Variable Interest Entities

Consolidated VIEs

At March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, 11 of our real estate joint ventures, whose activities primarily consisted of owning and operating 30 neighborhood/community shopping centers, were determined to be VIEs. Based on a financing agreement by one of our real estate joint ventures that is guaranteed solely by us, we have determined that we are the primary beneficiary and have consolidated this joint venture. For the remaining real estate joint ventures, we concluded we are the primary beneficiary based primarily on our significant power to direct the entities' activities without any substantive kick-out or participating rights.

A summary of our consolidated VIE is as follows (in thousands):



	March 31, 2016		December 31, 2015
Assets Held by VIEs ⁽¹⁾	$	284,208	$	289,558
Assets Held as Collateral for Debt ⁽²⁾	54,735		57,735
Debt Held by a VIE ⁽²⁾	37,178		37,178

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(1)	Upon adoption of ASU No. 2015-02, "Amendments to the Consolidation Analysis," prior year's amount was made to conform to the current year presentation. See Note 2 for additional information.


(2)	Represents the amount of debt and related assets held as collateral that are solely guaranteed by us at one real estate joint venture.

Restrictions on the use of these assets can be significant because they may serve as collateral for debt. Further, we are generally required to obtain our partner's approval in accordance with the joint venture agreement for any major transactions. Transactions with these joint ventures on our consolidated financial statements have primarily been positive as demonstrated by the generation of net income and operating cash flows, as well as the receipt of cash distributions. We and our partners are subject to the provisions of the joint venture agreements which include provisions for when additional contributions may be required to fund operating cash shortfalls and unplanned capital expenditures. For the three months ended March 31, 2016, no additional contributions were made or are anticipated for these joint ventures.

In May 2015, the joint venture agreement related to a VIE, in which we guaranteed its debt, was amended to reflect an additional contribution of $43 million made by us to the joint venture in the form of a preferred equity arrangement. The amended agreement specified that these funds were to be used by the joint venture to pay down debt that became due. This arrangement provided the most favorable economics, including financing and taxation considerations, to the joint venture, as well as to us.

Unconsolidated VIEs

At March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, one unconsolidated real estate joint venture was determined to be a VIE through the issuance of a secured loan, since the lender had the ability to make decisions that could have a significant impact on the success of the entity. A summary of our unconsolidated VIE is as follows (in thousands):



	March 31, 2016		December 31, 2015
Investment in Real Estate Joint Ventures and Partnerships, net ^{(1) (2)}	$	—	$	10,497
Maximum Risk of Loss ⁽³⁾	34,000		10,992

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(1)	The carrying amount of the investment represents our contributions to the real estate joint venture, net of any distributions made and our portion of the equity in earnings of the joint venture.


(2)	As of March 31, 2016, the carrying amount of the investment is $(7) million, which is included in Other Liabilities as a result of the distribution of proceeds from the issuance of debt.


(3)	The maximum risk of loss has been determined to be limited to our debt exposure for the real estate joint venture.

We and our partner are subject to the provisions of the joint venture agreement that specify conditions, including operating shortfalls and unplanned capital expenditures, under which additional contributions may be required.