Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. Commitments Disclosure

 

NOTE 10:

Commitments and Contingencies

 

Financial Instruments and Off-Balance-Sheet Activities

 

All financial instruments held or issued by the Company are held or issued for purposes other than trading. In the ordinary course of business, the Bank enters into off-balance-sheet financial instruments consisting of commitments to extend credit and forward delivery commitments for the sale of whole loans to the secondary market.

 

In response to marketplace demands, the Bank routinely makes commitments to extend credit for fixed rate and variable rate loans with or without rate lock guarantees. When rate lock guarantees are made to customers, the Bank becomes subject to market risk for changes in interest rates that occur between the rate lock date and the date that a firm commitment to purchase the loan is made by a secondary market investor.

 

Commitments to extend credit are agreements to lend to a customer as long as the borrower satisfies the Bank’s underwriting standards and related provisions of the borrowing agreements. Commitments generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses. The Bank uses the same credit policies in making commitments to extend credit as it does for on-balance-sheet instruments. Collateral is required for substantially all loans, and normally consists of real property. The Bank’s experience has been that substantially all loan commitments are completed or terminated by the borrower within 3 to 12 months.

 

Commitments are summarized as follows:

 

		December 31,
		2024				2023
		(In Thousands)
Commitments to extend credit		$	267,623			$	271,552
Letters of credit			7,409				9,457

 

Employment Contracts

 

The Company has entered into change of control agreements with its executive officers other than the Chief Executive Officer. The change in control agreements provide a double trigger benefit equal to the sum of the executive’s annual salary and incentive bonus for the most recently completed year. The benefits are payable in the event that four months prior to, in connection with or within 18 months after a change in control the executive’s employment is terminated without cause or if the executive resigns for good reason. The change in control agreements are for two years, renewing automatically for successive one-year periods unless Eagle or the executive provide written notice of nonrenewal 60 days before the contract anniversary date. If the officer timely and properly elects health continuation coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 ("COBRA"), the Bank will pay the Executive's monthly COBRA premium paid for himself/herself and his/her dependents for all applicable group health plan benefits until the earliest of (i) the expiration of twelve months of coverage, (ii) the date the executive is no longer eligible to receive COBRA continuation coverage, and (iii) the date on which the executive receives or becomes eligible to receive substantially similar coverage from another employer or source.

 

Legal Proceedings

 

Various legal claims also arise from time to time in the normal course of business which, in the opinion of management, will have no material effect on the Company’s financial statements.