee the performance of a customer to a third party. Those guarantees are primarily issued to support private borrowing arrangements and are secured by passbook accounts or certificates of deposit. All letters of credit are required to be renewed annually, if applicable. The credit risk involved in issuing letters of credit is essentially the same as that involved in extending loan facilities to customers.

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The allowance for credit losses on unfunded lending commitments is recorded within “other liabilities” on the statement of financial condition. The related provision for credit losses for unfunded lending commitments is recorded with the provision for credit losses on the income statement. At December 31, 2025, the allowance for credit losses for unfunded lending commitments totaled $211,000. Refer to Note 4 for more information on changes to the allowance for credit losses for unfunded lending commitments during the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024.