Regulatory Capital and Other Regulatory Matters

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2020

Broker-Dealer, Net Capital Requirement, SEC Regulation [Abstract]

Regulatory Capital Requirements under Banking Regulations

Regulatory Capital and Other Regulatory Matters

Basel Capital Framework

The FRB and other U.S. banking agencies have adopted risk-based and leverage capital standards that establish minimum capital-to-asset ratios for BHCs, like Ally, and depository institutions, like Ally Bank. Ally and Ally Bank are subject to capital requirements issued by U.S. banking regulators that require us to maintain risk-based and leverage capital ratios above minimum levels. The risk-based capital ratios are based on a banking organization’s RWAs, which are generally determined under the standardized approach applicable to Ally and Ally Bank by (1) assigning on-balance-sheet exposures to broad risk-weight categories according to the counterparty or, if relevant, the guarantor or collateral (with higher risk weights assigned to categories of exposures perceived as representing greater risk), and (2) multiplying off-balance-sheet exposures by specified credit conversion factors to calculate credit equivalent amounts and assigning those credit equivalent amounts to the relevant risk-weight categories. The leverage ratio, in contrast, is based on an institution’s average unweighted on-balance-sheet exposures.

Failure to meet minimum capital requirements can initiate certain mandatory and possibly additional discretionary action by regulators that, if undertaken, could have a direct material effect on the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements or the results of operations and financial condition of Ally and Ally Bank. Under capital adequacy guidelines and the regulatory framework for prompt corrective action, Ally and Ally Bank must meet specific capital guidelines that involve quantitative measures of capital, assets, and certain off-balance-sheet items. These measures and related classifications, which are used in the calculation of our risk-based and leverage capital ratios and those of Ally Bank, are also subject to qualitative judgments by the regulators about the components of capital, the risk weightings of assets and other exposures, and other factors. The FRB also uses these ratios and guidelines as part of the capital planning and stress testing processes. In addition, in order for Ally to maintain its status as an FHC, Ally and its bank subsidiary, Ally Bank, must remain well capitalized and well managed, as defined under applicable laws. The well capitalized standard for insured depository institutions, such as Ally Bank, reflects the capital requirements under U.S. Basel III.

In October 2019, the FRB and other U.S. banking agencies issued final rules implementing targeted amendments to the Dodd-Frank Act and other financial-services laws that had been enacted in May 2018 through the EGRRCP Act. The final rules were effective on December 31, 2019, and established four risk-based categories of prudential standards and capital and liquidity requirements for banking organizations with $100 billion or more in total consolidated assets. Under the final rules, Ally was designated as a Category IV firm and, as such, is subject to supervisory stress testing on a two-year cycle, allowed to continue excluding accumulated other comprehensive income from regulatory capital, exempted from company-run capital stress testing, and allowed to remain exempted from the supplementary leverage ratio and the countercyclical capital buffer. Refer to Note 20 to the Consolidated Financial Statements in our 2019 Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional details on our prudential standards tailoring framework and other capital and liquidity requirements we are subject to.

Under U.S. Basel III, Ally and Ally Bank must maintain a minimum Common Equity Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 4.5%, a minimum Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio of 6%, and a minimum total risk-based capital ratio of 8%. In addition to these minimum risk-based capital ratios, Ally and Ally Bank are subject to a capital conservation buffer requirement that is currently fixed at 2.5%. Failure to maintain more than the full amount of the capital conservation buffer requirement would result in restrictions on the ability of Ally and Ally Bank to make capital distributions, including dividend payments and stock repurchases and redemptions, and to pay discretionary bonuses to executive officers. U.S. Basel III also subjects Ally and Ally Bank to a minimum Tier 1 leverage ratio of 4%.

