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Note 16 - Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Notes to Financial Statements

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]

(16) COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

In the normal course of business, there are outstanding commitments, contingent liabilities and other financial instruments that are not reflected in the consolidated financial statements. These include commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit, which are some of the instruments used by the Company to meet the financing needs of its customers. These instruments involve, to varying degrees, elements of credit and interest rate risk in excess of the amounts recognized in the consolidated balance sheet.

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 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 is a summary of the commitments to extend credit at December 31, 2023 and 2022:

(In thousands)		2023				2022

Loan commitments:
Fixed rate		$	666			$	6,509
Adjustable rate			20,684				22,681

Standby letters of credit			1,894				484
Undisbursed commercial and personal lines of credit			40,187				41,833
Undisbursed portion of construction loans in process			40,879				44,574
Undisbursed portion of home equity lines of credit			77,376				77,118

Total commitments		$	181,686			$	193,199

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. Certain commitments 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 customer’s creditworthiness on a case-by-case basis. The amount of collateral or other security obtained, if deemed necessary by the Company upon extension of credit, varies and is based on management’s credit evaluation. Collateral held varies but may include deposits held in financial institutions; U.S. Treasury securities; other marketable securities; accounts receivable; inventory; property and equipment; personal residences; income-producing commercial properties and land under development. Personal guarantees are also obtained to provide added security for certain commitments.

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 guarantee the installation of real property improvements and similar transactions. The credit risk involved in issuing letters of credit is essentially the same as that involved in extending loan facilities to customers. The Company holds collateral and obtains personal guarantees supporting those commitments for which collateral or other security is deemed necessary.

The Company has not been obligated to perform on any financial guarantees and has incurred no losses on its commitments in 2023 or 2022.