The Bancorp, in the normal course of business, engages in a variety of activities that involve VIEs, which are legal entities that lack sufficient equity to finance their activities or the equity investors of the entities as a group lack any of the characteristics of a controlling interest. The primary beneficiary of a VIE is generally the enterprise that has both the power to direct the activities most significant to the economic performance of the VIE and the obligation to absorb losses or receive benefits that could potentially be significant to the VIE. For certain investment funds, the primary beneficiary is the enterprise that will absorb a majority of the fund's expected losses or receive a majority of the fund's expected residual returns. The Bancorp evaluates its interest in certain entities to determine if these entities meet the definition of a VIE and whether the Bancorp is the primary beneficiary and should consolidate the entity based on the variable interests it held both at inception and when there is a change in circumstances that requires a reconsideration. If the Bancorp is determined to be the primary beneficiary of a VIE, it must account for the VIE as a consolidated subsidiary. If the Bancorp is determined not to be the primary beneficiary of a VIE but holds a variable interest in the entity, such variable interests are accounted for under the equity method of accounting or other accounting standards as appropriate.


Consolidated VIEs
The following tables provide a summary of the classifications of consolidated VIE assets, liabilities and noncontrolling interests included in the Consolidated Balance Sheets as of:

		Automobile Loan	CDC
December 31, 2015 ($ in millions)		Securitizations	Investments	Total
Assets:
Cash and due from banks	$	151	1	152
Commercial mortgage loans		-	47	47
Automobile loans		2,490	-	2,490
ALLL		(11)	(17)	(28)
Other assets		20	-	20
Total assets	$	2,650	31	2,681
Liabilities:
Other liabilities	$	3	-	3
Long-term debt		2,493	-	2,493
Total liabilities	$	2,496	-	2,496
Noncontrolling interests	$	-	31	31


		Automobile Loan	CDC
December 31, 2014 ($ in millions)		Securitizations	Investments	Total
Assets:
Cash and due from banks	$	178	1	179
Commercial mortgage loans		-	47	47
Automobile loans		3,331	-	3,331
ALLL		(11)	(11)	(22)
Other assets		23	2	25
Total assets	$	3,521	39	3,560
Liabilities:
Other liabilities	$	5	-	5
Long-term debt		3,434	-	3,434
Total liabilities	$	3,439	-	3,439
Noncontrolling interests	$	-	39	39

In securitization transactions that occurred during the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, the Bancorp transferred an aggregate amount of approximately $750 million and $3.8 billion, respectively, in consumer automobile loans to bankruptcy remote trusts which were deemed to be VIEs. The primary purposes of the VIEs were to issue asset-backed securities with varying levels of credit subordination and payment priority, as well as residual interests, and to provide the Bancorp with access to liquidity for its originated loans. The Bancorp retained residual interests in the VIEs and, therefore, has an obligation to absorb losses and a right to receive benefits from the VIEs that could potentially be significant to the VIEs. In addition, the Bancorp retained servicing rights for the underlying loans and, therefore, holds the power to direct the activities of the VIEs that most significantly impact the economic performance of the VIEs. As a result, the Bancorp concluded that it is the primary beneficiary of the VIEs and, therefore, has consolidated these VIEs. The assets of the VIEs are restricted to the settlement of the notes and other obligations of the VIEs. Third-party holders of the notes do not have recourse to the general assets of the Bancorp.

The economic performance of the VIEs is most significantly impacted by the performance of the underlying loans. The principal risks to which the VIEs are exposed include credit risk and prepayment risk. The credit and prepayment risks are managed through credit enhancements in the form of reserve accounts, overcollateralization, excess interest on the loans and the subordination of certain classes of asset-backed securities to other classes.

CDC, a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of the Bancorp, was created to invest in projects to create affordable housing, revitalize business and residential areas and preserve historic landmarks. CDC generally co-invests with other unrelated companies and/or individuals and typically makes investments in a separate legal entity that owns the property under development. The entities are usually formed as limited partnerships and LLCs and CDC typically invests as a limited partner/investor member in the form of equity contributions. The economic performance of the VIEs is driven by the performance of their underlying investment projects as well as the VIEs' ability to operate in compliance with the rules and regulations necessary for the qualification of tax credits generated by equity investments. Typically, the general partner or managing member will be the party that has the right to make decisions that will most significantly impact the economic performance of the entity. The Bancorp's subsidiaries serve as the managing member of certain LLCs invested in business revitalization projects. The Bancorp has provided an indemnification guarantee to the investor member of these LLCs related to the qualification of tax credits generated by the investor members' investment. Accordingly, the Bancorp concluded that it is the primary beneficiary and, therefore, has consolidated these VIEs. As a result, the investor members' interests in these VIEs are presented as noncontrolling interests in the Bancorp's Consolidated Financial Statements. This presentation includes reporting separately the equity attributable to the noncontrolling interests in the Consolidated Balance Sheets and Consolidated Statements of Changes in Equity and reporting separately the comprehensive income attributable to the noncontrolling interests in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income and the net income attributable to the noncontrolling interests in the Consolidated Statements of Income. The Bancorp's maximum exposure related to these indemnifications at December 31, 2015 and 2014 was $27 million and $24 million, respectively, which is based on an amount required to meet the investor members' defined target rate of return.