In March 2020, the FRB issued a final rule to more closely align forward-looking stress testing results with the FRB’s non-stress regulatory capital requirements for BHCs with $100 billion or more in total consolidated assets and other specified companies. The final rule introduces a stress capital buffer requirement based on firm-specific stress test performance and planned dividends, which will replace the fixed 2.5% component of the capital conservation buffer requirement. The final rule also makes several changes to the CCAR process, such as eliminating the CCAR quantitative objection, narrowing the set of planned capital actions assumed to occur in the stress scenario, assuming that a firm maintains a constant level of assets over the planning horizon, eliminating the 30% dividend payout ratio as a criterion for heightened scrutiny of a firm’s capital plan, and allowing a firm to make capital distributions in excess of those included in its capital plan if the firm is otherwise in compliance with the automatic distribution limits of the capital framework. The final rule became effective on May 18, 2020, and therefore applied to the 2020 CCAR process. For a Category IV firm like Ally, the stress capital buffer requirement will comprise its capital conservation buffer requirement. Ally’s stress capital buffer requirement will be the greater of 2.5% and the result of the following calculation: (1) the difference between Ally’s starting and minimum projected Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratios under the severely adverse scenario in the supervisory stress test, plus (2) the sum of the dollar amount of Ally’s planned common stock dividends for each of the fourth through seventh quarters of its nine-quarter capital planning horizon, as a percentage of risk-weighted assets. Ally received its first preliminary stress capital buffer requirement from the FRB on June 25, 2020, which was determined under this new methodology to be 3.5% and is scheduled to become effective on October 1, 2020. At the same time, the FRB announced its determination that changes in financial markets or the macroeconomic outlook could have a material effect on the risk profiles and financial conditions of firms subject to the capital-plan rule and that, as a result, the firms (including Ally) would be required to resubmit capital plans to the FRB within 45 days after receiving updated stress scenarios from the FRB. It is possible that this resubmission process may result in a change in Ally’s stress capital buffer requirement. Ally Bank’s capital conservation buffer requirement will continue to be a fixed 2.5%.

Under the capital conservation buffer requirement, the maximum amount of capital distributions and discretionary bonus payments that can be made by a banking organization, such as Ally or Ally Bank, is a function of its eligible retained income. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the FRB and other U.S. banking agencies expressed a concern that the definition of eligible retained income would not limit distributions in the gradual manner intended but instead could do so in a sudden and severe manner even if a banking organization were to experience only a modest reduction in its capital ratios. As a result, to better allow a banking organization to use its capital buffer as intended and continue lending in adverse conditions, the U.S. banking agencies issued an interim final rule that became effective on March 20, 2020, and revised the definition of eligible retained income to the greater of (1) a banking organization’s net income for the four preceding calendar quarters, net of any distributions and associated tax effects not already reflected in net income, and (2) the average of a banking organization’s net income over the preceding four quarters.

Ally and Ally Bank are subject to the U.S. Basel III standardized approach for counterparty credit risk, but not to the U.S. Basel III advanced approaches for credit risk or operational risk. Ally is also not subject to the U.S. market-risk capital rule, which applies only to banking organizations with significant trading assets and liabilities.

The following table summarizes our capital ratios under the U.S. Basel III capital framework.

	June 30, 2020				December 31, 2019				Required minimum (a)		Well-capitalized minimum
($ in millions)	Amount		Ratio		Amount		Ratio
Capital ratios
Common Equity Tier 1 (to risk-weighted assets)
Ally Financial Inc.	$	13,826	10.09	%	$	13,837	9.54	%	4.50	%	(b)
Ally Bank	16,918		13.21		16,627		12.30		4.50		6.50	%
Tier 1 (to risk-weighted assets)
Ally Financial Inc.	$	16,235	11.85	%	$	16,271	11.22	%	6.00	%	6.00	%
Ally Bank	16,918		13.21		16,627		12.30		6.00		8.00
Total (to risk-weighted assets)
Ally Financial Inc.	$	18,895	13.79	%	$	18,506	12.76	%	8.00	%	10.00	%
Ally Bank	18,522		14.46		17,854		13.21		8.00		10.00
Tier 1 leverage (to adjusted quarterly average assets) (c)
Ally Financial Inc.	$	16,235	8.93	%	$	16,271	9.08	%	4.00	%	(b)
Ally Bank	16,918		9.94		16,627		10.01		4.00		5.00	%

(a) In addition to the minimum risk-based capital requirements for the Common Equity Tier 1 capital, Tier 1 capital, and total capital ratios, Ally and Ally Bank were required to maintain a minimum capital conservation buffer of 2.5% at both June 30, 2020, and December 31, 2019. Beginning October 1, 2020, Ally’s preliminary stress capital buffer requirement of 3.5% will comprise its capital conservation buffer requirement. Ally’s capital conservation buffer was 5.59% and 4.76% at June 30, 2020, and December 31, 2019, respectively.

