Allowance for Current Expected Credit Loss (CECL)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

Allowance for Credit Loss [Abstract]

Allowance For Current Expected Credit Loss (CECL)

Allowance for Current Expected Credit Loss (CECL)

Effective January 1, 2020, the Corporation adopted the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s update, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326), as amended. The standard requires a valuation allowance for credit losses be recognized for certain financial assets that reflects the current expected credit loss over the asset’s contractual life. The valuation allowance considers the risk of loss, even if remote, and considers past events, current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts. The standard requires this expected loss methodology for trade receivables, certain other financial assets and off-balance sheet credit exposures. The cumulative effect adjustment related to the adoption of this standard reduced equity by $93 million.

The Corporation is exposed to credit losses primarily through sales of petroleum products, crude oil, NGLs and natural gas, as well as loans to equity companies and joint venture receivables. A counterparty’s ability to pay is assessed through a credit review process that considers payment terms, the counterparty’s established credit rating or the Corporation’s assessment of the counterparty’s credit worthiness, contract terms, country of operation, and other risks. The Corporation can require prepayment or collateral to mitigate certain credit risks.

The Corporation groups financial assets into portfolios that share similar risk characteristics for purposes of determining the allowance for credit losses. Each reporting period, the Corporation assesses whether a significant change in the risk of credit loss has occurred. Among the quantitative and qualitative factors considered are historical financial data, current conditions, industry and country risk, current credit ratings and the quality of third-party guarantees secured from the counterparty. Financial assets are written off in whole, or in part, when practical recovery efforts have been exhausted and no reasonable expectation of recovery exists. Subsequent recoveries of amounts previously written off are recognized in earnings. The Corporation manages receivable portfolios using past due balances as a key credit quality indicator.

The Corporation recognizes a credit allowance for off-balance sheet credit exposures as a liability on the balance sheet, separate from the allowance for credit losses related to recognized financial assets. Among these exposures are unfunded loans to equity companies and financial guarantees that cannot be cancelled unilaterally by the Corporation.

In the first nine months of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic spread through most areas of the world resulting in economic uncertainty, global financial market volatility, and negative effects in the credit markets. The Corporation has considered these effects, along with the significantly lower balances of trade receivables at the end of the quarter, in its estimate of credit losses and concluded no material adjustment to credit allowances in the quarter was required. At September 30, 2020, the Corporation’s evaluation of financial assets under Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326), as amended, included $16,450 million of notes and accounts receivable, net of allowances of $148 million, and $9,668 million of loans and long-term receivables, net of allowances of $436 million, and certain other financial assets where there is immaterial risk of loss.

	Reserve for Notes and Other Receivables and Loans		Liabilities for Off- Balance Sheet Assets
	Trade	Other		Total
	(millions of dollars)
Balance at December 31, 2019	34	469	—	503
Cumulative effect of accounting change	52	45	12	109
Current period provision	—	(4)	(1)	(5)
Write-offs charged against the allowance	(1)	(1)	—	(2)
Other	—	(10)	—	(10)
Balance at September 30, 2020	85	499	11	595