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Variable Interest Entities (Notes)
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2014
Variable Interest Entities [Abstract]  
Variable interest entities [Text Block]
Variable Interest Entities
Securitizations and credit facilities
The following table summarizes the assets and liabilities of our consolidated VIEs related to securitization and credit facilities (in millions):
 
 
March 31, 2014
 
December 31, 2013
Restricted cash
 
$
1,676

 
$
1,523

VIE assets
 
$
24,651

 
$
23,584

VIE liabilities
 
$
20,445

 
$
19,448


The assets of the VIEs and the restricted cash we hold serve as the sole source of repayment for the debt issued by these entities. Investors in the notes issued by the VIEs do not have recourse to us or our other assets, with the exception of customary representation and warranty repurchase provisions and indemnities we provide as the servicer. We are not required and do not currently intend to provide additional financial support to these VIEs. While these subsidiaries are included in our consolidated financial statements, these subsidiaries are separate legal entities and their assets are legally owned by them and not available to our creditors.
In addition, we entered into interest rate swaps and caps with certain special-purpose entities ("SPEs") that issue variable rate debt against fixed rate securitized assets. Under the terms of these swaps, the SPEs are obligated to pay us a fixed rate of interest on certain payment dates in exchange for receiving a floating rate of interest on notional amounts equal to the outstanding balance of the secured debt. This arrangement enables the SPEs to mitigate the interest rate risk inherent in issuing variable rate debt that is secured by fixed rate securitized assets, as required to maintain ratings on such securitizations. See Note 7 - "Derivative Financial Instruments and Hedging Activities" for further discussion.
Other VIEs
We consolidate certain operating entities that provide auto finance and financial services, which we do not control through a majority voting interest. We manage these entities and maintain a controlling financial interest in them and are exposed to the risks of ownership through contractual arrangements. The voting interests in these entities are indirectly wholly-owned by our parent, GM. At March 31, 2014, total assets of these entities were $4.0 billion, which were composed primarily of cash and cash equivalents and finance receivables; and total liabilities were $3.1 billion, which were composed of debt, accounts payable (primarily trade) and accrued liabilities. In the three months ended March 31, 2014 total revenue recorded by these entities was $58 million and net income was $10 million. These amounts are stated prior to intercompany eliminations and include amounts related to securitization and credit facilities held by consolidated VIEs. Liabilities recognized as a result of consolidating these entities generally do not represent claims against us or our other subsidiaries and assets recognized generally are for the benefit of these entities operations and cannot be used to satisfy our or our subsidiaries obligations.
Transfers of finance receivables to non-VIEs
Under certain debt agreements, we transfer finance receivables to third-party banks, which are not considered VIEs.  These transfers do not meet the criteria to be considered sales; therefore, the finance receivables and the related debt are included in our condensed consolidated financial statements.  Any collections received on the transferred receivables are available only for the repayment of the related debt.  As of March 31, 2014, $2.9 billion in finance receivables had been transferred in secured funding arrangements to third-party banks, to which $2.8 billion in secured debt was outstanding.