we believe the following accounting policies applied by ameris represent critical accounting policies . allowance for loan losses we believe the allowance for loan losses is a critical accounting policy that requires the most significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements . the allowance for loan losses represents management 's estimate of probable incurred losses in the company 's loan portfolio . calculation of the allowance for loan losses represents a critical accounting estimate due to the significant judgment , assumptions and estimates related to the amount and timing of estimated losses , consideration of subjective environmental factors and the amount and timing of cash flows related to impaired loans . management believes that the allowance for loan losses is adequate . while management uses available information to recognize losses on loans , future additions to the allowance for loan losses may be necessary based on changes in economic conditions . in addition , various regulatory agencies , as an integral part of their examination processes , periodically review the company 's allowance for loan losses . such agencies may require the company to recognize additions to the allowance for loan losses based on their judgments about information available to them at the time of their examination . considering current information and events regarding a borrower 's ability to repay its obligations , management considers a loan to be impaired when the ultimate collectability of all amounts due , according to the contractual terms of the loan agreement , is in doubt . when a loan is considered to be impaired , the amount of impairment is measured based on the present value of expected future cash flows discounted at the loan 's effective interest rate or if the loan is collateral-dependent , the fair value of the collateral is used to determine the amount of impairment . impairment losses are included in the allowance for loan losses through a charge to the provision for loan losses . subsequent recoveries are credited to the allowance for loan losses . cash receipts for accruing loans are applied to principal and interest under the contractual terms of the loan agreement . cash receipts on impaired loans for which the accrual of interest has been discontinued are applied first to principal and then to interest income . certain economic and interest rate factors could have a material impact on the determination of the allowance for loan losses . an improving economy could result in the expansion of businesses and creation of jobs which would positively affect our loan growth and improve our gross revenue stream . conversely , certain factors could result from an expanding economy which could increase our credit costs and adversely impact our net earnings . a significant rapid rise in interest rates could create higher borrowing costs and shrinking corporate profits which could have a material impact on a borrower 's ability to pay . we will continue to concentrate on maintaining a high quality loan portfolio through strict administration of our loan policy . another factor that we have considered in the determination of the allowance for loan losses is loan concentrations to individual borrowers or industries . based on total committed exposure at december 31 , 2017 , we had six individual loans/lines of credit that exceeded our normal in-house credit limit of $ 30.0 million . total exposure from these six individual loans/lines of credit amounted to $ 258.5 million as of december 31 , 2017. the largest total committed exposure for a single loan/line of credit at december 31 , 2017 was $ 50.0 million , and we had three lines of credit at this level . all three of these $ 50.0 million lines of credit are extended to clients of our warehouse lending division . as of december 31 , 2017 , we had 11 relationships consisting of 32 loans/lines of credit that exceeded $ 30.0 million . total exposure from these 11 relationships amounted to $ 440.0 million as of december 31 , 2017. the largest total committed exposure for a single relationship at december 31 , 2017 was also $ 50.0 million , and we had three relationships at this level . all three of these $ 50.0 million relationships are clients of our warehouse lending division as well . additional disclosure concerning the company 's largest loan relationships is provided in the “ balance sheet comparison ” section below . a substantial portion of our loan portfolio is in the commercial real estate and residential real estate sectors . the majority of these loans are secured by real estate in our primary market areas . a substantial portion of oreo is located in those same 37 markets . therefore , the ultimate collectability of a substantial portion of our loan portfolio and the recoverability of a substantial portion of the carrying amount of oreo are susceptible to changes to market conditions in our primary market area . fair value accounting estimates gaap requires the use of fair values in determining the carrying values of certain assets and liabilities , as well as for specific disclosures . the most significant fair values used in determining carrying value include investment securities available for sale , loans held for sale , derivative financial instruments , impaired loans , oreo , and the net assets acquired in business combinations . certain of