NOTE 28 - COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Freedom Bank KZ is a party to certain off-balance sheet financial instruments. These financial instruments include guarantees and unfunded commitments under existing lines of credit. These commitments expose the Company to varying degrees of credit and market risk which are essentially the same as those involved in extending loans to customers, and are subject to the same credit policies used in underwriting loans. Collateral may be obtained based on the Company’s credit evaluation of the counterparty. The Company’s maximum exposure to credit loss is represented by the contractual amount of these commitments.

Unfunded commitments under lines of credit 

Unfunded commitments under lines of credit include commercial, commercial real estate, home equity and consumer lines of credit to existing customers. These commitments may mature without being fully funded. 

Bank guarantees 

Bank guarantees are conditional commitments issued by the Company to guarantee the performance of a customer to a third party. These guarantees are primarily issued to support trade transactions or guarantee arrangements. The credit risk involved in issuing guarantees is essentially the same as that involved in extending loan facilities to customers. A significant portion of the issued guarantees are collateralized by cash. Total lending related commitments outstanding at March 31, 2021, were as follows: