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DERIVATIVES
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12 Months Ended |
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Dec. 31, 2011
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| DERIVATIVES |
NOTE 13. DERIVATIVES
Prior to 2008, the Company entered into an interest rate floor with a notional amount of $50 million in order to fix the minimum interest rate on a corresponding amount of its floating-rate loans. The interest rate floor was sold in January 2008 and the related gain of $817,000 was deferred and amortized to income over the remaining term of the original agreement which would have terminated on June 22, 2009. Gains of $272,000 and $544,000 were recognized for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively.
During 2010, the Company entered into an interest rate cap with a notional value of $100 million. The cap has a strike rate of 2.00% and is indexed to the three month London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”). The cap does not qualify for hedge accounting treatment, and is marked to market, with changes in market value reflected in the income statement.
The Company uses derivatives to hedge interest rate exposures associated with mortgage loans held for sale and mortgage loans in process. The Company regularly enters into derivative financial instruments in the form of forward contracts, as part of its normal asset/liability management strategies. The Company’s obligations under forward contracts consist of “best effort” commitments to deliver mortgage loans originated in the secondary market at a future date. Interest rate lock commitments related to loans that are originated for later sale are classified as derivatives. In the normal course of business, the Company regularly extends these rate lock commitments to customers during the loan origination process. The fair values of the Company’s forward contract and rate lock commitments to customers as of December 31, 2011 and 2010 were not material and have not been recorded. |