NOTE 12 Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments

In the normal course of business, the Company has outstanding commitments and contingent liabilities, such as commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit, which are not included in the accompanying consolidated financial statements. 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 or notional amount of those instruments. The Company uses the same credit policies in making such commitments as it does for instruments that are included in the statements of financial condition.

A summary of the contractual amounts of the Company’s exposure to off-balance sheet risk as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively, was as follows:

The Company establishes an ACL on unfunded commitments, except those that are unconditionally cancellable by the Company. As of  March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, the ACL on unfunded commitments was $6.0 million and $7.5 million, respectively. The ACL on unfunded commitments was presented within accrued expenses and other liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets. For the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, the provision (recovery) for credit losses on unfunded commitments was ($1.5) million and ($793) thousand, respectively.

Commitments to extend credit are agreements to lend to a client as long as there is no violation of any condition established in the contract. 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 Company evaluates each client’s creditworthiness on a case by case basis. The amount of collateral obtained, if deemed necessary by the Company upon extension of credit, is based on management’s credit evaluation. Collateral held varies but may include accounts receivable, inventory, property and equipment, and income producing commercial properties.

The Company was not required to perform on any financial guarantees and did not incur any losses on its commitments during the past two years.

The Company utilizes standby letters of credit issued by either the FHLB or the Bank of North Dakota to secure public unit deposits. The Company had letters of credit outstanding with the FHLB in the amount of $6.4 million as of March 31, 2025 and $12.0 million as of  December 31, 2024. With the Bank of North Dakota, the Company had no letters of credit outstanding as of  March 31, 2025 and had letters of credit outstanding in the amount of $50.0 million as of  December 31, 2024. Letters of credit with the Bank of North Dakota were collateralized by loans pledged to the Bank of North Dakota in the amount of $517.9 million and $524.9 million as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively.

Legal Contingencies

In the normal course of business, including in connection with business combinations pursued by the Company, the Company and its subsidiaries are subject to pending and threatened litigation, claims investigations and legal and administrative cases and proceedings. 

Under applicable accounting standards, reserves are established for legal claims only when losses associated with the claims are judged to be probable, and the loss can be reasonably estimated. When a material loss contingency is reasonably possible, but not probable, the Company does not record a liability, but instead discloses the nature of the matter and an estimate of the loss or range of losses, to the extent such estimate can be made. Significant judgment is required in both the determination of possibility or probability, and whether the loss or range of losses is reasonably estimable. The Company’s judgments are subjective and based on the status of the legal or regulatory proceedings, the merits of the Company’s defenses and consultation with in-house and outside legal counsel. Because of uncertainties related to these matters, accruals are based on the best information available to the Company and its advisors at the time, including, among other information, settlement agreements. As additional information becomes available, the Company reassesses the potential liability related to pending claims and litigation and  may revise its estimates accordingly. Due to the inherent uncertainties of the legal and regulatory processes, such judgments  may be materially different than the actual outcomes. Legal costs such as outside counsel fees are expensed in the period in which the services are rendered.

Assessments of litigation exposure are difficult because they involve inherently unpredictable factors including, but not limited to: whether the proceeding is in the early stages; whether damages are unspecified, unsupported or uncertain; whether there is a potential for punitive or other pecuniary damages; whether the matter involves legal uncertainties, including novel issues of law; whether the matter involves multiple parties and/or jurisdictions; whether discovery has begun or is not complete; whether meaningful settlement discussions have commenced; and whether the proceeding involves class allegations. In many lawsuits and arbitrations, it is not possible to determine whether a liability will be incurred, or to estimate the ultimate or minimum amount of that liability, until the matter is close to resolution, in which case a reserve will not be recognized until that time. As a result, the Company  may be unable to estimate reasonably possible losses with respect to litigation matters it faces.

In 2023, the Company sold its ESOP fiduciary services business but currently remains subject to pending lawsuits related to the sold business, including one brought by the DOL.

In  November 2023, the DOL brought suit against several defendants, including the Bank, alleging that the Bank, in its capacity as trustee to an ESOP, (1) breached certain of its fiduciary duties in connection with a transaction which allegedly caused the ESOP to pay more than fair market value to acquire stock, and (2) engaged in a prohibited transaction by causing the ESOP to acquire the stock from an existing company shareholder for more than adequate consideration. The Bank continues to dispute the allegations made by the DOL and intends to continue to defend itself vigorously.

The Company believes a material loss contingency related to the DOL complaint is reasonably possible, but not probable, based on currently-available information. However, the Company is unable to estimate the ultimate or minimum loss or range of losses, if any, at this time due to a number of uncertainties, including, but not limited to: (1) the current early stages of the proceedings and discovery not having commenced, (2) the absence of specificity as to alleged damages, (3) the potential reinsertion of the selling shareholder as co-defendant in the suit and (4) and the lack of resolution of significant factual and legal issues. 

The Company did not have any accrued liabilities recorded for loss contingencies that were required to be disclosed as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively.