Securitizations and Variable Interest Entities

Overview

We are involved in several types of securitization and financing transactions that utilize special-purpose entities (SPEs). An SPE is an entity that is designed to fulfill a specified limited need of the sponsor. Our principal use of SPEs is to obtain liquidity by securitizing certain of our financial assets and operating lease assets.

The SPEs involved in our securitization and other financing transactions are generally considered variable interest entities (VIEs). VIEs are entities that have either a total equity investment at risk that is insufficient to permit the entity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support or whose equity investors lack the ability to control the entity's activities.

Due to the deconsolidation of ResCap, our mortgage securitization activity and involvement with certain mortgage-related VIEs has substantially decreased. We no longer securitize consumer mortgage loans through transactions involving the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), and the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) (collectively, the Government-sponsored Enterprises, or GSEs), or through private-label mortgage securitizations. Accordingly, the discussion below represents our current involvement with variable interest entities as of March 31, 2014, except where otherwise stated or where comparative information is presented.

Securitizations

We provide a wide range of consumer and commercial automobile loans, operating leases, and commercial loans to a diverse customer base. We often securitize these loans (also referred to as financial assets) and leases through the use of securitization entities, which may or may not be consolidated on our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet. We securitize consumer and commercial automobile loans, operating leases, and other commercial loans through private-label securitizations.

In executing a securitization transaction, we typically sell pools of financial assets to a wholly owned, bankruptcy-remote SPE, which then transfers the financial assets to a separate, transaction-specific securitization entity for cash, servicing rights, and in some transactions, other retained interests. The securitization entity is funded through the issuance of beneficial interests in the securitized financial assets. The beneficial interests take the form of either notes or trust certificates, which are sold to investors and/or retained by us. These beneficial interests are collateralized by the transferred leases and loans and entitle the investors to specified cash flows generated from the underlying securitized assets. In addition to providing a source of liquidity and cost-efficient funding, securitizing these leases and financial assets also reduces our credit exposure to the borrowers beyond any economic interest we may retain.

Each securitization is governed by various legal documents that limit and specify the activities of the securitization entity. The securitization entity is generally allowed to acquire the loans, to issue beneficial interests to investors to fund the acquisition of the loans, and to enter into derivatives or other yield maintenance contracts to hedge or mitigate certain risks related to the financial assets or beneficial interests of the entity. A servicer, who is generally us, is appointed pursuant to the underlying legal documents to service the assets the securitization entity holds and the beneficial interests it issues. Servicing functions include, but are not limited to, general collection activity on current and noncurrent accounts, loss mitigation efforts including repossession and sale of collateral, as well as advancing principal and interest payments before collecting them from individual borrowers. Our servicing responsibilities, which constitute continued involvement in the transferred financial assets, consist of primary servicing (i.e., servicing the underlying transferred financial assets) and master servicing (i.e., servicing the beneficial interests that result from the securitization transactions).

Cash flows from the assets initially transferred into the securitization entity represent the sole source for payment of distributions on the beneficial interests issued by the securitization entity and for payments to the parties that perform services for the securitization entity, such as the servicer or the trustee. In certain securitization transactions, a liquidity facility may exist to provide temporary liquidity to the entity. The liquidity provider generally is reimbursed prior to other parties in subsequent distribution periods.

We typically hold retained beneficial interests in our securitizations, which may represent a form of significant continuing economic interest. These retained interests include, but are not limited to, senior or subordinate asset-backed securities and residuals; and other residual interests. Certain of these retained interests provide credit enhancement to the trust as they may absorb credit losses or other cash shortfalls. Additionally, the securitization agreements may require cash flows to be directed away from certain of our retained interests due to specific over-collateralization requirements, which may or may not be performance-driven.

We generally hold certain conditional repurchase options specific to securitizations that allow us to repurchase assets from the securitization entity. The majority of the securitizations provide us, as servicer, with a call option that allows us to repurchase the remaining transferred financial assets or outstanding beneficial interests at our discretion once the asset pool reaches a predefined level, which represents the point where servicing becomes burdensome (a clean-up call option). The repurchase price is typically the par amount of the loans plus accrued interest. Additionally, we may hold other conditional repurchase options that allow us to repurchase a transferred financial asset if certain events outside our control occur. The typical conditional repurchase option is a delinquent loan repurchase option that gives us the option to purchase the loan or contract if it exceeds a certain prespecified delinquency level. We generally have discretion regarding when or if we will exercise these options, but we would do so only when it is in our best interest.