these assets do not have a readily available market to determine fair value and require an estimate based on specific parameters . when market prices are unavailable , we determine fair values utilizing estimates , which are constantly changing , including interest rates , duration , prepayment speeds and other specific conditions . in most cases , these specific parameters require a significant amount of judgment by management . at december 31 , 2017 , the percentage of the company 's assets measured at fair value was 13 % . story_separator_special_tag finance division . excluding these amounts , expenses in 2017 increased by $ 7.5 million , or 3.7 % , compared with 2016 levels . salaries and benefits increased $ 13.2 million , or 12.3 % , during 2017. the majority of this increase is attributable to $ 4.5 million in salary and benefit expense in the new premium finance division , $ 3.3 million in salary and benefit expense related to the strengthening of the company 's bsa department , and $ 2.3 million in additional salary and benefits in the retail mortgage division . exclusive of these three areas , salary and benefits increased $ 3.0 million , or 4.0 % . occupancy costs decreased $ 328,000 , or 1.3 % , during 2017 , principally as a result of management 's cost saving efforts during the year . data processing and it-related costs increased $ 3.3 million , or 13.3 % , in 2017 due to an increased number of accounts and products , as well as customer 's increased reliance on mobile and internet oriented products and services . other professional fees increased $ 5.6 million , or 66.1 % , in 2017 , primarily due to fees incurred in the premium finance division pursuant to the uspf management and license agreement . advertising and public relations and other noninterest expense increased during 2017 to support the larger operations of the company . merger and conversion charges of $ 915,000 in 2017 reflect a decrease of $ 5.5 million compared with $ 6.4 million recorded in 2016. merger and conversion charges were elevated in 2016 due to the acquisition of jaxb and conversion to our core system . credit resolution-related expenses decreased $ 2.7 million , or 43.4 % , in 2017 as credit quality continues to improve . 2016 compared with 2015 . operating expenses increased from $ 199.1 million in 2015 to $ 215.8 million in 2016. total expenses in 2016 include approximately $ 6.4 million in merger-related charges and $ 5.8 million in compliance-related charges , while total expenses in 2015 include approximately $ 8.0 million in merger-related charges . excluding these amounts , expenses in 2016 increased by only $ 12.6 million , or 6.6 % , compared with 2015 levels . salaries and benefits increased $ 12.8 million during 2016 , driven by $ 2.5 million associated with the company 's acquisition of jaxb in march 2016 and $ 8.2 million relating to higher compensation levels in the company 's mortgage and sba divisions . 44 occupancy costs increased $ 3.2 million , or 15.1 % , during 2016 , principally as a result of the increased number of retail branches operated during the year , as well as additional expenses for administrative offices . data processing and it-related costs increased $ 4.7 million , or 23.9 % , in 2016. growth in accounts associated with the acquisition of the jacksonville bank accounted for a portion of this increase , while the majority of the increase related to much higher online and mobile banking adoption . other professional fees increased $ 6.0 million in 2016 , mostly due to the compliance-related charges recorded in the fourth quarter of 2016. postage and delivery , legal fees and other noninterest expense all increased during 2016 to support the larger operations of the company . merger and conversion charges of $ 6.4 million in 2016 relate to the jaxb acquisition , compared with $ 8.0 million recorded in 2015 related to the merchants and branch acquisitions . credit resolution-related expenses decreased $ 11.5 million in 2016. during the second quarter of 2015 , the company recorded $ 11.2 million of pre-tax oreo write-downs and other credit resolution-related expenses related to an aggressive write-down on remaining non-performing assets in order to expedite their liquidation . income taxes income tax expense is influenced by the amount of taxable income , the amount of tax-exempt income and the amount of non-deductible expenses . for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , the company recorded income tax expense of approximately $ 50.7 million , compared with $ 33.1 million recorded in 2016 and $ 15.9 million recorded in 2015. the company 's effective tax rate was 40.8 % , 31.5 % and 28.0 % for the years ended december 31 , 2017 , 2016 and 2015 , respectively . income tax expense for the year ended includes a charge of approximately $ 13.6 million to income tax expense attributable to the remeasurement of the company 's deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities due to the recently enacted federal tax legislation that reduces the company 's future federal corporate tax rate . excluding this remeasurement charge , income tax expense for the year ended december 31 , 2017 would have been $ 37.1 million and the company 's effective tax rate would have been approximately 29.9 % . balance sheet comparison loans management believes that our loan portfolio is adequately diversified . the loan portfolio contains no foreign loans or significant concentrations in any one industry . as of december 31 , 2017 , approximately 65.2 % of our legacy loan portfolio was secured by real estate , reflecting a continuing reduction from 70.3 % at december 31 , 2016 and 79.8 % at december 31 , 2015 as the company continues to diversify its legacy loan portfolio . the amount of loans outstanding , excluding purchased loans , at the indicated dates is shown in the following table according to type of loans . replace_table_token_10_th the following table summarizes the various loan types comprising the `` commercial , financial and agricultural `` loan category displayed in the preceding table . replace_table_token_11_th 45 the following table provides additional disclosure on the various loan types comprising the subgroup “ real estate – commercial & farmland ” at december 31 , 2017 . replace_table_token_12_th the company seeks to diversify its loan portfolio across its geographic footprint and in various

liquidity and interest rate sensitivity liquidity management involves the matching of the cash flow requirements of customers , who may be either depositors desiring to withdraw funds or borrowers needing assurance that sufficient funds will be available to meet their credit needs , and the ability of our company to meet those needs . we seek to meet liquidity requirements primarily through management of short-term investments ( principally interest-bearing deposits in banks ) and monthly amortizing loans . another source of liquidity is the repayment of maturing single payment loans . in addition , our company maintains relationships with correspondent banks , including the fhlb and the federal reserve bank of atlanta , which could provide funds on short notice , if needed . a principal objective of our asset/liability management strategy is to minimize our exposure to changes in interest rates by matching the maturity and repricing horizons of interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities . this strategy is overseen in part through the direction of our asset and liability committee ( the “ alco committee ” ) which establishes policies and monitors results to control interest rate sensitivity . as part of our interest rate risk management policy , the alco committee examines the extent to which its assets and liabilities are “ interest rate sensitive ” and monitors its interest rate-sensitivity “ gap. ” an asset or liability is considered to be interest rate sensitive if it will reprice or mature within the time period analyzed , usually one year or less . the interest rate-sensitivity gap is the difference between the interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities scheduled to mature or reprice within such time period . a gap is considered positive when the amount of interest rate-sensitive assets exceeds the amount of interest rate-sensitive liabilities . a gap is considered negative when the amount of interest rate-sensitive liabilities exceeds the interest rate-sensitive assets .


 Write a concise suspicious activity report of the following text delimited by triple backquotes. Return your response as a formal report which covers the key points highlighting the location,dates,entity names and account holder information in chronological order of the text.
     ```liquidity and interest rate sensitivity liquidity management involves the matching of the cash flow requirements of customers , who may be either depositors desiring to withdraw funds or borrowers needing assurance that sufficient funds will be available to meet their credit needs , and the ability of our company to meet those needs . we seek to meet liquidity requirements primarily through management of short-term investments ( principally interest-bearing deposits in banks ) and monthly amortizing loans . another source of liquidity is the repayment of maturing single payment loans . in addition , our company maintains relationships with correspondent banks , including the fhlb and the federal reserve bank of atlanta , which could provide funds on short notice , if needed . a principal objective of our asset/liability management strategy is to minimize our exposure to changes in interest rates by matching the maturity and repricing horizons of interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities . this strategy is overseen in part through the direction of our asset and liability committee ( the “ alco committee ” ) which establishes policies and monitors results to control interest rate sensitivity . as part of our interest rate risk management policy , the alco committee examines the extent to which its assets and liabilities are “ interest rate sensitive ” and monitors its interest rate-sensitivity “ gap. ” an asset or liability is considered to be interest rate sensitive if it will reprice or mature within the time period analyzed , usually one year or less . the interest rate-sensitivity gap is the difference between the interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities scheduled to mature or reprice within such time period . a gap is considered positive when the amount of interest rate-sensitive assets exceeds the amount of interest rate-sensitive liabilities . a gap is considered negative when the amount of interest rate-sensitive liabilities exceeds the interest rate-sensitive assets .
