COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Commitments

Commitments to extend credit are agreements to lend to customers in accordance with conditions contractually agreed upon in advance. Generally, the commitments have fixed expiration dates or termination clauses and may require payment of a fee. Since many of these commitments are expected to expire without being drawn upon, the contract amounts are not necessarily indicative of future cash requirements.

When-issued securities are agreements to purchase securities that have been authorized for issuance but not yet issued. The fair value of when-issued securities is reflected in the Consolidated Balance Sheets at trade date.

On May 29, 2014, the Company entered into an agreement to purchase newly originated auto loans on a quarterly basis in future periods. For the first year, the agreement requires the purchase of a minimum of $250 million of outstanding balances to a maximum of $600 million per quarterly period. For quarterly periods after the first year, the minimum and maximum purchases are $400 million and $600 million, respectively. The agreement automatically renews until terminated by either party. The Company may cancel the agreement at will with payment of a variable termination fee. After three years, there is no termination fee.

During 2003, the Company entered into a 25-year agreement to acquire the naming and marketing rights of a baseball stadium in Pennsylvania. The Company has paid $3 million on this contract for the nine months ended September 30, 2014 and $3 million for the year ended December 31, 2013 and is obligated to pay $51 million over the remainder of the contract.

Letters of Credit

Standby letters of credit, both financial and performance, are issued by the Company for its customers. They are used as conditional guarantees of payment to a third party in the event the customer either fails to make specific payments (financial) or fails to complete a specific project (performance). Commercial letters of credit are used to facilitate the import of goods. The commercial letter of credit is used as the method of payment to the Company’s customers’ suppliers. The Company’s exposure to credit loss in the event of counterparty nonperformance in connection with the above instruments is represented by the contractual amount of those instruments, net of the value of collateral held. Standby letters of credit and commercial letters of credit are issued for terms of up to ten years and one year, respectively.

Generally, letters of credit are collateralized by cash, accounts receivable, inventory or investment securities. Credit risk associated with letters of credit is considered in determining the appropriate amounts of reserves for unfunded commitments.

The Company recognizes a liability on the Consolidated Balance Sheets representing its obligation to stand ready to perform over the term of the standby letters of credit in the event that the specified triggering events occur. The liability for these guarantees at September 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013 is $3 million.

Risk Participation Agreements

RPAs are guarantees issued by the Company to other parties for a fee, whereby the Company agrees to participate in the credit risk of a derivative customer of the other party. Under the terms of these agreements, the “participating bank” receives a fee from the “lead bank” in exchange for the guarantee of reimbursement if the customer defaults on an interest rate swap. The interest rate swap is transacted such that any and all exchanges of interest payments (favorable and unfavorable) are made between the lead bank and the customer. In the event that an early termination of the swap occurs and the customer is unable to make a required close out payment, the participating bank assumes that obligation and is required to make this payment.

RPAs where the Company acts as the lead bank are referred to as “participations-out,” in reference to the credit risk associated with the customer derivatives being transferred out of the Company. Participations-out generally occur concurrently with the sale of new customer derivatives. RPAs where the Company acts as the participating bank are referred to as “participations-in,” in reference to the credit risk associated with the counterparty’s derivatives being assumed by the Company. The Company’s maximum credit exposure is based on its proportionate share of the settlement amount of the referenced interest rate swap. Settlement amounts are generally calculated based on the fair value of the swap plus outstanding accrued interest receivables from the customer. The Company’s estimate of the credit exposure associated with its risk participations-in as of September 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013 is $16 million and $17 million, respectively. The current amount of credit exposure is spread out over 73 counterparties. RPAs generally have terms ranging from 1-5 years; however, certain outstanding agreements have terms as long as 11 years.

Other Guarantees

The Company has issued a guarantee to RBS, for a fee, whereby the Company will absorb credit losses related to the sale of option contracts by RBS to customers of the Company. There were outstanding option contracts with a notional value of $404 thousand and $2 million at September 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013, respectively.

The following is a summary of outstanding off-balance sheet arrangements:



(in millions)	September 30, 2014		December 31, 2013
Commitment amount:
Undrawn commitments to extend credit		$55,333		$53,987
Financial standby letters of credit	2,498		2,556
Performance letters of credit	94		149
Commercial letters of credit	74		64
Marketing rights	51		54
Risk participation agreements	16		17
Residential mortgage loans sold with recourse	11		13
Total		$58,077		$56,840

Contingencies

The Company operates in a legal and regulatory environment that exposes it to potentially significant risks. A certain amount of litigation ordinarily results from the nature of the Company’s banking and other businesses. The Company is a party to legal proceedings, including class actions. It is also the subject of investigations, reviews, and regulatory matters arising out of its normal business operations, which, in some instances, relate to concerns about unfair and/or deceptive practices and mis-selling of certain products. In addition, the Company engages in discussions with relevant governmental and regulatory authorities on an ongoing and regular basis regarding various issues, and it is possible that any issues discussed or identified may result in investigatory or other action being taken. Litigation and regulatory matters may result in settlements, damages, fines, penalties, public or private censure, increased costs, required remediation, restrictions on business activities, or other impacts on the Company.

In these disputes and proceedings, the Company contests liability and the amount of damages as appropriate. Given their complex nature, it may be years before some of these matters are finally resolved. Moreover, before liability can be reasonably estimated for a claim, numerous legal and factual issues may need to be examined, including through potentially lengthy discovery and determination of important factual matters, and by addressing novel or unsettled legal issues relevant to the proceedings in question.