Non-consolidated VIEs
The following tables provide a summary of assets and liabilities carried on the Consolidated Balance Sheets related to non-consolidated VIEs for which the Bancorp holds an interest, but is not the primary beneficiary of the VIE, as well as the Bancorp’s maximum exposure to losses associated with its interests in the entities as of:

		Total	Total	Maximum
December 31, 2015 ($ in millions)		Assets	Liabilities	Exposure
CDC investments	$	1,455	367	1,455
Private equity investments		211	-	271
Loans provided to VIEs		1,630	-	2,599
Automobile loan securitization		1	-	1

		Total	Total	Maximum
December 31, 2014 ($ in millions)		Assets	Liabilities	Exposure
CDC investments	$	1,432	364	1,432
Private equity investments		189	-	267
Loans provided to VIEs		1,900	-	2,759
Automobile loan securitization		2	-	2

As noted previously, CDC typically invests in VIEs as a limited partner or investor member in the form of equity contributions. The Bancorp has determined that it is not the primary beneficiary of these VIEs because it lacks the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the economic performance of the underlying project or the VIEs' ability to operate in compliance with the rules and regulations necessary for the qualification of tax credits generated by equity investments. This power is held by the general partners/managing members who exercise full and exclusive control of the operations of the VIEs. Accordingly, the Bancorp accounts for these investments under the equity method of accounting.

The Bancorp's funding requirements are limited to its invested capital and any additional unfunded commitments for future equity contributions. The Bancorp's maximum exposure to loss as a result of its involvement with the VIEs is limited to the carrying amounts of the investments, including the unfunded commitments. The carrying amounts of these investments, which are included in other assets in the Consolidated Balance Sheets, and the liabilities related to the unfunded commitments, which are included in other liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheets, are included in the previous tables for all periods presented. The Bancorp has no other liquidity arrangements or obligations to purchase assets of the VIEs that would expose the Bancorp to a loss. In certain arrangements, the general partner/managing member of the VIE has guaranteed a level of projected tax credits to be received by the limited partners/investor members, thereby minimizing a portion of the Bancorp's risk.

At both December 31, 2015 and 2014, the Bancorp's CDC investments included $1.3 billion of investments in affordable housing tax credits recognized in other assets in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The unfunded commitments related to these investments were $356 million and $357 million as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. The unfunded commitments as of December 31, 2015 are expected to be funded from 2016 to 2033.


The Bancorp has accounted for all of its investments in qualified affordable housing tax credits using the equity method of accounting. The following table summarizes the impact to the Consolidated Statements of Income relating to investments in qualified affordable housing investments:

	Affected Line Item in the
For the years ended December 31 ($ in millions)	Consolidated Statements of Income		2015	2014	2013
Pre-tax equity method and impairment losses^(a)	Other noninterest expense	$	126	118	90
Tax credits and other benefits	Applicable income tax expense		(205)	(185)	(164)

The Bancorp, through Fifth Third Capital Holdings, a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of the Bancorp, invests as a limited partner in private equity funds which provide the Bancorp an opportunity to obtain higher rates of return on invested capital, while also creating cross-selling opportunities for the Bancorp's commercial products. Each of the limited partnerships has an unrelated third-party general partner responsible for appointing the fund manager. The Bancorp has not been appointed fund manager for any of these private equity funds. The funds finance primarily all of their activities from the partners' capital contributions and investment returns. Under the VIE consolidation guidance still applicable to the funds, the Bancorp has determined that it is not the primary beneficiary of the funds because it does not absorb a majority of the funds' expected losses or receive a majority of the funds' expected residual returns. Therefore, the Bancorp accounts for its investments in these limited partnerships under the equity method of accounting.

The Bancorp is exposed to losses arising from negative performance of the underlying investments in the private equity funds. As a limited partner, the Bancorp's maximum exposure to loss is limited to the carrying amounts of the investments plus unfunded commitments. The carrying amounts of these investments, which are included in other assets in the Consolidated Balance Sheets, are included in the previous tables. Also, as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, the unfunded commitment amounts to the funds were $60 million and $78 million, respectively. The Bancorp made capital contributions of $30 million and $27 million to private equity funds during the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. The Bancorp recognized $1 million, zero and $4 million of OTTI on its investments in private equity funds during the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Refer to Note 27 for further information.

The Bancorp has provided funding to certain unconsolidated VIEs sponsored by third parties. These VIEs are generally established to finance certain consumer and small business loans originated by third parties. The entities are primarily funded through the issuance of a loan from the Bancorp or syndication through which the Bancorp is involved. The sponsor/administrator of the entities is responsible for servicing the underlying assets in the VIEs. Because the sponsor/administrator, not the Bancorp, holds the servicing responsibilities, which include the establishment and employment of default mitigation policies and procedures, the Bancorp does not hold the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the economic performance of the entity and, therefore, is not the primary beneficiary.

The principal risk to which these entities are exposed is credit risk related to the underlying assets. The Bancorp's maximum exposure to loss is equal to the carrying amounts of the loans and unfunded commitments to the VIEs. The Bancorp's outstanding loans to these VIEs are included in commercial loans in Note 5. As of December 31, 2015 and 2014, the Bancorp's unfunded commitments to these entities were $969 million and $859 million, respectively. The loans and unfunded commitments to these VIEs are included in the Bancorp's overall analysis of the ALLL and reserve for unfunded commitments, respectively. The Bancorp does not provide any implicit or explicit liquidity guarantees or principal value guarantees to these VIEs.

The Bancorp previously securitized and sold certain automobile loans with a carrying amount of approximately $509 million in a transaction that qualified for sale accounting. The Bancorp has concluded that it is not the primary beneficiary of the trust because it has neither the obligation to absorb losses of the entity that could potentially be significant to the VIE nor the right to receive benefits from the entity that could potentially be significant to the VIE. The Bancorp is not required and does not currently intend to provide any additional financial support to the trust. Investors and creditors only have recourse to the assets held by the trust. The interest the Bancorp holds in the VIE relates to servicing rights which are included in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The maximum exposure to loss is equal to the carrying value of the servicing asset.