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 Suspicious Activity Report : we believe the following accounting policies applied by ameris represent critical accounting policies . allowance for loan losses we believe the allowance for loan losses is a critical accounting policy that requires the most significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements . the allowance for loan losses represents management 's estimate of probable incurred losses in the company 's loan portfolio . calculation of the allowance for loan losses represents a critical accounting estimate due to the significant judgment , assumptions and estimates related to the amount and timing of estimated losses , consideration of subjective environmental factors and the amount and timing of cash flows related to impaired loans . management believes that the allowance for loan losses is adequate . while management uses available information to recognize losses on loans , future additions to the allowance for loan losses may be necessary based on changes in economic conditions . in addition , various regulatory agencies , as an integral part of their examination processes , periodically review the company 's allowance for loan losses . such agencies may require the company to recognize additions to the allowance for loan losses based on their judgments about information available to them at the time of their examination . considering current information and events regarding a borrower 's ability to repay its obligations , management considers a loan to be impaired when the ultimate collectability of all amounts due , according to the contractual terms of the loan agreement , is in doubt . when a loan is considered to be impaired , the amount of impairment is measured based on the present value of expected future cash flows discounted at the loan 's effective interest rate or if the loan is collateral-dependent , the fair value of the collateral is used to determine the amount of impairment . impairment losses are included in the allowance for loan losses through a charge to the provision for loan losses . subsequent recoveries are credited to the allowance for loan losses . cash receipts for accruing loans are applied to principal and interest under the contractual terms of the loan agreement . cash receipts on impaired loans for which the accrual of interest has been discontinued are applied first to principal and then to interest income . certain economic and interest rate factors could have a material impact on the determination of the allowance for loan losses . an improving economy could result in the expansion of businesses and creation of jobs which would positively affect our loan growth and improve our gross revenue stream . conversely , certain factors could result from an expanding economy which could increase our credit costs and adversely impact our net earnings . a significant rapid rise in interest rates could create higher borrowing costs and shrinking corporate profits which could have a material impact on a borrower 's ability to pay . we will continue to concentrate on maintaining a high quality loan portfolio through strict administration of our loan policy . another factor that we have considered in the determination of the allowance for loan losses is loan concentrations to individual borrowers or industries . based on total committed exposure at december 31 , 2017 , we had six individual loans/lines of credit that exceeded our normal in-house credit limit of $ 30.0 million . total exposure from these six individual loans/lines of credit amounted to $ 258.5 million as of december 31 , 2017. the largest total committed exposure for a single loan/line of credit at december 31 , 2017 was $ 50.0 million , and we had three lines of credit at this level . all three of these $ 50.0 million lines of credit are extended to clients of our warehouse lending division . as of december 31 , 2017 , we had 11 relationships consisting of 32 loans/lines of credit that exceeded $ 30.0 million . total exposure from these 11 relationships amounted to $ 440.0 million as of december 31 , 2017. the largest total committed exposure for a single relationship at december 31 , 2017 was also $ 50.0 million , and we had three relationships at this level . all three of these $ 50.0 million relationships are clients of our warehouse lending division as well . additional disclosure concerning the company 's largest loan relationships is provided in the “ balance sheet comparison ” section below . a substantial portion of our loan portfolio is in the commercial real estate and residential real estate sectors . the majority of these loans are secured by real estate in our primary market areas . a substantial portion of oreo is located in those same 37 markets . therefore , the ultimate collectability of a substantial portion of our loan portfolio and the recoverability of a substantial portion of the carrying amount of oreo are susceptible to changes to market conditions in our primary market area . fair value accounting estimates gaap requires the use of fair values in determining the carrying values of certain assets and liabilities , as well as for specific disclosures . the most significant fair values used in determining carrying value include investment securities available for sale , loans held for sale , derivative financial instruments , impaired loans , oreo , and the net assets acquired in business combinations . certain of these assets do not have a readily available market to determine fair value and require an estimate based on specific parameters . when market prices are unavailable , we determine fair values utilizing estimates , which are constantly changing , including interest rates , duration , prepayment speeds and other specific conditions . in most cases , these specific parameters require a significant amount of judgment by management . at december 31 , 2017 , the