Liquidity is managed to ensure stable, reliable and cost-effective sources of funds to satisfy demand for credit, deposit withdrawals and investment opportunities. Funding requirements are impacted by loan originations and refinancings, deposit balance changes, liability issuances and settlements and off-balance sheet funding commitments. We consider and comply with various regulatory and internal guidelines regarding required liquidity levels and periodically monitor our liquidity position in light of the changing economic environment and customer activity. Based on periodic liquidity assessments, we may alter our asset, liability and off-balance sheet positions. The Company’s Asset Liability Management Committee (“ALCO”) monitors sources and uses of funds and modifies asset and liability positions as liquidity requirements change. This process, combined with our ability to raise funds in money and capital markets and through private placements, provides flexibility in managing the exposure to liquidity risk.
Immediate liquid resources are available in cash, which is primarily on deposit with the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco (“FRB”). As of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, cash and cash equivalents were $1.1 billion and $1.7 billion, respectively. Potential sources of liquidity also include investment securities in our available-for-sale portfolio and held-to-maturity portfolio. The carrying values of our available-for-sale investment securities and held-to-maturity investment securities were $2.1 billion and $3.9 billion as of September 30, 2024, respectively. The carrying values of our available-for-sale investment securities and held-to-maturity investment securities were $2.3 billion and $4.0 billion as of December 31, 2023, respectively. As of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, we maintained our excess liquidity primarily in collateralized mortgage obligations issued by Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and mortgage-backed securities issued by Ginnie Mae, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, Municipal Housing Authorities and non-agency entities. As of September 30, 2024, our available-for-sale investment securities portfolio was comprised of securities with a weighted average life of approximately 4.3 years and our held-to-maturity investment securities portfolio was comprised of securities with a weighted average life of approximately 7.5 years. These funds offer substantial resources to meet either new loan demand or to help offset reductions in our deposit funding base as they provide quick sources of liquidity by pledging to obtain secured borrowings and repurchase agreements or sales of our available-for-sale securities portfolio. Liquidity is further enhanced by our ability to pledge loans to access secured borrowings from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines (“FHLB”) and the FRB. As of September 30, 2024, we have borrowing capacity of $2.9 billion from the FHLB and $3.1 billion from the FRB based on the amount of collateral pledged.
Our core deposits have historically provided us with a long-term source of stable and relatively lower cost of funding. Our core deposits, defined as all deposits exclusive of time deposits exceeding $250,000, totaled $18.8 billion and $19.5 billion as of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively, which represented 93% and 91% of our total deposits as of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. These core deposits are normally less volatile, often with customer relationships tied to other products offered by the Company; however, deposit levels could decrease if interest rates increase significantly or if corporate customers increase investing activities, including alternative investment options, that reduce deposit balances.
The Company’s routine funding requirements are expected to consist primarily of general corporate needs and capital to be returned to our shareholders. We expect to meet these obligations from dividends paid by the Bank to the Parent. Additional sources of liquidity available to us include selling residential real estate loans in the secondary market, taking out short- and long-term borrowings and issuing long-term debt and equity securities.
We typically have contractual obligations representing required future payments on certificates of deposits, borrowings, noncancelable operating leases, postretirement benefit contributions, purchase obligations and funding commitments on low-income housing tax credit investments. Our short-term borrowings decreased from $500.0 million as of December 31, 2023 to $250.0 million as of September 30, 2024. See “ – Short-term Borrowings” for further details. Other than this change, there have been no material changes to the cash requirements from our current and long-term contractual obligations previously reported as of December 31, 2023. We believe that our existing cash, cash equivalents, investments, and cash expected to be generated from operations, are still sufficient to meet our cash requirements within the next 12 months and beyond.
Potential Demands on Liquidity from Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We have off-balance sheet arrangements, such as variable interest entities, guarantees, and certain financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk, that may affect the Company’s financial condition, changes in financial condition, revenues or expenses, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources.