Guarantees and product warranty

We have provided an indemnity to a third-party insurance company for potential losses related to performance bonds issued on behalf of Caterpillar dealers. The bonds are issued to insure governmental agencies against nonperformance by certain dealers. We also provided guarantees to a third-party related to the performance of contractual obligations by certain Caterpillar dealers. The guarantees cover potential financial losses incurred by the third-party resulting from the dealers’ nonperformance.

We provide loan guarantees to third-party lenders for financing associated with machinery purchased by customers. These guarantees have varying terms and are secured by the machinery. In addition, Cat Financial participates in standby letters of credit issued to third parties on behalf of their customers. These standby letters of credit have varying terms and beneficiaries and are secured by customer assets.

Cat Financial provided a limited indemnity to a third-party bank resulting from the assignment of certain leases to that bank. The indemnity was for the possibility that the insurers of these leases would become insolvent. The indemnity expired December 15, 2012.

We have provided guarantees to third-party lessors for certain properties leased by Cat Logistics Services, LLC, in which we sold a 65 percent equity interest in the third quarter of 2012. See Note 25 for further discussion on this divestiture. The guarantees are for the possibility that the third party logistics business would default on real estate lease payments. The guarantees were granted at lease inception, which was prior to the divestiture, and generally will expire at the end of the lease terms.

No loss has been experienced or is anticipated under any of these guarantees. At December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, the related liability was $14 million, $7 million and $10 million, respectively. The maximum potential amount of future payments (undiscounted and without reduction for any amounts that may possibly be recovered under recourse or collateralized provisions) we could be required to make under the guarantees at December 31 are as follows:



(Millions of dollars)	2012		2011		2010
Caterpillar dealer guarantees	$	180	$	140	$	185
Customer guarantees	167		186		170
Limited indemnity	—		11		17
Third party logistics business guarantees	176		—		—
Other guarantees	53		28		48
Total guarantees	$	576	$	365	$	420

Cat Financial provides guarantees to repurchase certain loans of Caterpillar dealers from a special-purpose corporation (SPC) that qualifies as a variable interest entity. The purpose of the SPC is to provide short-term working capital loans to Caterpillar dealers. This SPC issues commercial paper and uses the proceeds to fund its loan program. Cat Financial has a loan purchase agreement with the SPC that obligates Cat Financial to purchase certain loans that are not paid at maturity. Cat Financial receives a fee for providing this guarantee, which provides a source of liquidity for the SPC. Cat Financial is the primary beneficiary of the SPC as their guarantees result in Cat Financial having both the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the SPC’s economic performance and the obligation to absorb losses, and therefore Cat Financial has consolidated the financial statements of the SPC. As of December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, the SPC’s assets of $927 million, $586 million and $365 million, respectively, are primarily comprised of loans to dealers, and the SPC’s liabilities of $927 million, $586 million and $365 million, respectively, are primarily comprised of commercial paper. The assets of the SPC are not available to pay Cat Financial's creditors. Cat Financial may be obligated to perform under the guarantee if the SPC experiences losses. No loss has been experienced or is anticipated under this loan purchase agreement.

Cat Financial is party to agreements in the normal course of business with selected customers and Caterpillar dealers in which we commit to provide a set dollar amount of financing on a pre-approved basis. We also provide lines of credit to selected customers and Caterpillar dealers, of which a portion remains unused as of the end of the period. Commitments and lines of credit generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses. It has been our experience that not all commitments and lines of credit will be used. Management applies the same credit policies when making commitments and granting lines of credit as it does for any other financing.

Cat Financial does not require collateral for these commitments/lines, but if credit is extended, collateral may be required upon funding. The amount of the unused commitments and lines of credit for dealers as of December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010 was $10,863 million, $6,469 million and $6,408 million, respectively. The amount of the unused commitments and lines of credit for customers as of December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010 was $4,690 million, $2,785 million and $2,613 million, respectively.

Our product warranty liability is determined by applying historical claim rate experience to the current field population and dealer inventory. Generally, historical claim rates are based on actual warranty experience for each product by machine model/engine size. Specific rates are developed for each product build month and are updated monthly based on actual warranty claim experience.



(Millions of dollars)	2012			2011			2010
Warranty liability, January 1	$	1,308		$	1,035		$	1,049
Reduction in liability (payments)	(920		)	(926		)	(855		)
Increase in liability (new warranties)	1,089			1,199			841
Warranty liability, December 31	$	1,477		$	1,308		$	1,035

During 2011, the increase in liability (new warranties) included $182 million due to the purchase of Bucyrus.