Financial Instruments

The carrying and estimated fair values of our financial instruments by class at December 31, 2014 and 2013 were as follows:



	December 31, 2014				December 31, 2013
	Carrying Amount		Fair Value		Carrying Amount		Fair Value
	(Millions)
Long-term debt (including current maturities)	$	1,071	$	1,106	$	1,021	$	1,089
Instruments with off-balance sheet risk:
Foreign exchange forward contracts:
Asset derivative contracts	—		—		—		—

Asset and Liability Instruments — The fair value of cash and cash equivalents, short and long-term receivables, accounts payable, and short-term debt was considered to be the same as or was not determined to be materially different from the carrying amount.

Long-term Debt — The fair value of our public fixed rate senior notes is based on quoted market prices. The fair value of our private borrowings under our senior credit facility and other long-term debt instruments is based on the market value of debt with similar maturities, interest rates and risk characteristics. The fair value of our level 1 debt, as classified in the fair value hierarchy, was $759 million and $792 million at December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, respectively. We have classified the $301 million and $287 million as level 2 in the fair value hierarchy at December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, respectively, since we utilize valuation inputs that are observable both directly and indirectly. We classified the remaining $46 million and $10 million, consisting of foreign subsidiary debt, as level 3 in the fair value hierarchy at December 31, 2014, and December 31, 2013, respectively.

Foreign exchange forward contracts — We use derivative financial instruments, principally foreign currency forward purchase and sales contracts with terms of less than one year, to hedge our exposure to changes in foreign currency exchange rates. Our primary exposure to changes in foreign currency rates results from intercompany loans made between affiliates to minimize the need for borrowings from third parties. Additionally, we enter into foreign currency forward purchase and sale contracts to mitigate our exposure to changes in exchange rates on certain intercompany and third-party trade receivables and payables. We manage counter-party credit risk by entering into derivative financial instruments with major financial institutions that can be expected to fully perform under the terms of such agreements. We do not enter into derivative financial instruments for speculative purposes. The fair value of our foreign currency forward contracts is based on an internally developed model which incorporates observable inputs including quoted spot rates, forward exchange rates and discounted future expected cash flows utilizing market interest rates with similar quality and maturity characteristics. We record the change in fair value of these foreign exchange forward contracts as part of currency gains (losses) within cost of sales in the consolidated statements of income. The fair value of foreign exchange forward contracts are recorded in prepayments and other current assets or other current liabilities in the consolidated balance sheet. The fair value of our foreign currency forward contracts was a net liability position of less than $1 million at both December 31, 2014 and 2013.

The following table summarizes by major currency the notional amounts for foreign currency forward purchase and sale contracts as of December 31, 2014 (all of which mature in 2015):



		Notional Amount in Foreign Currency
		(Millions)
Australian dollars	—Purchase	3
British pounds	—Purchase	1
Canadian dollars	—Sell	(2	)
European euro	—Purchase	1
	—Sell	(4	)
Japanese yen	—Sell	(1,268	)
South African rand	—Purchase	112
U.S. dollars	—Purchase	14
	—Sell	(10	)

Guarantees — We have from time to time issued guarantees for the performance of obligations by some of our subsidiaries, and some of our subsidiaries have guaranteed our debt. All of our existing and future material domestic subsidiaries fully and unconditionally guarantee our senior credit facility and our senior notes on a joint and several basis. The senior credit facility is also secured by first-priority liens on substantially all our domestic assets and pledges of up to 66 percent of the stock of certain first-tier foreign subsidiaries. No assets or capital stock secure our senior notes. For additional information, refer to Note 13 of the consolidated financial statements of Tenneco Inc., where we present the Supplemental Guarantor Condensed Consolidating Financial Statements.