(b) Currently, there is no ratio component for determining whether a BHC is “well-capitalized.”

(c) Federal regulatory reporting guidelines require the calculation of adjusted quarterly average assets using a daily average methodology.

In December 2018, the FRB and other U.S. banking agencies approved a final rule to address the impact of CECL on regulatory capital by allowing BHCs and banks, including Ally, the option to phase in the day-one impact of CECL over a three-year period. In March 2020, the FRB and other U.S. banking agencies issued an interim final rule that became effective on March 31, 2020, and that provides BHCs and banks with an alternative option to temporarily delay an estimate of the impact of CECL, relative to the incurred loss methodology for estimating the allowance for loan losses, on regulatory capital. We have elected this alternative option instead of the one described in the December 2018 rule. As a result, under the interim final rule, we will delay recognizing the estimated impact of CECL on regulatory capital until after a two-year deferral period, which for us extends through December 31, 2021. Beginning on January 1, 2022, we will be required to phase in 25% of the previously deferred estimated capital impact of CECL, with an additional 25% to be phased in at the beginning of each subsequent year until fully phased in by the first quarter of 2025. Under the interim final rule, the estimated impact of CECL on regulatory capital that we will defer and later phase in is calculated as the entire day-one impact at adoption plus 25% of the subsequent change in allowance during the two-year deferral period. As of June 30, 2020, the total deferred impact on Common Equity Tier 1 capital related to our adoption of CECL was $1.2 billion.

At June 30, 2020, and December 31, 2019, Ally and Ally Bank were “well-capitalized” and met all applicable capital requirements to which each was subject. Compliance with capital requirements is a strategic priority for Ally. We expect to be in compliance with all applicable requirements within the established timeframes.

Other Regulatory Developments

In July 2019, the FRB and other U.S. banking agencies issued a final rule to simplify the capital treatment for MSAs, certain DTAs, and investments in the capital instruments of unconsolidated financial institutions (collectively, threshold items). Prior to the final rule taking effect, banking organizations deducted from capital amounts of threshold items that individually exceed 10% of Common Equity Tier 1 capital. The aggregate amount of threshold items not deducted under the 10% threshold deduction but that nonetheless exceeded 15% of Common Equity Tier 1 capital minus certain deductions from and adjustments to Common Equity Tier 1 capital were also deducted. Any amount of these MSAs and certain DTAs not deducted from Common Equity Tier 1 capital were risk weighted at 100%. The final rule removed the individual and aggregate deduction thresholds for threshold items and adopted a single 25% Common Equity Tier 1 capital deduction threshold for each item individually, and required that any of the threshold items not deducted be risk weighted at 250%. The final rule also simplified the calculation methodology for minority interests. These provisions took effect for us on April 1, 2020, and did not have a material impact on our capital position.

In December 2017, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision approved revisions to the global Basel III capital framework (commonly known as Basel IV), many of which—if adopted in the United States—could heighten regulatory capital standards. In March 2020, to better allow banking organizations to focus their resources on navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, the implementation date of these revisions was delayed by the Basel Committee from January 1, 2022, to January 1, 2023. At this time, how the revisions will be harmonized and finalized in the United States is not clear or predictable, and we continue to evaluate the impacts that these revisions may have on us.

Refer to in Note 20 to the Consolidated Financial Statements in our 2019 Annual Report on Form 10-K for further discussion about other regulatory developments.

Capital Planning and Stress Tests

As a Category IV firm, we are subject to supervisory stress testing on a two-year cycle and are exempted from company-run capital stress testing. We are also required to submit an annual capital plan to the FRB. Our annual capital plan must include an assessment of our expected uses and sources of capital and a description of all planned capital actions over a nine-quarter planning horizon, including any issuance of a debt or equity capital instrument, any dividend or other capital distribution, and any similar action that the FRB determines could have an impact on our capital. The plan must also include a discussion of how we, under expected and stressful conditions, will maintain capital commensurate with our risks and above the minimum regulatory capital ratios, and will serve as a source of strength to Ally Bank. The FRB’s final rule introducing the stress capital buffer requirement, which is described above in the section titled Basel Capital Framework, makes several changes to the CCAR process that applied beginning with the 2020 cycle.

