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Revenue from Contracts with Customers
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Revenue from Contract with Customer [Abstract]  
Revenue from Contracts with Customers Disclosure Revenue from Contracts with Customers
Our primary revenue sources, which include financing revenue and other interest income, are addressed by other GAAP and are not in the scope of ASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. As part of our Insurance operations, we recognize revenue from insurance contracts, which are addressed by other GAAP and are not included in the scope of this standard. Certain noninsurance contracts within our Insurance operations, including VSCs, GAP contracts, and VMCs, are included in the scope of this standard. All revenue associated with noninsurance contracts is recognized over the contract term on a basis proportionate to the anticipated cost emergence. Further, commissions and sales expense incurred to obtain these contracts are amortized over the terms of the related policies and service contracts on the same basis as premiums and service revenue are earned, and all advertising costs are recognized as expense when incurred.
The following is a description of our primary revenue sources that are derived from contracts with customers. Revenue from contracts with customers is recognized when control of the promised goods or services is transferred to our customers, and in an amount that reflects the consideration that we expect to receive in exchange for those goods or services. For information regarding our revenue recognition policies outside the scope of the revenue recognition principles of ASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, refer to Note 1.
•Noninsurance contracts — We sell VSCs that offer owners mechanical repair protection and roadside assistance for new and used vehicles beyond the manufacturer’s new vehicle limited warranty. We sell GAP contracts that protect the customer against having to pay certain amounts to a lender above the fair market value of their vehicle if the vehicle is damaged and declared a total loss or stolen. We also sell VMCs that provide coverage for certain agreed-upon services, such as oil changes and tire rotations, over the coverage period. We receive payment in full at the inception of each of these contracts. Our performance obligation for these contracts is satisfied over the term of the contract and we recognize revenue over the contract term on a basis proportionate to the anticipated incurrence of costs, as we believe this is the most appropriate method to measure progress towards satisfaction of the performance obligation.
•Sale of off-lease vehicles — When a customer’s vehicle lease matures, the customer has the option of purchasing or returning the vehicle. If the vehicle is returned to us, we obtain possession with the intent to sell through SmartAuction—our online auction platform, our dealer channel, or through various other physical auctions. Our performance obligation is satisfied and the remarketing gain or loss is recognized when control of the vehicle has passed to the buyer, which coincides with the sale date. Our actual sales proceeds from remarketing the vehicle may be higher or lower than the estimated residual value resulting in a gain or loss on remarketing recorded through depreciation expense on operating lease assets in our Consolidated Statement of Income.
•Remarketing fee income — In addition to using SmartAuction as a remarketing channel for our returned lease vehicles, we maintain the SmartAuction internet auction site and administer the auction process for third-party use. We earn a service fee from dealers for every third-party vehicle sold through SmartAuction. Our performance obligation is to provide the online marketplace for used vehicle transactions to be consummated. This obligation is satisfied and revenue is recognized when control of the vehicle has passed to the buyer, which coincides with the sale date. This revenue is recorded as remarketing fees within other income in our Consolidated Statement of Income.
•Brokerage commissions and other revenues through Ally Invest — We charge fees to customers related to their use of certain services on our Ally Invest digital wealth management and online brokerage platform. These fees include commissions on low-priced securities, option contracts, other security types, account service fees, account management fees on professional portfolio management services, and other ancillary fees. Commissions on customer-directed trades and account service fees are based on published fee schedules and are generated from a customer option to purchase the services offered under the contract. These options do not represent a material right and are only considered a contract when the customer executes their option to purchase these services. Based on this, the term of the contract does not extend beyond services provided, and as such revenue is recognized upon the completion of our performance obligation, which we view as the successful execution of the trade or service. Revenue on professional portfolio management services is calculated monthly based upon a fixed percentage of the client’s assets under management. Due to the fact that this revenue stream is composed of variable consideration that is based on factors outside of our control, we have deemed this revenue as constrained and we are unable to estimate the initial transaction price at the inception of the contract. We have elected to use the practical expedient under GAAP to recognize revenue monthly based on the amount we are able to invoice the customer. We also earn revenue from a fee-sharing agreement with our clearing broker related to the interest income the clearing broker earns on customer cash balances, securities lending, and margin loans made to our customers. We concluded the initial transaction price is exclusively variable consideration and, based on the nature of our performance obligation to allow the clearing broker to collect interest income from cash deposits and customer loans from our customers, we are unable to determine the amount of revenue to be recognized until the total customer cash balance or the total interest income recognized on margin loans has been determined, which occurs monthly. These revenue streams are recorded as other income in our Consolidated Statement of Income.
