Note 17. Notes payable and other borrowings

Notes payable and other borrowings are summarized below (in millions). The weighted average interest rates and maturity date ranges shown in the following tables are based on borrowings as of March 31, 2017.


	Weighted Average Interest Rate	March 31, 2017		December 31, 2016
	Weighted Average Interest Rate	March 31, 2017		December 31, 2016
Insurance and other:
Issued by Berkshire due 2017-2047	2.1%		$17,845		$17,703
Short-term subsidiary borrowings	2.7%		2,135		2,094
Other subsidiary borrowings due 2017-2045	4.0%		7,436		7,378

			$27,416		$27,175

In January 2017, Berkshire issued €1.1 billion in senior unsecured notes. The notes consisted of €550 million of 0.25% notes due in 2021 and €550 million of 0.625% notes due in 2023. In January 2017, senior notes of $1.1 billion matured.


	Weighted Average Interest Rate		March 31, 2017		December 31, 2016
Railroad, utilities and energy:
Issued by Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company (“BHE”) and its subsidiaries:
BHE senior unsecured debt due 2017-2045		5.1%	$	7,819	$	7,818
Subsidiary and other debt due 2017-2064		4.7%		29,865		29,223
Issued by BNSF due 2017-2097		4.8%		23,241		22,044

			$	60,925	$	59,085

BHE subsidiary debt represents amounts issued pursuant to separate financing agreements. Substantially all of the assets of certain BHE subsidiaries are, or may be, pledged or encumbered to support or otherwise secure debt. These borrowing arrangements generally contain various covenants including, but not limited to, leverage ratios, interest coverage ratios and debt service coverage ratios. During the first three months of 2017, BHE subsidiaries issued approximately $850 million of debt with maturity dates ranging from 2027 to 2047 and a weighted average interest rate of 3.6%.

BNSF’s borrowings are primarily senior unsecured debentures. In March 2017, BNSF issued $1.25 billion of senior unsecured debentures consisting of $500 million of 3.25% debentures due in 2027 and $750 million of 4.125% debentures due in 2047. As of March 31, 2017, BNSF, BHE and their subsidiaries were in compliance with all applicable debt covenants. Berkshire does not guarantee any debt, borrowings or lines of credit of BNSF, BHE or their subsidiaries.


	Weighted Average Interest Rate		March 31, 2017		December 31, 2016
Finance and financial products:
Issued by Berkshire Hathaway Finance Corporation (“BHFC”) due 2017-2043		2.6%	$	14,672	$	14,423
Issued by other subsidiaries due 2017-2036		4.9%		943		961

			$	15,615	$	15,384

In January 2017, BHFC issued $1.3 billion of senior notes consisting of $950 million of floating rate notes due in 2019 and $350 million of floating rate notes due in 2020. In January 2017, senior notes of $1.05 billion matured. The borrowings of BHFC, a wholly owned finance subsidiary of Berkshire, are fully and unconditionally guaranteed by Berkshire.

As of March 31, 2017, our subsidiaries had unused lines of credit and commercial paper capacity aggregating approximately $7.4 billion to support short-term borrowing programs and provide additional liquidity. Such unused lines of credit included about $3.9 billion related to BHE and its subsidiaries. In addition to BHFC’s borrowings, at March 31, 2017, Berkshire guaranteed approximately $3.3 billion of other subsidiary borrowings. 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 payment obligations.