Basis of Presentation (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2013

Receivables [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the instructions to Form 10-Q and, therefore, do not include all information and notes necessary for a complete presentation of financial position, results of operations and cash flow activity required in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. In the opinion of management of U.S. Bancorp (the “Company”), all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) necessary for a fair statement of results for the interim periods have been made. These financial statements and notes should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012. Certain amounts in prior periods have been reclassified to conform to the current presentation.

Accounting policies for the lines of business are generally the same as those used in preparation of the consolidated financial statements with respect to activities specifically attributable to each business line. However, the preparation of business line results requires management to establish methodologies to allocate funding costs, expenses and other financial elements to each line of business. Table 10 “Line of Business Financial Performance” included in Management’s Discussion and Analysis provides details of segment results. This information is incorporated by reference into these Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

Indemnification Assets Related to FDIC Loss-Sharing Agreements

The Company adopted new indemnification asset accounting guidance effective January 1, 2013 applicable to FDIC loss-sharing agreements. The guidance requires any reduction in expected cash flows from the FDIC resulting from increases in expected cash flows from the covered assets (when there are no previous valuation allowances to reverse) to be amortized over the shorter of the remaining contractual term of the indemnification agreements or the remaining life of the covered assets. Prior to adoption of this guidance, such increases in expected cash flows of purchased loans and decreases in expected cash flows of the FDIC indemnification assets were considered together and recognized over the remaining life of the loans. The adoption of this guidance did not materially affect the Company’s financial statements.