Finance Assets, net

In 2003, PMCC ceased making new investments and began focusing exclusively on managing its portfolio of finance assets in order to maximize its operating results and cash flows from its existing lease portfolio activities and asset sales. Accordingly, PMCC’s operating companies income will fluctuate over time as investments mature or are sold.

At December 31, 2017, finance assets, net, of $899 million were comprised of investments in finance leases of $922 million, reduced by the allowance for losses of $23 million. At December 31, 2016, finance assets, net, of $1,028 million were comprised of investments in finance leases of $1,060 million, reduced by the allowance for losses of $32 million.

A summary of the net investments in finance leases, substantially all of which were leveraged leases, at December 31, 2017 and 2016, before allowance for losses was as follows:



(in millions)	2017			2016
Rents receivable, net	$	696		$	805
Unguaranteed residual values	427			495
Unearned income	(201		)	(240		)
Investments in finance leases	922			1,060
Deferred income taxes	(407		)	(717		)
Net investments in finance leases	$	515		$	343

Rents receivable, net, represent unpaid rents, net of principal and interest payments on third-party nonrecourse debt. PMCC’s rights to rents receivable are subordinate to the third-party nonrecourse debtholders and the leased equipment is pledged as collateral to the debtholders. The repayment of the nonrecourse debt is collateralized by lease payments receivable and the leased property, and is nonrecourse to the general assets of PMCC. As required by U.S. GAAP, the third-party nonrecourse debt of $0.6 billion and $0.8 billion at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, has been offset against the related rents receivable. There were no leases with contingent rentals in 2017 and 2016.

In 2017, 2016 and 2015 PMCC’s review of estimated residual values resulted in a decrease of $8 million, $28 million and $65 million, respectively, to unguaranteed residual values. These decreases in unguaranteed residual values resulted in a reduction to PMCC’s net revenues of $5 million, $18 million and $41 million in 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

At December 31, 2017, PMCC’s investments in finance leases were principally comprised of the following investment categories: aircraft (40%), electric power (27%), railcar (13%), real estate (10%) and manufacturing (10%). There were no investments located outside the United States at December 31, 2017 and 2016.

Rents receivable in excess of debt service requirements on third-party nonrecourse debt at December 31, 2017 were as follows:



(in millions)
2018	$	96
2019	173
2020	116
2021	96
2022	142
Thereafter	73
Total	$	696

PMCC maintains an allowance for losses that provides for estimated credit losses on its investments in finance leases. PMCC’s portfolio consists substantially of leveraged leases to a diverse base of lessees participating in a variety of industries. Losses on such leases are recorded when probable and estimable. PMCC regularly performs a systematic assessment of each individual lease in its portfolio to determine potential credit or collection issues that might indicate impairment. Impairment takes into consideration both the probability of default and the likelihood of recovery if default were to occur. PMCC considers both quantitative and qualitative factors of each investment when performing its assessment of the allowance for losses.

Quantitative factors that indicate potential default are tied most directly to public debt ratings. PMCC monitors publicly available information on its obligors, including financial statements and credit rating agency reports. Qualitative factors that indicate the likelihood of recovery if default were to occur include underlying collateral value, other forms of credit support, and legal/structural considerations impacting each lease. Using available information, PMCC calculates potential losses for each lease in its portfolio based on its default and recovery rating assumptions for each lease. The aggregate of these potential losses forms a range of potential losses which is used as a guideline to determine the adequacy of PMCC’s allowance for losses.

PMCC assesses the adequacy of its allowance for losses relative to the credit risk of its leasing portfolio on an ongoing basis. During 2017 and 2016, PMCC determined that its allowance for losses exceeded the amount required based on management’s assessment of the credit quality and size of PMCC’s leasing portfolio. As a result, PMCC reduced its allowance for losses by $9 million and $10 million for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. There was no such adjustment for the year ended December 31, 2015. These decreases to the allowance for losses were recorded as a reduction to marketing, administration and research costs in Altria Group, Inc.’s consolidated statements of earnings. PMCC believes that, as of December 31, 2017, the allowance for losses of $23 million was adequate. PMCC continues to monitor economic and credit conditions, and the individual situations of its lessees and their respective industries, and may increase or decrease its allowance for losses if such conditions change in the future.

The activity in the allowance for losses on finance assets for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 was as follows:



(in millions)	2017			2016			2015
Balance at beginning of year	$	32		$	42		$	42
Decrease to allowance	(9		)	(10		)	—
Balance at end of year	$	23		$	32		$	42

All PMCC lessees were current on their lease payment obligations as of December 31, 2017.

The credit quality of PMCC’s investments in finance leases as assigned by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (“Standard & Poor’s”) and Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) at December 31, 2017 and 2016 was as follows:



(in millions)	2017		2016
Credit Rating by Standard & Poor’s/Moody’s:
“AAA/Aaa” to “A-/A3”	$	220	$	218
“BBB+/Baa1” to “BBB-/Baa3”	550		559
“BB+/Ba1” and Lower	152		283
Total	$	922	$	1,060