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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2020
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

The Corporation is a party to certain financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk such as commitments under standby letters of credit, unused portions of lines of credit, overdraft protection and commitments to fund new loans.  In accordance with GAAP, these financial instruments are not recorded in the financial statements.  The Corporation's policy is to record such instruments when funded.  These transactions involve, to varying degrees, elements of credit, interest rate and liquidity risk.  Such transactions are generally used by the Corporation to manage clients' requests for funding and other client needs.

The following table lists the contractual amounts of financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk at March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019 (in thousands):
 
March 31, 2020
 
December 31, 2019
 
Fixed Rate
 
Variable Rate
 
Fixed Rate
 
Variable Rate
Commitments to make loans
$
22,930

 
$
24,160

 
$
15,560

 
$
25,233

Unused lines of credit
2,213

 
234,343

 
1,062

 
229,137

Standby letters of credit

 
16,022

 

 
16,272



On February 4, 2020, the Corporation filed a lawsuit against Pioneer Bank, Albany, New York, in the Supreme Court of the State of New York in the County of Albany. As disclosed in the Corporation’s September 12, 2019 Current Report on Form 8-K, the Bank owns a participating interest totaling $4.2 million in an approximately $36.0 million commercial credit facility on which the borrower defaulted due to fraudulent activity. The Bank’s complaint alleges that Pioneer Bank, as lead bank, breached the participation agreement and engaged in fraud and negligent misrepresentation. The Bank seeks to recover $4.2 million and additional damages as a result of purchasing the participation interest.

On April 23, 2020 the Corporation received payment of $461,309 from Pioneer Bank related to its obligation under the participation agreements. This event was not considered material in nature and thus did not result in an adjustment to the financial statements.

In the normal course of business, there are various outstanding claims and legal proceedings involving the Corporation or its subsidiaries.  As of March 31, 2020, we believe that we are not a party to any additional pending legal, arbitration, or regulatory proceedings that could have a material adverse impact on our financial results or liquidity.