The risk of credit losses on loans and leases varies with, among other things, general economic conditions, the type of loan being made, the creditworthiness of the borrower, and, in the case of collateralized loans, the value and marketability of the collateral. We maintain an allowance for loan losses based upon, among other things, historical experience, an evaluation of economic conditions, and regular reviews of delinquencies and loan portfolio quality. Based upon such factors, our management makes various assumptions and determinations about the ultimate collectability of the loan portfolio and provides an allowance for losses based upon a percentage of the outstanding balances and for specific loans where their collectability is considered to be questionable.
As of December 31, 2018, our allowance for loan losses was $8,395,000, representing 1.43% of outstanding loans. While we believe that our allowance for loan losses is appropriate for the risk identified in our loans and lease portfolio, we cannot assure you that we will not further increase the allowance for loan losses, that it will be sufficient to address losses we actually incur, or that regulators will not require us to increase this allowance. Any of these occurrences could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. See "Item 7 - Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" for more information.