12. COMMITMENTS, CONTINGENT LIABILITIES, AND FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS WITH OFF-BALANCE SHEET RISK In the normal course of business, various claims and lawsuits may arise against the Corporation. Management, after reviewing with counsel all actions and proceedings, considers that the aggregate liability or loss, if any, will not be material. The Corporation is a party to financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk in the normal course of business to meet the financing needs of its customers and to reduce its own risk exposure to fluctuations in interest rates. These financial instruments include commitments to extend credit in the form of loans or through letters of credit. The instruments involve, to varying degrees, elements of credit and interest rate risk in excess of the amounts recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The contract or notional amounts of the instruments reflect the extent of involvement the Corporation has in particular classes of financial instruments. Commitments to extend credit are contractual obligations to lend to a customer as long as all established contractual conditions are satisfied. Commitments generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses and may require payment of a fee by a customer. Standby letters of credit and financial guarantees are conditional commitments issued by the Corporation to guarantee the performance of a customer to a third party. Standby letters of credit and financial guarantees are generally terminated through the performance of a specified condition or through the lapse of time. The Corporations exposure to credit loss in the event of nonperformance by the other party to commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit is represented by the contractual or notional amounts of these instruments. As these off-balance sheet financial instruments have essentially the same credit risk involved in extending loans, the Corporation generally uses the same credit and collateral policies in making these commitments and conditional obligations as it does for on-balance sheet instruments. Since many of the commitments to extend credit and standby letters of credit are expected to expire without being drawn upon, the contractual or notional amounts do not represent future cash requirements. The contractual or notional amounts of financial instruments having credit risk in excess of that reported in the Consolidated Balance Sheets are as follows: Dec. 31, 2018 Dec. 31, 2017 Financial instruments whose contract amounts represent credit risk: Commitments to extend credit $ 39,418,110 $ 24,706,357 Standby letters of credit and financial guarantees $ 4,342,849 $ 3,134,849 The Corporation has no lease obligations that require capitalization. The rental agreement for the loan production office in Tifton, Georgia ended July 31, 2018. The Corporations remaining lease is an operating lease for postage services, which expires December 2020. The following table shows scheduled future cash payments under this obligation as of December 31, 2018. Payments Due by Period Total Less than 1 Year 1-3 Years 4-5 Years After 5 Years Operating leases $ 10,296 $ 5,148 $ 5,148 $ 0 $ 0 Rental expenses were $9,100, $15,600, and $15,600 for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016, respectively.