Other than our customary representation and warranty provisions, these securitizations are nonrecourse to us, thereby transferring the risk of future credit losses to the extent the beneficial interests in the securitization entities are held by third parties. Representation and warranty provisions generally require us to repurchase loans or indemnify the investor or other party for incurred losses to the extent it is determined that the loans were ineligible or were otherwise defective at the time of sale. Refer to Note 25 for detail on representation and warranty provisions. We did not provide any noncontractual financial support to any of these entities during the three months ended March 31, 2014 or 2013.

Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities

The determination of whether the assets and liabilities of the VIEs are consolidated on our balance sheet (also referred to as on-balance sheet) or not consolidated on our balance sheet (also referred to as off-balance sheet) depends on the terms of the related transaction and our continuing involvement (if any) with the VIE. We are deemed the primary beneficiary and therefore consolidate VIEs for which we have both (a) the power, through voting rights or similar rights, to direct the activities that most significantly impact the VIE's economic performance, and (b) a variable interest (or variable interests) that (i) obligates us to absorb losses that could potentially be significant to the VIE and/or (ii) provides us the right to receive residual returns of the VIE that could potentially be significant to the VIE. We determine whether we hold a significant variable interest in a VIE based on a consideration of both qualitative and quantitative factors regarding the nature, size, and form of our involvement with the VIE. We assess whether we are the primary beneficiary of a VIE on an ongoing basis.

We are generally determined to be the primary beneficiary in VIEs established for our securitization activities when we have a controlling financial interest in the VIE, primarily due to our servicing activities, and we hold a significant beneficial interest in the VIE. The consolidated VIEs included in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet represent separate entities with which we are involved. The third-party investors in the obligations of consolidated VIEs have legal recourse only to the assets of the VIEs and do not have such recourse to us, except for the customary representation and warranty provisions or when we are the counterparty to certain derivative transactions involving the VIE. In addition, the cash flows from the assets are restricted only to pay such liabilities. Thus, our economic exposure to loss from outstanding third-party financing related to consolidated VIEs is significantly less than the carrying value of the consolidated VIE assets. All assets of consolidated VIEs, presented below based upon the legal transfer of the underlying assets in order to reflect legal ownership, are restricted for the benefit of the beneficial interest holders. Refer to Note 21 for discussion of the assets and liabilities for which the fair value option has been elected.

The nature, purpose, and activities of nonconsolidated securitization entities are similar to those of our consolidated securitization entities with the primary difference being the nature and extent of our continuing involvement. We are generally not determined to be the primary beneficiary in VIEs established for our securitization activities when we either do not hold potentially significant variable interests or do not provide servicing or asset management functions for the financial assets held by the securitization entity. Additionally, to qualify for off-balance sheet treatment, transfers of financial assets must meet appropriate sale accounting conditions. For nonconsolidated securitization entities, the transferred financial assets are removed from our balance sheet provided the conditions for sale accounting are met. The financial assets obtained from the securitization are primarily reported as cash, servicing rights, or retained interests (if applicable). Typically, we conclude that the fee we are paid for servicing consumer automobile finance receivables represents adequate compensation, and consequently, we do not recognize a servicing asset or liability. Liabilities incurred as part of these securitization transactions, such as representation and warranty provisions, are recorded at fair value at the time of sale and are reported as accrued expenses and other liabilities on our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet. Upon the sale of the loans, we recognize a gain or loss on sale for the difference between the assets recognized, the assets derecognized, and the liabilities recognized as part of the transaction.

We have involvement with various other on-balance sheet, immaterial VIEs. Most of these VIEs are used for additional liquidity whereby we sell certain financial assets into the VIE and issue beneficial interests to third parties for cash. We also provide long-term guarantee contracts to investors in certain nonconsolidated affordable housing entities and have extended a line of credit to provide liquidity and minimize our exposure under these contracts. Since we do not have control over the entities or the power to make decisions, we do not consolidate the entities and our involvement is limited to the guarantee and the line of credit.