In March 2011, we entered into two performance guarantee agreements in the U.K. between Tenneco Management (Europe) Limited (“TMEL”) and the two Walker Group Retirement Plans, the Walker Group Employee Benefit Plan and the Walker Group Executive Retirement Benefit Plan (the “Walker Plans”), whereby TMEL will guarantee the payment of all current and future pension contributions in event of a payment default by the sponsoring or participating employers of the Walker Plans. As a result of our decision to enter into these performance guarantee agreements, the levy due to the U.K. Pension Protection Fund was reduced. The Walker Plans are comprised of employees from Tenneco Walker (U.K.) Limited and our Futaba-Tenneco U.K. joint venture. Employer contributions are funded by both Tenneco Walker (U.K.) Limited, as the sponsoring employer and Futaba-Tenneco U.K., as a participating employer. The performance guarantee agreements are expected to remain in effect until all pension obligations for the Walker Plans’ sponsoring and participating employers have been satisfied. The maximum amount payable for these pension performance guarantees, related to other participating employers, is approximately $55 million as of December 31, 2014 which is determined by taking 105 percent of the liability of the Walker Plans calculated under section 179 of the U.K. Pension Act of 2004 offset by plan assets. We did not record an additional liability in March 2011 for this performance guarantee since Tenneco Walker (U.K.) Limited, as the sponsoring employer of the Walker Plans, already recognizes 100 percent of the pension obligation calculated based on U.S. GAAP, for all of the Walker Plans’ participating employers on its balance sheet, which was $17 million and $10 million at December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, respectively. At December 31, 2014, all pension contributions under the Walker Plans were current for all of the Walker Plans’ sponsoring and participating employers.

In June 2011, we entered into an indemnity agreement between TMEL and Futaba Industrial Co. Ltd. which requires Futaba to indemnify TMEL for any cost, loss or liability which TMEL may incur under the performance guarantee agreements relating to the Futaba-Tenneco U.K. joint venture. The maximum amount reimbursable by Futaba to TMEL under this indemnity agreement is equal to the amount incurred by TMEL under the performance guarantee agreements multiplied by Futaba’s shareholder ownership percentage of the Futaba-Tenneco U.K. joint venture. At December 31, 2014, the maximum amount reimbursable by Futaba to TMEL is approximately $9 million.

We have issued guarantees through letters of credit in connection with some obligations of our affiliates. As of December 31, 2014, we have guaranteed $35 million in letters of credit to support some of our subsidiaries’ insurance arrangements, foreign employee benefit programs, environmental remediation activities and cash management and capital requirements.

Financial Instruments — One of our European subsidiaries receives payment from one of its customers whereby the accounts receivable are satisfied through the delivery of negotiable financial instruments. We may collect these financial instruments before their maturity date by either selling them at a discount or using them to satisfy accounts receivable that have previously been sold to a European bank. Any of these financial instruments which are not sold are classified as other current assets. The amount of these financial instruments that was collected before their maturity date and sold at a discount totaled $1 million and $5 million at December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, respectively. No such financial instruments were held by our European subsidiary as of December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, respectively.

In certain instances, several of our Chinese subsidiaries receive payment from customers through the receipt of financial instruments on the date the customer payments are due. Several of our Chinese subsidiaries also satisfy vendor payments through the delivery of financial instruments on the date the payments are due. Financial instruments issued to satisfy vendor payables and not redeemed totaled $24 million and $13 million at December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, respectively, and were classified as notes payable. Financial instruments received from customers and not redeemed totaled $17 million and $12 million at December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, respectively. We classify financial instruments received from our customers as other current assets if issued by a financial institution of our customers or as customer notes and accounts if issued by our customer. We classified $17 million and $12 million in other current assets at December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, respectively.

The financial instruments received by one of our European subsidiaries and some of our Chinese subsidiaries are drafts drawn that are payable at a future date and, in some cases, are negotiable and/or are guaranteed by the banks of the customers. The use of these instruments for payment follows local commercial practice. Because certain of such financial instruments are guaranteed by our customers’ banks, we believe they represent a lower financial risk than the outstanding accounts receivable that they satisfy which are not guaranteed by a bank.

Supply Chain Financing. Near the end of the second quarter of 2013 certain of our suppliers in the U.S. extended their payment terms to Tenneco. The liquidity benefit to Tenneco from the extended payment terms totaled $16 million at December 31, 2014. These suppliers also began participating in a supply chain financing program under which they securitize their accounts receivables from Tenneco with two financial institutions. The financial institutions participate in the supply chain financing program on an uncommitted basis and can cease purchasing receivables from Tenneco's suppliers at any time. If the financial institutions did not continue to purchase receivables from Tenneco's suppliers under this program, the participating vendors could reduce their payment terms to Tenneco which in turn would cause our borrowings under our revolving credit facility to increase.

Restricted Cash - Two of our Australian subsidiaries arranged for $3 million in guarantees to be issued by a financial institution to support some of our subsidiaries' property lease arrangements and workers compensation programs. These guarantees were supported by a cash deposit with the financial institution which has been classified as restricted cash on the Tenneco Inc. consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2014.