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Asset Securitizations | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2012
Asset Securitizations [Abstract] |
Asset Securitizations | 7. Asset Securitizations Charge Trust and Lending Trust The Company periodically securitizes cardmember receivables and loans arising from its card business through the transfer of those assets to securitization trusts. The trusts then issue securities to third-party investors, collateraliz ed by the transferred assets. Cardmember rec eivables are transferred to the American Express Issuance Trust (the Charge Trust) and cardmember loans are tra nsferred to the American Express Credit Account Master Trust (the Lending Trust). The Charge Trust and the Lending Trust are consolidated by American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. (TRS), which is a consolidated subsidiary of the Company. The trusts are considered VIEs as they have insufficient equity at risk to finance their activities, which are to issue securities that are collateralized by the underlying cardmember receivables and loans. TRS, in its role as servicer of the Charge Trust and the Lending Trust, has the power to direct the most significant activity of the trusts, which is the collection of the underlying cardmember receivables and loans in the trusts. In addit ion, TRS owns approximately $0.9 billion of subordinated securities issued by the Lending Trust as of March 31, 2012. These subordinated securities have the obligation to absorb losses of the Lending Trust and p rovide the right to receive benefits from the Lending Trust, both of which are significant to the VIE. TRS' role as servicer for the Charge Trust does not provide it with a significant obligation to absorb losses or a significant right to receive benefits. However, TRS' position as the parent company of the entities that transferred the receivables to the Charge Trust makes it the party most closely related to the Charge Trust. Based on these considerations, TRS is the primary beneficiary of both the Char ge Trust and the Lending Trust. The debt securities issued by the Charge Trust and the Lending Trust are non-recourse to the Company. Securitized cardmember receivables and loans held by the Charge Trust and the Lending Trust are available only for payment of the debt securities or other obligations issued or arising in the securitization transactions. The long-term debt of each trust is payable only out of collections on their respective underlying securitized assets. There was approximately $5 m illion and $15 m illion of restricted cash held by the Charge Trust as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, resp ectively, and approximately $265 m illion and $192 m illion of restricted cash held by the Lending Trust as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively, included in other assets on the Company's Consolidated Balance Sheets. These amounts relate to collections of cardmember receivables and loans to be used by the trusts to fund future expenses and obligations, including interest paid on investor certificates, credit losses and upcoming debt maturities. Charge Trust and Lending Trust Triggering Events Under the respective terms of the Charge Trust and the Lending Trust agreements, the occurrence of certain triggering events associated with the performance of the assets of each trust could result in payment of trust expenses, establishment of reserve funds, or in a worst-case scenario, early amortiza tion of investor certificates. During the three months ended March 31, 2012 and the year ended December 31, 2011, no such triggering events occurred

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- Definition This element may be used to capture disclosure of cardmember receivables and loans transferred to a trust whereby the trust then issues securities to third-party investors, and these securities are collateralized by the transferred assets. + References No definition available. + Details
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