We have involvement with various other nonconsolidated affordable housing entities and venture capital funds. We do not consolidate these entities and our involvement is limited to the capital contributed and committed to these funds.

Our involvement with consolidated and nonconsolidated VIEs in which we hold variable interests is presented below.



($ in millions)	Consolidated involvement with VIEs (a)				Assets of nonconsolidated VIEs (a)			Maximum exposure to loss in nonconsolidated VIEs
March 31, 2014
On-balance sheet variable interest entities
Consumer automobile	$	21,424
Commercial automobile	18,563
Commercial other	563
Off-balance sheet variable interest entities
Consumer automobile	—				$	776		$	776	(b)
Commercial other	112			(c)	—		(d)	302
Total	$	40,662			$	776		$	1,078
December 31, 2013
On-balance sheet variable interest entities
Consumer automobile	$	19,072
Commercial automobile	20,511
Commercial other	564
Off-balance sheet variable interest entities
Consumer automobile	—				$	899		$	899	(b)
Commercial other	(24		)	(c)	—		(d)	40
Total	$	40,123			$	899		$	939


(a)	Asset values represent the current unpaid principal balance of outstanding consumer finance receivables and loans within the VIEs.

(b)

Maximum exposure to loss represents the current unpaid principal balance of outstanding loans based on our customary representation and warranty provisions. This measure is based on the unlikely event that all of the loans have underwriting defects or other defects that trigger a representation and warranty provision and the collateral supporting the loans is worthless. This required disclosure is not an indication of our expected loss.


(c)	Amounts classified as accrued expenses and other liabilities.


(d)	Includes a VIE for which we have no management oversight and therefore we are not able to provide the total assets of the VIE.

Cash Flows with Off-balance Sheet Variable Interest Entities

The following table summarizes cash flows received and paid related to securitization entities, asset-backed financings, or other similar transfers of financial assets where the transfer is accounted for as a sale and we have a continuing involvement with the transferred assets (e.g., servicing) that were outstanding during the three months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013. Additionally, this table contains information regarding cash flows received from and paid to nonconsolidated securitization entities that existed during each period.



Three months ended March 31, ($ in millions)	Consumer automobile		Consumer mortgage GSEs
2014
Servicing fees	$	2	$	—
Representations and warranties obligations	—		1
2013
Cash proceeds from transfers completed during the period	$	—	$	7,580
Servicing fees	4		119
Representations and warranties obligations	—		(23		)
Other cash flows	—		3

Delinquencies and Net Credit Losses

The following tables represent on-balance sheet loans held-for-sale and finance receivables and loans, off-balance sheet securitizations, and whole-loan sales where we have continuing involvement. The tables present quantitative information about delinquencies and net credit losses. Refer to Note 9 for further detail on total serviced assets.



	Total Amount				Amount 60 days or more past due
($ in millions)	March 31, 2014		December 31, 2013		March 31, 2014		December 31, 2013
On-balance sheet loans
Consumer automobile	$	56,775	$	56,417	$	301	$	412
Consumer mortgage	8,181		8,460		146		164
Commercial automobile	32,984		33,803		54		42
Commercial other	1,727		1,683		—		—
Total on-balance sheet loans	99,667		100,363		501		618
Off-balance sheet securitization entities
Consumer automobile	776		899		3		3
Total off-balance sheet securitization entities	776		899		3		3
Whole-loan transactions (a)	2,188		2,848		52		69
Total	$	102,631	$	104,110	$	556	$	690


(a)	Whole-loan transactions are not part of a securitization transaction, but represent consumer automobile pools of loans sold to third-party investors.



	Net credit losses
	Three months ended March 31,
($ in millions)	2014		2013
On-balance sheet loans
Consumer automobile	$	121	$	93
Consumer mortgage	12		21
Commercial automobile	—		1
Commercial other	—		(1		)
Total on-balance sheet loans	133		114
Off-balance sheet securitization entities
Consumer automobile	—		1
Total off-balance sheet securitization entities	—		1
Whole-loan transactions	3		n/m
Total	$	136	$	115

n/m = not meaningful