The following table presents information related to our common stock and distributions to our common stockholders over the last six quarters.

	Common stock repurchased during period (a) (b)			Number of common shares outstanding		Cash dividends declared per common share (c)
($ in millions, except per share data; shares in thousands)	Approximate dollar value		Number of shares	Beginning of period	End of period
2019
First quarter	$	211	8,113	404,900	399,761	$	0.17
Second quarter	229		7,775	399,761	392,775	0.17
Third quarter	300		9,287	392,775	383,523	0.17
Fourth quarter	299		9,554	383,523	374,332	0.17
2020
First quarter	$	104	3,838	374,332	373,155	$	0.19
Second quarter	—		53	373,155	373,837	0.19

(a) Includes shares of common stock withheld to cover income taxes owed by participants in our share-based incentive plans.

(b) On March 17, 2020, we announced the voluntary suspension of our stock-repurchase program through its termination on June 30, 2020. We do not currently plan to implement a new stock-repurchase program or repurchase shares of our common stock, except in connection with compensation plans, for the remainder of 2020. Refer to the discussion below for further details about this action.

(c) On July 14, 2020, our Board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.19 per share on all common stock, payable on August 14, 2020, to stockholders of record at the close of business on July 31, 2020. Refer to Note 24 for further information regarding this common stock dividend.

We received a non-objection to our 2018 capital plan in June 2018. We were not required to submit an annual capital plan to the FRB, participate in the supervisory stress test or CCAR, or conduct company-run capital stress tests during the 2019 cycle. Instead, our capital actions during the 2019 cycle were largely based on the results from our 2018 supervisory stress test. On April 1, 2019, our Board authorized an increase in our stock-repurchase program, permitting us to repurchase up to $1.25 billion of our common stock from time to time from the third quarter of 2019 through the second quarter of 2020. On March 17, 2020, in order to support the FRB's effort to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the U.S. economy and the financial system, we announced the voluntary suspension of our stock-repurchase program through its termination on June 30, 2020. We do not currently plan to implement a new stock-repurchase program or repurchase shares of our common stock, except in connection with compensation plans, for the remainder of 2020. We retain the discretion, however, to implement such a program and repurchase common stock, subject to the FRB’s restrictions as summarized below. On July 14, 2020, our Board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.19 per share of our common stock. Refer to Note 24 for further information on the most recent dividend.

We submitted our 2020 capital plan on April 3, 2020, which included planned capital distributions to common stockholders through share repurchases and cash dividends over the nine-quarter planning horizon. On June 25, 2020, the FRB provided us with the results of the supervisory stress test, additional industry-wide sensitivity analyses conducted in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and our preliminary stress capital buffer requirement. At the same time, the FRB announced its determination that changes in financial markets or the macroeconomic outlook could have a material effect on the risk profiles and financial conditions of firms subject to the capital-plan rule and that, as a result, the firms (including Ally) would be required to resubmit capital plans to the FRB within 45 days after receiving updated stress scenarios from the FRB. The FRB also announced several actions to ensure that large firms such as Ally remain resilient despite the economic uncertainty from the COVID-19 pandemic, including for the third quarter of 2020 (1) the suspension of repurchases by any firm of its common stock, except repurchases relating to issuances of common stock related to employee stock ownership plans, and (2) the disallowance of any increase by a firm in the amount of its common-stock dividends and the imposition of a common-stock dividend limit equal to the average of the firm’s net income for the four preceding calendar quarters. These restrictions for the third quarter of 2020 may be extended by the FRB on a quarter-by-quarter basis. Our ability to make capital distributions, including our ability to pay dividends or repurchase shares of our common stock, will continue to be subject to the FRB’s review and internal governance requirements, including approval by our Board. The amount and size of any future dividends and share repurchases also will be subject to various factors, including Ally’s capital and liquidity

positions, regulatory considerations, impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic, any accounting standards that affect capital or liquidity (including CECL), financial and operational performance, alternative uses of capital, common-stock price, and general market conditions, and may be suspended or resumed at any time.