percentage of the company 's assets measured at fair value was 13 % . story_separator_special_tag finance division . excluding these amounts , expenses in 2017 increased by $ 7.5 million , or 3.7 % , compared with 2016 levels . salaries and benefits increased $ 13.2 million , or 12.3 % , during 2017. the majority of this increase is attributable to $ 4.5 million in salary and benefit expense in the new premium finance division , $ 3.3 million in salary and benefit expense related to the strengthening of the company 's bsa department , and $ 2.3 million in additional salary and benefits in the retail mortgage division . exclusive of these three areas , salary and benefits increased $ 3.0 million , or 4.0 % . occupancy costs decreased $ 328,000 , or 1.3 % , during 2017 , principally as a result of management 's cost saving efforts during the year . data processing and it-related costs increased $ 3.3 million , or 13.3 % , in 2017 due to an increased number of accounts and products , as well as customer 's increased reliance on mobile and internet oriented products and services . other professional fees increased $ 5.6 million , or 66.1 % , in 2017 , primarily due to fees incurred in the premium finance division pursuant to the uspf management and license agreement . advertising and public relations and other noninterest expense increased during 2017 to support the larger operations of the company . merger and conversion charges of $ 915,000 in 2017 reflect a decrease of $ 5.5 million compared with $ 6.4 million recorded in 2016. merger and conversion charges were elevated in 2016 due to the acquisition of jaxb and conversion to our core system . credit resolution-related expenses decreased $ 2.7 million , or 43.4 % , in 2017 as credit quality continues to improve . 2016 compared with 2015 . operating expenses increased from $ 199.1 million in 2015 to $ 215.8 million in 2016. total expenses in 2016 include approximately $ 6.4 million in merger-related charges and $ 5.8 million in compliance-related charges , while total expenses in 2015 include approximately $ 8.0 million in merger-related charges . excluding these amounts , expenses in 2016 increased by only $ 12.6 million , or 6.6 % , compared with 2015 levels . salaries and benefits increased $ 12.8 million during 2016 , driven by $ 2.5 million associated with the company 's acquisition of jaxb in march 2016 and $ 8.2 million relating to higher compensation levels in the company 's mortgage and sba divisions . 44 occupancy costs increased $ 3.2 million , or 15.1 % , during 2016 , principally as a result of the increased number of retail branches operated during the year , as well as additional expenses for administrative offices . data processing and it-related costs increased $ 4.7 million , or 23.9 % , in 2016. growth in accounts associated with the acquisition of the jacksonville bank accounted for a portion of this increase , while the majority of the increase related to much higher online and mobile banking adoption . other professional fees increased $ 6.0 million in 2016 , mostly due to the compliance-related charges recorded in the fourth quarter of 2016. postage and delivery , legal fees and other noninterest expense all increased during 2016 to support the larger operations of the company . merger and conversion charges of $ 6.4 million in 2016 relate to the jaxb acquisition , compared with $ 8.0 million recorded in 2015 related to the merchants and branch acquisitions . credit resolution-related expenses decreased $ 11.5 million in 2016. during the second quarter of 2015 , the company recorded $ 11.2 million of pre-tax oreo write-downs and other credit resolution-related expenses related to an aggressive write-down on remaining non-performing assets in order to expedite their liquidation . income taxes income tax expense is influenced by the amount of taxable income , the amount of tax-exempt income and the amount of non-deductible expenses . for the year ended december 31 , 2017 , the company recorded income tax expense of approximately $ 50.7 million , compared with $ 33.1 million recorded in 2016 and $ 15.9 million recorded in 2015. the company 's effective tax rate was 40.8 % , 31.5 % and 28.0 % for the years ended december 31 , 2017 , 2016 and 2015 , respectively . income tax expense for the year ended includes a charge of approximately $ 13.6 million to income tax expense attributable to the remeasurement of the company 's deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities due to the recently enacted federal tax legislation that reduces the company 's future federal corporate tax rate . excluding this remeasurement charge , income tax expense for the year ended december 31 , 2017 would have been $ 37.1 million and the company 's effective tax rate would have been approximately 29.9 % . balance sheet comparison loans management believes that our loan portfolio is adequately diversified . the loan portfolio contains no foreign loans or significant concentrations in any one industry . as of december 31 , 2017 , approximately 65.2 % of our legacy loan portfolio was secured by real estate , reflecting a continuing reduction from 70.3 % at december 31 , 2016 and 79.8 % at december 31 , 2015 as the company continues to diversify its legacy loan portfolio . the amount of loans outstanding , excluding purchased loans , at the indicated dates is shown in the following table according to type of loans . replace_table_token_10_th the following table summarizes the various loan types comprising the `` commercial , financial and agricultural `` loan category displayed in the preceding table . replace_table_token_11_th 45 the following table provides additional disclosure on the various loan types comprising the subgroup “ real estate – commercial & farmland ” at december 31 , 2017 . replace_table_token_12_th the company seeks to diversify its loan portfolio across its geographic footprint and in various

