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Notes payable and other borrowings
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2017
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]  
Notes payable and other borrowings

Note 17. Notes payable and other borrowings

Notes payable and other borrowings are summarized below (in millions). The weighted average interest rates and maturity date ranges shown in the following tables are based on borrowings as of June 30, 2017.

 

     Weighted
Average
  Interest Rate  
      June 30, 
2017
       December 31,  
2016
 

Insurance and other:

        

Issued by Berkshire:

        

U.S. Dollar denominated borrowings due 2017-2047

     2.8%              $10,615        $11,709  

Euro denominated borrowings due 2020-2035

     1.1%              7,766        5,994  

Short-term subsidiary borrowings

     3.0%              2,013        2,094  

Other subsidiary borrowings due 2017-2045

     3.9%              7,387        7,378  
     

 

 

    

 

 

 
         $27,781         $27,175  
     

 

 

    

 

 

 

In January 2017, Berkshire issued €1.1 billion in senior unsecured notes. The notes consisted of €550 million of 0.25% notes due in 2021 and €550 million of 0.625% notes due in 2023. In January 2017, senior notes of $1.1 billion matured. The increase in the carrying value of Berkshire’s Euro denominated senior notes in the first six months of 2017 included $597 million that was charged to earnings as additional interest expense for the first six months of 2017 (including $526 million in the second quarter) and resulted from the revaluation attributable to changes in foreign currency exchange rates.

 

 

     Weighted
Average
 Interest Rate 
    June 30,
2017
      December 31, 
2016
 

Railroad, utilities and energy:

    

Issued by Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company (“BHE”) and its subsidiaries:

       

BHE senior unsecured debt due 2018-2045

     5.4%     $ 7,420        $ 7,818  

Subsidiary and other debt due 2017-2064

     4.6%       30,729        29,223  

Issued by BNSF due 2017-2097

     4.8%       22,552        22,044  
    

 

 

    

 

 

 
     $ 60,701        $ 59,085  
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

BHE subsidiary debt represents amounts issued pursuant to separate financing agreements. Substantially all of the assets of certain BHE subsidiaries are, or may be, pledged or encumbered to support or otherwise secure debt. These borrowing arrangements generally contain various covenants including, but not limited to, leverage ratios, interest coverage ratios and debt service coverage ratios. During the first six months of 2017, BHE and its subsidiaries issued approximately $1.275 billion of debt with maturity dates ranging from 2027 to 2057 and a weighted average interest rate of 3.7%.

BNSF’s borrowings are primarily senior unsecured debentures. In March 2017, BNSF issued $1.25 billion of senior unsecured debentures consisting of $500 million of 3.25% debentures due in 2027 and $750 million of 4.125% debentures due in 2047. In May 2017, $650 million of BNSF debentures matured. As of June 30, 2017, BNSF, BHE and their subsidiaries were in compliance with all applicable debt covenants. Berkshire does not guarantee any debt, borrowings or lines of credit of BNSF, BHE or their subsidiaries.

 

     Weighted
Average
 Interest Rate 
     June 30, 
2017
      December 31, 
2016
 

Finance and financial products:

    

Issued by Berkshire Hathaway Finance Corporation (“BHFC”) due 2017-2043

     2.7%      $ 13,323       $ 14,423  

Issued by other subsidiaries due 2017-2036

     4.7%       465        961  
    

 

 

    

 

 

 
      $ 13,788       $ 15,384  
    

 

 

    

 

 

 

In January 2017, BHFC issued $1.3 billion of senior notes consisting of $950 million of floating rate notes due in 2019 and $350 million of floating rate notes due in 2020. In the first six months of 2017, senior notes of $2.4 billion matured. The borrowings of BHFC, a wholly owned finance subsidiary of Berkshire, are fully and unconditionally guaranteed by Berkshire.

As of June 30, 2017, our subsidiaries had unused lines of credit and commercial paper capacity aggregating approximately $8.4 billion to support short-term borrowing programs and provide additional liquidity. Such unused lines of credit included about $4.8 billion related to BHE and its subsidiaries. In addition to BHFC’s borrowings, at June 30, 2017, Berkshire guaranteed approximately $2.6 billion of other subsidiary borrowings. Generally, Berkshire’s guarantee of a subsidiary’s debt obligation is an absolute, unconditional and irrevocable guarantee for the full and prompt payment when due of all payment obligations.