Income taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Components of the Income Tax Provision

The components of the income tax provision are as follows:

Provision for income taxes	Year ended Dec. 31,
(in millions)	2019			2018			2017
Current tax expense (benefit):
Federal	$	592		$	902		$	(99	)
Foreign	484			442			388
State and local	113			119			74
Total current tax expense	1,189			1,463			363
Deferred tax (benefit) expense:
Federal	(3		)	(556		)	36
Foreign	(13		)	9			14
State and local	(53		)	22			83
Total deferred tax (benefit) expense	(69		)	(525		)	133
Provision for income taxes	$	1,120		$	938		$	496

Components of Income Before Taxes

The components of income before taxes are as follows:

Income before taxes	Year ended Dec. 31,
(in millions)	2019		2018		2017
Domestic	$	3,516	$	3,008	$	2,699
Foreign	2,071		2,184		1,911
Income before taxes	$	5,587	$	5,192	$	4,610

Components of Net Deferred Tax Liability

The components of our net deferred tax liability are as follows:

Net deferred tax liability	Dec. 31,
(in millions)	2019			2018
Depreciation and amortization	$	2,136		$	2,060
Pension obligation	282			300
Renewable energy investment	268			295
Equity investments	63			65
Lease financings	42			130
Securities valuation	1			(15		)
Credit losses on loans	(46		)	(54		)
Reserves not deducted for tax	(120		)	(143		)
Employee benefits	(257		)	(266		)
Other assets	(43		)	(65		)
Other liabilities	229			189
U.S. foreign tax credits	(39		)	—
Valuation allowance	39			—
Net deferred tax liability	$	2,555		$	2,496

Tax Rate Reconciliations

The statutory federal income tax rate is reconciled to our effective income tax rate below:

Effective tax rate	Year ended Dec. 31,
	2019		2018		2017
Federal rate	21.0	%	21.0	%	35.0	%
State and local income taxes, net of federal income tax benefit	0.9		2.1		1.8
Foreign operations	2.4		0.5		(4.2	)
Tax credits	(3.2	)	(3.3	)	(3.7	)
Tax-exempt income	(0.7	)	(0.8	)	(1.9	)
Leverage lease adjustment	—		—		(1.4	)
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) assessment	0.2		0.5		—
Stock compensation	(0.4	)	(0.6	)	(1.1	)
U.S. tax legislation	—		(1.7	)	(13.3	)
Other – net	(0.2	)	0.4		(0.4	)
Effective tax rate	20.0	%	18.1	%	10.8	%

Unrecognized Tax Benefits

Unrecognized tax positions
(in millions)	2019			2018			2017
Beginning balance at Jan. 1, – gross	$	103		$	128		$	146
Prior period tax positions:
Increases	60			6			20
Decreases	(3		)	(8		)	(4		)
Current period tax positions	17			9			10
Settlements	(4		)	(32		)	(44		)
Ending balance at Dec. 31, – gross	$	173		$	103		$	128