Notes payable and other borrowings

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Note 14. Notes payable and other borrowings

Notes payable and other borrowings are summarized below (in millions). The average interest rates shown in the following tables are the weighted average interest rates on outstanding debt as of September 30, 2011. Maturity date ranges are based on borrowings as of September 30, 2011.

	Average Interest Rate			September 30, 2011		December 31, 2010
Insurance and other:
Issued by Berkshire parent company due 2012-2047		1.9	%	$	8,287	$	8,360
Short-term subsidiary borrowings		0.2	%		1,525		1,682
Other subsidiary borrowings due 2011-2036		5.9	%		3,936		2,429
				$	13,748	$	12,471

In connection with the BNSF acquisition, the Berkshire parent company issued $8.0 billion aggregate par amount of senior unsecured notes, including $2.0 billion par amount of floating rate notes that matured in February 2011. In August 2011, the Berkshire parent company issued $2.0 billion of debentures consisting of $750 million of 2.2% senior notes due in 2016, $500 million of 3.75% senior notes due in 2021 and $750 million of floating rate senior notes due in 2014. Other subsidiary borrowings as of September 30, 2011 included $1,607 million in pre-acquisition debt issued by Lubrizol.

	Average Interest Rate			September 30, 2011		December 31, 2010
Railroad, utilities and energy:
Issued by MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company (“MidAmerican”) and its subsidiaries:
MidAmerican senior unsecured debt due 2012-2037		6.1	%	$	5,363	$	5,371
Subsidiary and other debt due 2011-2039		5.6	%		14,509		14,275
Issued by BNSF due 2011-2097		5.9	%		12,772		11,980
				$	32,644	$	31,626

MidAmerican subsidiary debt represents amounts issued pursuant to separate financing agreements. All or substantially all of the assets of certain MidAmerican subsidiaries are or may be pledged or encumbered to support or otherwise secure the debt. These borrowing arrangements generally contain various covenants including, but not limited to, leverage ratios, interest coverage ratios and debt service coverage ratios. BNSF’s borrowings are primarily unsecured. As of September 30, 2011, BNSF and MidAmerican and its subsidiaries were in compliance with all applicable covenants. Berkshire does not guarantee any debt or other borrowings of BNSF, MidAmerican or their subsidiaries. In August 2011, BNSF issued $750 million in debentures comprised of $450 million of 3.45% debentures due in September 2021 and $300 million of 4.95% debentures due in September 2041.

	Average Interest Rate			September 30, 2011		December 31, 2010
Finance and financial products:
Issued by Berkshire Hathaway Finance Corporation (“BHFC”) due 2012-2040		4.4	%	$	11,530	$	11,535
Issued by other subsidiaries due 2011-2036		4.9	%		2,562		2,942
				$	14,092	$	14,477

BHFC is a 100% owned finance subsidiary of Berkshire, which has fully and unconditionally guaranteed its securities. In January 2011, BHFC issued $1.5 billion of notes and repaid $1.5 billion of maturing notes. The new notes are unsecured and are comprised of $750 million of 4.25% senior notes due in 2021, $375 million of 1.5% senior notes due in 2014 and $375 million of floating rate senior notes due in 2014.

Our subsidiaries have approximately $4.8 billion of available unused lines of credit and commercial paper capacity in the aggregate at September 30, 2011, to support our short-term borrowing programs and provide additional liquidity. Generally, Berkshire’s guarantee of a subsidiary’s debt obligation is an absolute, unconditional and irrevocable guarantee for the full and prompt payment when due of all present and future payment obligations.