20.	GUARANTEES, COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

The Bank

’s exposure to credit loss in the event of nonperformance by the other party for commitments to make loans and standby letters of credit is represented by the contractual amount of those instruments. The Bank uses the same credit policies in making these commitments as it does for on-balance sheet instruments. For interest rate swap transactions and commitments to purchase or sell securities for forward delivery, the contract or notional amounts do not represent exposure to credit loss. The Bank controls the credit risk of these derivative instruments through credit approvals, limits and monitoring procedures. Certain derivative contracts have credit risk for the carrying value plus the amount to replace such contracts in the event of counterparty default. All of the Bank’s financial instruments are held for risk management and not for trading purposes. During the years ended

December

31,

2016

and

2015,

there were no credit losses associated with derivative contracts.

In the normal course of business, there are outstanding commitments and contingent liabilities, such as co

mmitments to extend credit, letters of credit and others that are not included in the consolidated financial statements. The financial instruments involve, to varying degrees, elements of credit and interest rate risk in excess of amounts recognized in the financial statements. A summary of these commitments and contingent liabilities is presented below:

	December 31,
	2016		2015
	(Dollars in Thousands)
Standby letters of credit	$	183	$	683
Commitments to extend credit	$	41,267	$	61,427

Standby letters of credit are contingent commitments issued by the Bank generally to guarantee the performance of a customer to a

third

party. The Bank has recourse against the customer for any amount that it is required to pay to

third

party under a standby letter of credit. Revenues are recognized over the lives of the standby letters of credit. As of

December

31,

2016

and

2015,

the potential amount of future payments that the Bank could be required to make under its standby letters of credit, which represents the Bank’s total credit risk in this category, is included in the table above.

A commitment to extend credit is an agreement to lend to a customer as long as there is no violation of any condition established in the contrac

t. Commitments generally 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 Bank evaluates each customer’s creditworthiness on a case-by-case basis. The amount of collateral obtained, if deemed necessary by the Bank upon the extension of credit, is based on management’s credit evaluation of the counterparty. Collateral held varies but

may

include accounts receivable, inventory, property, plant and equipment and income-producing commercial properties.

Commitments to purchase securities for delayed delivery require the Bank to purchase a specified security

at a specified price for delivery on a specified date. Similarly, commitments to sell securities for delayed delivery require the Bank to sell a specified security at a specified price for delivery on a specified date. Market risk arises from potential movements in security values and interest rates between the commitment and delivery dates. As of both

December

31,

2016

and

2015,

there were

outstanding commitments to purchase securities for delayed delivery and no outstanding commitments to sell securities for delayed delivery.

During the

third

quarter of

2016,

the Bank entered into an agreement with a general contractor to manage construction of an office complex on a parcel of land located in the Birmingham, Alabama area that was purchased by the Bank during

the

first

quarter of

2016.

The office complex, which will be approximately

40,000

square feet in size, will house a retail branch of the Bank, as well as the Bank’s commercial lending team in the Birmingham area and certain other officers of the Bank. Approximately

25%

of the square footage of the office complex will be utilized by the Bank, with the remainder to be leased to commercial

tenants.

Construction began on the office complex during the

third

quarter of

2016

and is expected to be completed during

2017.

As of

December

31,

2016,

approximately

$4.2

million in cost had been incurred by the Bank associated with the construction project. Remaining contractual commitments with the general contractor total

$7.1

million.

In addition to current commitments to the general contractor, the Bank estimates additional expenditures of approximately

$2.2

million will be incurred for office finishes,

tenant

improvements, furniture and fixtures, architectural fees and certain other development costs.

Additional expenses could be incurred under the agreement based on changes to building specifications at the discretion of the Bank and the occurrence of certain events specified in the contract. As costs associated with the construction are incurred, they are recorded in premises and equipment as construction in process. Upon completion of construction and placement of the office complex into service, depreciation expense associated with the office complex is currently estimated to be approximately

$0.5

million annually.

Litigation

The Company is party to certain ordinary course litigation, and the Company intends to vigorously defend itself in all such litigation. In the opinion of the Company, based on review and consultation with legal counsel, the outcome of such ordinary course

litigation should not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements or results of operations.