The Company cannot predict with certainty if, how, or when such claims will be resolved or what the eventual settlement, fine, penalty or other relief, if any, may be, particularly for claims that are at an early stage in their development or where claimants seek substantial or indeterminate damages. The Company recognizes a provision for a claim when, in the opinion of management after seeking legal advice, it is probable that a liability exists and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated. In many proceedings, however, it is not possible to determine whether any loss is probable or to estimate the amount of any loss. In each of the matters described below, the Company is unable to estimate the liability in excess of any provision accrued, if any, that might arise or its effects on the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Operations or Consolidated Cash Flows in any particular period.

Set out below are descriptions of significant legal matters involving the Company. Based on information currently available, the advice of legal and other counsel, and established reserves, management believes that the aggregate liabilities, if any, potentially arising from these proceedings will not have a materially adverse effect on the Company’s unaudited interim Consolidated Financial Statements.

Consumer Products Matters

The activities of the Company’s bank subsidiaries are subject to extensive laws and regulations concerning unfair or deceptive acts or practices in connection with customer products. Certain of the bank subsidiaries’ practices with respect to overdraft protection and other consumer products have not met applicable standards. The bank subsidiaries have implemented and are continuing to implement changes to improve and bring their practices in accordance with regulatory guidance.

In April 2013, the bank subsidiaries consented to the issuance of orders by the OCC and the FDIC (the Consent Orders). In the Consent Orders (which are publicly available and will remain in effect until terminated by the regulators), the bank subsidiaries neither admitted nor denied the regulators’ findings that they had engaged in deceptive marketing and implementation of the bank’s overdraft protection program, checking rewards programs, and stop-payment process for pre-authorized recurring electronic fund transfers. Under the Consent Orders, the bank subsidiaries paid a total of $10 million in civil monetary penalties and are required to develop plans to provide restitution to affected customers (the amount of which is anticipated to be approximately $8 million) to cease and desist any operations in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, and to submit to the regulators periodic written progress reports regarding compliance with the Consent Orders. In addition, Citizens Bank, N.A. agreed to take certain remedial actions to improve its compliance risk management systems and to create a comprehensive action plan designed to achieve compliance with the Consent Orders. Restitution plans have been prepared and submitted for approval, and Citizens Bank, N.A. has submitted for approval, and is in the process of implementing, its action plan for compliance with the Consent Orders, as well as updated policies, procedures, and programs related to its compliance risk management systems.

The Company's banking subsidiaries have engaged in discussions with regulators regarding, among other things, certain identity theft and debt cancellation products, certain overdraft fees, signature debit card fees, the bank subsidiaries' policies and practices with respect to consumer complaints process, identifying and correcting errors in customer deposits, and the charging of cost-based credit card late payment fees. The banking subsidiaries have paid restitution regarding some of these practices and it is probable that there will be additional restitution to certain affected customers in connection with certain of these practices. In addition, the banking subsidiaries could face formal administrative enforcement actions from their federal supervisory agencies, including the assessment of civil monetary penalties and restitution, relating to the past practices and policies identified above and other consumer products, as well as potential civil litigation. The Company does not expect that the aggregate of amounts paid in connection with these matters will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s unaudited interim Consolidated Financial Statements.

Telephone Consumer Protection Act Litigation

The Company is a defendant in a purported class action complaint filed in December 2013 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California pursuant to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The named plaintiff purports to represent a "national class" of customers who allegedly received automated calls to their cell phones from the bank or its agents, without customer consent, in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The Company is vigorously defending this matter.

LIBOR Litigation

The Company is a defendant in lawsuits in which allegations have been made that its parent company, RBS Group, manipulated U.S. dollar LIBOR to the detriment of the Company's customers. The lawsuits include a purported class action on behalf of borrowers of the Company whose interest rates were tied to U.S. dollar LIBOR. The plaintiffs in these cases assert various theories of liability, including fraud, negligent misrepresentation, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment. The Company is vigorously defending these matters.

Foreclosure-Related Expenses

In May 2013, the civil division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York served a subpoena pursuant to the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 seeking information regarding home mortgage foreclosure expenses submitted for reimbursement to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, FNMA, or FHLMC. The Company is cooperating with the investigation.

Mortgage Repurchase Demands

The Company is an originator and servicer of residential mortgages and routinely sells such mortgage loans in the secondary market and to government-sponsored entities. In the context of such sales, the Company makes certain representations and warranties regarding the characteristics of the underlying loans and, as a result, may be contractually required to repurchase such loans or indemnify certain parties against losses for certain breaches of those representations and warranties. Between the start of January 2009 and the end of September 30, 2014, the Company has received approximately $154 million in repurchase demands and $98 million in indemnification payment requests in respect of loans originated, for the most part, since 2003. Of those claims presented, $85 million was paid to repurchase residential mortgage loans, and $33 million was incurred for indemnification costs to make investors whole. The Company repurchased mortgage loans totaling $22 million and $30 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively. The Company incurred indemnification costs of $7 million and $8 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively. The Company cannot estimate what the future level of repurchase demands will be or the Company’s ultimate exposure, and cannot give any assurance that its historical experience will continue in the future. It is possible that the volume of repurchase demands will increase. In addition to the above, the Company has since December 2013 been responding to subpoenas issued by the Office of the Inspector General for the Federal Housing Finance Agency seeking information about loans sold to FNMA and the FHLMC from 2003 through 2011.