Retrospective Responsibility Plan

6 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Retrospective Responsibility Plan [Abstract]

Retrospective Responsibility Plan

Note 2—Retrospective Responsibility Plan

Under the terms of the retrospective responsibility plan, the Company maintains an escrow account from which settlements of, or judgments in, covered litigation are paid. See Note 11—Legal Matters. On December 29, 2011, using operating cash on hand, the Company made a deposit of $1.57 billion into the litigation escrow. See Note 7—Stockholders' Equity.

The following table sets forth the changes in the escrow account during the six months ended March 31, 2012.

	(in millions)
Balance at October 1, 2011	$	2,857
Deposit into the litigation escrow account	1,565
American Express settlement payment	(140		)
Balance at March 31, 2012	$	4,282

The accrual related to covered litigation could be either higher or lower than the escrow account balance. The Company did not record an additional accrual for covered litigation during the six months ended March 31, 2012.