Guarantees and product warranty

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Caterpillar dealer performance guarantees

We have provided an indemnity to a third-party insurance company for potential losses related to performance bonds issued on behalf of Caterpillar dealers. The bonds have varying terms and are issued to insure governmental agencies against nonperformance by certain dealers. We also provided guarantees to third-parties related to the performance of contractual obligations by certain Caterpillar dealers. These guarantees have varying terms and cover potential financial losses incurred by the third parties resulting from the dealers’ nonperformance.

In 2016, we provided a guarantee to an end user related to the performance of contractual obligations by a Caterpillar dealer. Under the guarantee, which expires in 2025, non-performance by the Caterpillar dealer could require Caterpillar to satisfy the contractual obligations by providing goods, services or financial compensation to the end user up to an annual designated cap.

Supplier consortium performance guarantee

We have provided a guarantee to a customer in Europe related to the performance of contractual obligations by a supplier consortium to which one of our Caterpillar subsidiaries is a member. The guarantee covers potential damages incurred by the customer resulting from the supplier consortium's non-performance. The damages are capped except for failure of the consortium to meet certain obligations outlined in the contract in the normal course of business. The guarantee will expire when the supplier consortium performs all of its contractual obligations, which is expected to be completed in 2022.

We have dealer performance guarantees and third-party performance guarantees that do not limit potential payment to end users related to indemnities and other commercial contractual obligations. In addition, we have entered into contracts involving industry standard indemnifications that do not limit potential payment. For these unlimited guarantees, we are unable to estimate a maximum potential amount of future payments that could result from claims made.

No significant loss has been experienced or is anticipated under any of these guarantees. At both December 31, 2021 and 2020, the related recorded liability was $5 million. The maximum potential amount of future payments (undiscounted and without reduction for any amounts that may possibly be recovered under recourse or collateralized provisions) we could be required to make under the guarantees at December 31 was as follows:


(Millions of dollars)	2021		2020
Caterpillar dealer performance guarantees	$	747	$	993

Supplier consortium performance guarantee	242		258


Other guarantees	232		234
Total guarantees	$	1,221	$	1,485

Cat Financial provides guarantees to purchase certain loans of Caterpillar dealers from a special-purpose corporation (SPC) that qualifies as a variable interest entity. The purpose of the SPC is to provide short-term working capital loans to Caterpillar dealers. This SPC issues commercial paper and uses the proceeds to fund its loan program. Cat Financial receives a fee for providing this guarantee. Cat Financial is the primary beneficiary of the SPC as its guarantees result in Cat Financial having both the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the SPC’s economic performance and the obligation to absorb losses, and therefore Cat Financial has consolidated the financial statements of the SPC. As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the SPC’s assets of $888 million and $1,026 million, respectively, were primarily comprised of loans to dealers, and the SPC’s liabilities of $888 million and $1,025 million, respectively, were primarily comprised of commercial paper. The assets of the SPC are not available to pay Cat Financial’s creditors. Cat Financial may be obligated to perform under the guarantee if the SPC experiences losses. No loss has been experienced or is anticipated under this loan purchase agreement.

Cat Financial has commitments to extend credit to customers and Caterpillar dealers through lines of credit and other pre-approved credit arrangements. Cat Financial applies the same credit policies and approval process for these commitments to extend credit as we do for other financing. Collateral is not required for these commitments, but if credit is extended, collateral may be required upon funding. The amount of unused commitments to extend credit to Caterpillar dealers was $10.71 billion at December 31, 2021. Cat Financial generally has the right to unconditionally cancel, alter, or amend the terms of these dealer commitments at any time. The amount of unused commitments to extend credit to customers was $641 million at December 31, 2021. A significant portion of these commitments is not expected to be fully drawn upon; therefore, the total commitment amounts do not represent a future cash requirement.

We determine our product warranty liability by applying historical claim rate experience to the current field population and dealer inventory. Generally, we base historical claim rates on actual warranty experience for each product by machine model/engine size by customer or dealer location (inside or outside North America). We develop specific rates for each product shipment month and update them monthly based on actual warranty claim experience.

The reconciliation of the change in our product warranty liability balances for the years ended December 31 was as follows:


(Millions of dollars)	2021		2020
Warranty liability, beginning of period	$	1,612	$	1,541
Reduction in liability (payments)	(854)		(897)
Increase in liability (new warranties)	931		968
Warranty liability, end of period	$	1,689	$	1,612