•Brokered/agent commissions through Insurance operations — We have agreements with third parties to offer various vehicle protection products to consumers. We also have agreements with third-party insurers to offer various insurance coverages to dealers. Our performance obligation for these arrangements is satisfied when a customer or dealer has purchased a vehicle protection product or an insurance policy through the third-party provider. In determining the initial transaction price for these
agreements, we noted that revenue on brokered/agent commissions is based on the volume of vehicle protection product contracts sold or a percentage of insurance premium written, which is not known to us at the inception of the agreements with these third-party providers. We believe the initial transaction price is exclusively variable consideration and, based on the nature of the performance obligation, we are unable to determine the amount of revenue we will record until the customer purchases a vehicle protection product or a dealer purchases an insurance policy from the third-party provider. Once we are notified of vehicle protection product sales or insurance policies issued by the third-party providers, we record the commission earned as insurance premiums and service revenues earned in our Consolidated Statement of Income.
•Deposit account and other banking fees — We charge depositors various account service fees including those for outgoing wires, excessive transactions, overdrafts, stop payments, and returned deposits. These fees are generated from a customer option to purchase services offered under the contract. These options do not represent a material right and are only considered a contract in accordance with the revenue recognition principles when the customer exercises their option to purchase these account services. Based on this, the term for our contracts with customers is considered day-to-day, and the contract does not extend beyond the services already provided. Revenue derived from deposit account fees is recorded at the point in time we perform the requested service, and is recorded as other income in our Consolidated Statement of Income. As a debit card issuer, we also generate interchange fee income from merchants during debit card transactions and incur certain corresponding charges from merchant card networks. Our performance obligation is satisfied when we have initiated the payment of funds from a customer’s account to a merchant through our contractual agreements with the merchant card networks. Interchange fees are reported on a net basis as other income in our Consolidated Statement of Income.
•Other revenue — Other revenue primarily includes service revenue related to various account management functions and fee income derived from third-party lenders arranged through Clearlane—our online automotive lender exchange. These revenue streams are recorded as other income in our Consolidated Statement of Income.
The following table presents a disaggregated view of our revenue from contracts with customers included in other revenue that falls within the scope of the revenue recognition principles of ASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers.
Year ended December 31, ($ in millions)
Automotive Finance operationsInsurance operationsMortgage Finance operationsCorporate Finance operationsCorporate and OtherConsolidated
2020
Revenue from contracts with customers
Noninsurance contracts (a) (b) (c)$— $584 $— $— $— $584 
Remarketing fee income73 — — — — 73 
Brokerage commissions and other revenue— — — — 52 52 
Brokered/agent commissions— 16 — — — 16 
Deposit account and other banking fees— — — — 12 12 
Other15 1 — — — 16 
Total revenue from contracts with customers
88 601 — — 64 753 
All other revenue
116 733 102 45 234 1,230 
Total other revenue (d)$204 $1,334 $102 $45 $298 $1,983 
2019
Revenue from contracts with customers
Noninsurance contracts (a) (b) (c)$— $542 $— $— $— $542 
Remarketing fee income74 — — — — 74 
Brokerage commissions and other revenue— — — — 61 61 
Brokered/agent commissions— 14 — — — 14 
Deposit account and other banking fees— — — — 16 16 
Other19 1 — — — 20 
Total revenue from contracts with customers
93 557 — — 77 727 
All other revenue
156 717 22 45 94 1,034 
Total other revenue (d)$249 $1,274 $22 $45 $171 $1,761 
(a)We had opening balances of $2.9 billion and $2.6 billion in unearned revenue associated with outstanding contracts at January 1, 2020, and January 1, 2019, respectively, and $866 million and $816 million of these balances were recognized as insurance premiums and service revenue earned in our Consolidated Statement of Income during the years ended December 31, 2020, and December 31, 2019, respectively.
(b)At December 31, 2020, we had unearned revenue of $3.0 billion associated with outstanding contracts, and with respect to this balance we expect to
recognize revenue of $808 million in 2021, $722 million in 2022, $613 million in 2023, $433 million in 2024, and $416 million thereafter. At December 31, 2019, we had unearned revenue of $2.9 billion associated with outstanding contracts.
(c)We had deferred insurance assets of $1.7 billion and $1.8 billion at January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2020, respectively, and recognized $498 million of expense during the year ended December 31, 2020. We had deferred insurance assets of $1.5 billion and $1.7 billion at January 1, 2019, and December 31, 2019, respectively, and recognized $463 million of expense during the year ended December 31, 2019.
(d)Represents a component of total net revenue. Refer to Note 26 for further information on our reportable operating segments.
In addition to the components of other revenue presented above, as part of our Automotive Finance operations, we recognized net remarketing gains of $127 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, and $69 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, on the sale of off-lease vehicles. These gains are included in depreciation expense on operating lease assets in our Consolidated Statement of Income.