Note

14.

Financial Instruments with Off-Balance-Sheet Risk

In the normal course of business, the

Bank is a party to financial instruments with off-balance-sheet risk to meet the financing needs of its customers. These financial instruments include commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit, which involve, to varying degrees, elements of credit and interest rate risk in excess of the amounts recognized in the balance sheet. The contractual amounts of these instruments reflect the extent of involvement Patriot has in particular classes of financial instruments.

The contractual amounts of commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit represent the

maximum amount of potential accounting loss should: the contract be fully drawn upon; the customer default; and the value of any existing collateral becomes worthless. Patriot applies its credit policies to entering commitments and conditional obligations and, as with its lending activities, evaluates each customer's creditworthiness on a case-by-case basis. Management believes that it effectively mitigates the credit risk of these financial instruments through its credit approval processes, establishing credit limits, monitoring the on-going creditworthiness of recipients and grantees, and the receipt of collateral as deemed necessary.

December

31,

2017

and

2016,

financial instruments with credit risk are as follows:

(In thousands)
	As of December 31,
	2017		2016
Commitments to extend credit:
Unused lines of credit	$	63,760		39,063
Undisbursed construction loans		7,930		21,224
Home equity lines of credit		19,727		20,846
Future loan commitments		24,675		15,755
Financial standby letters of credit		1,133		1,482
	$	117,225		98,370

Commitments to extend credit are agreements to lend to a customer as long as there is

violation of any condition established in the contract.

Commitments to extend credit generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses and

may

require payment of a fee by the borrower. Since these commitments could expire without being drawn upon, the total commitment amounts do

not

necessarily represent future cash requirements. The amount of collateral obtained, if deemed necessary upon extending credit, is based on management's credit evaluation of the customer. Collateral held varies, but

may

include commercial property, residential property, deposits, and securities. The Bank has established a reserve for credit loss of

$5,000

as of

December

31,

2017

and

2016,

respectively.

Standby letters of credit are written commitments issued by the

Bank to guarantee the performance of a customer to a

third

party. The credit risk involved in issuing standby letters of credit is essentially the same as that involved in extending loan facilities to customers. Guarantees that are

not

derivative contracts are recorded at fair value and included in the Consolidated Balance Sheet.