Commitments and contingencies

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2019

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

In the normal course of business, the Company is a party to financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk that are used to meet the financing needs of customers. These financial instruments include commitments to extend credit, standby letters of credit, commercial letters of credit, commitments to fund investments in affordable housing partnerships, and mortgage derivatives. These instruments involve, to varying degrees, elements of credit and interest rate risk in excess of the amount recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition. The Company’s exposure to credit loss in the event of nonperformance on commitments to extend credit and standby letters of 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 the Company does for extending loan facilities to customers. The Company evaluates each customer’s creditworthiness on a case-by-case basis. The amount of collateral obtained, if deemed necessary upon extension of credit, is based on the Company’s credit evaluation of the counterparty. The types of collateral that the Company may hold can vary and may include accounts receivable, inventory, property, plant and equipment, and income-producing properties.

Commitments at June 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 are summarized as follows:



	June 30, 2019		December 31, 2018
	(Dollars in thousands)
Commitments to extend credit	$	1,655,373	$	1,712,032
Standby letters of credit	85,052		69,763
Other letters of credit	61,792		65,822
Commitments to fund investments in affordable housing partnerships	34,217		46,507

In the normal course of business, the Company is involved in various legal claims. The Company has reviewed all legal claims against the Company with counsel and has taken into consideration the views of such counsel as to the potential outcome of the claims. Loss contingencies for all legal claims totaled $170 thousand at June 30, 2019 and $755 thousand at December 31, 2018. It is reasonably possible the Company may incur losses in addition to the amounts currently accrued. However, at this time, the Company is unable to estimate the range of additional losses that are reasonably possible because of a number of factors, including the fact that certain of these litigation matters are still in their early stages and involve claims that the Company believes has little to no merit. The Company has considered these and other possible loss contingencies and does not expect the amounts to be material to the consolidated financial statements.