NOTE 9.          FEDERAL FUNDS PURCHASED

At December 31, 2023, the Company had $1.26 billion in federal funds purchased from its correspondent banks that are clients of its correspondent banking unit, compared to $1.35 billion (excludes the Company’s federal funds purchases reported in the next paragraph) at December 31, 2022.  Rates paid on these funds were between 5.40% and 5.50% as of December 31, 2023 and 4.40% and 4.50% as of December 31, 2022.

At December 31, 2023, the Company had available lines of credit totaling approximately $880.0 million with various financial institutions for borrowing on a short-term basis, compared to $963.0 million at December 31, 2022. The Company had no outstanding borrowings from these lines at December 31, 2023, compared to $265.0 million outstanding borrowings from these lines at December 31, 2022.