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Derivatives and Hedging Activities | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2014
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Derivatives and Hedging Activities | NOTE 14 Derivatives and Hedging Activities The Company uses derivative financial instruments (derivatives) to manage exposure s to various market risks. Derivatives derive their value from an underlying variable or multiple variables, including interest rate, foreign exchange, and equity ind ex or price. These instruments enable end users to increase, reduce or alter exposure to various market risks and, for that reason, are an integral component of the Company’s market risk management. The Compan y does not engage in derivatives for trading purposes. Market risk is the risk to earnings or value resulting fr om movements in market prices. The Company’s market risk expo sure is primarily generated by: Interest rate risk in its card, insurance and Trave lers C heque and other prepaid products businesses, as well as its investment portfolios; and Foreign ex change risk in its operations outside the U.S. and the associated funding of such operations. T he Company centrally monitors market risks using m arket ri sk limits and escalation triggers as defined in its Asset/Liability Management Policy. The Company’s market exposu res are in large part by products of the delivery of its products and services. Interest rate risk arises through the funding of Card Member re ceivables and fixed-rate loans with variable-rate borrowings as well as through the risk to net interest margin from changes in the relationship between benchmark rates such as Prime and LIBOR. Interest rate exposure within the Company’s charge card and fixed-rate lending products is managed by varying the proportion of total funding provided by short-term and variable-rate debt and deposits compared to fixed-rate debt and deposits. In addition, interest rate swaps are used from time to time to economical ly convert fixed-rate debt obligations to variable-rate obligations or to convert variable-rate debt obligations to fixed-rate obligations. The Company may change the mix between variable-rate and fixed-rate funding based on changes in business volume s and mix, among other factors. Foreign exchange risk is generated by Card Member cross-currency charges, foreign currency balance sheet expos ures, foreign subsidiary equity and foreign currency earnings in entities outside the U.S. The Company’s foreign exchan ge risk is managed primarily by entering into agreements to buy and sell currencies on a spot basis or by hedging this market exposure to the extent it is economically justified through various means, including the use of derivatives such as foreign exchan ge forward s and cross-currency swap contracts, which can help mitigate the Company’s exposure to specific currencies. In addition to the exposures identified above, effective August 1, 2011, the Company entered into a total return contract (TRC) to hedge i ts exposure to changes in the fair value of its equity investment in ICBC in local currency. Under the terms of the TRC, the Company received from the TRC counterparty an amount equivalent to any reduction in the fair value of its investment in ICBC in loc al currency, and the Company paid to the TRC counterparty an amount equivalent to any increase in the fair value of its investment in local currency, along with all dividends paid by ICBC, as well as ongoing hedge costs. The TRC was fully unwound on July 1 8, 2014 upon the sale of the remaining underlying ICBC shares. Derivatives may give rise to counterparty credit risk, which is the risk that a derivative counterparty will default on, or otherwise be unable to perform pursuant to, an uncollateralized deri vative exposure. The Company manages this risk by considering the current exposure, which is the replacement cost of contracts on the measurement date, as well as estimating the maximum potential value of the contracts over the next 12 months, considering such factors as the volatility of the underlying or reference index. To mitigate derivative credit risk, counterparties are required to be pre-approved by the Company and rated as investment grade. Counterparty risk exposures are centrally monitored by the Company. Additionally, in order to mitigate the bilateral counterparty credit risk associated with derivatives, the Company has in certain instances entered into master netting agreements with its derivative counterparties, which provide a right of offset for certain exposures between the parties. A majority of the Company’s derivative assets and liabilities as of December 31, 2014 and 2013 is subject to such master netting agreements with its derivative counterparties. There are no instances in which management makes an accounting policy election to not net assets and liabilities subject to an enforceable master netting agreement on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets. To further mitigate bilateral counterparty credit risk, the Company exer cises its rights under executed credit support agreements with certain of its derivative counterparties. These agreements require that, in the event the fair value change in the net derivatives position between the two parties exceeds certain dollar thresh olds, the party in the net liability position posts collateral to its counterparty. All derivative contracts cleared through a central clearinghouse are collateralized to the full amount of the fair value of the contracts. In relation to the Company’s cred it risk, under the terms of the derivative agreements it has with its various counterparties, the Company is not required to either immediately settle any outstanding liability balances or post collateral upon the occurrence of a specified credit risk-rela ted event. Based on the assessment of credit risk of the Company’s derivative counterparties as of December 31, 2014 and 2013, the Company does not have derivative positions that warrant credit valuation adjustments. The Company’s derivatives are car ried at fair value on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The accounting for changes in fair value depends on the instruments’ intended use and the resulting hedge designation, if any, as discussed below. Refer to Note 15 for a description of the Company’s me thodology for determining the fair value of derivatives. The following t able summarizes the total fair value, excluding interest accruals, of derivative assets and liabilities as of December 31:
|  |  | Other Assets |  | Other Liabilities
|  |  | Fair Value |  | Fair Value
(Millions) |  | 2014 |  | 2013 |  | 2014 |  | 2013
Derivatives designated as hedging instruments: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Interest rate contracts |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Fair value hedges |  | $ | 314 |  | $ | 455 |  | $ | 4 |  | $ | 2
Total return contract |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Fair value hedge |  |  | ― |  |  | 8 |  |  | ― |  |  | ―
Foreign exchange contracts |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Net investment hedges |  |  | 492 |  |  | 174 |  |  | 46 |  |  | 116
Total derivatives designated as hedging instruments |  |  | 806 |  |  | 637 |  |  | 50 |  |  | 118
Derivatives not designated as hedging instruments: |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Foreign exchange contracts, including certain embedded derivatives(a) |  |  | 185 |  |  | 64 |  |  | 114 |  |  | 95
Total derivatives, gross |  |  | 991 |  |  | 701 |  |  | 164 |  |  | 213
Less: Cash collateral netting(b) |  |  | (158) |  |  | (336) |  |  | (4) |  |  | ―
| Derivative asset and derivative liability netting(c) |  |  | (122) |  |  | (36) |  |  | (122) |  |  | (36)
Total derivatives, net(d) |  | $ | 711 |  | $ | 329 |  | $ | 38 |  | $ | 177
Includes foreign currency derivatives embedded in certain operating agreements. Represents the offsetting of derivative instruments and the right to reclaim cash collateral (a receivable) or the obligation to return cash collateral (a payable) arising from derivative instrument(s) executed with the same counterparty under an enforceable master netting arrangement. Additionally, the Company received non-cash collateral from a counterparty in the form of security interest in U.S. Treasury securities with a fair value of $91 million a nd nil as of December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively, none of which was sold or repledged. Such non-cas h collateral economically reduce s the Company’s risk exposure to $620 million as of Decemb er 31, 2014, but does not reduce the net exposure on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets. Additionally, the Company posted $114 million and $26 million as of December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively, as initial margin on its centrally cleared interest rate swaps; such amounts are recorded within Other receivables on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets and are not netted against the derivative balances. Represents the amount of netting of derivative assets and derivative liabilities executed with the same counterparty under an enforceable master netting arrangement. The Company has no individually significant derivative counterparties and therefore, no significant risk exposure to any single derivative counterparty. The to tal net derivative assets and derivative li abilities are presented within O ther assets and O ther liabilities on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets. Derivative Financial Instruments That Qualify For Hedge Accounting Derivatives executed for hedge accounting purposes are documented and designated as such when the Comp any enters into the contracts. In accordance with its risk management policies, the Company structures its hedges with terms similar to that of the item being hedged. The Company formally assesses, at inception of the hedge accounting relationship and on a quarterly basis, whether deriv atives designated as hedges are highly effective in offsetting the fair value or c ash flows of the hedged items. These assessments usually are made through the application of a regression analysis method. If it is determined that a derivative is not highly effective as a hedge, the Company will discontinue the application of hedge accounting. Fair Value Hedges A fair value hedge involves a derivative designated to hedge the Company’s exposure to future changes in the fair value of an asset or a liability, or an identified portion thereof that is attributable to a particular risk. Interest Rate Contracts The Company is exposed to interest rate risk associated with its fixed-rate long-term debt. The Company uses interest rate swaps to economically convert certain fixed-rate long-term debt obligations to floating-rate obligations at the time of issuance. As of December 31, 2014 and 2013, the Company hedged $17.6 billion and $14.7 billion, respectively, of its fixed-rate debt to floating-rate debt using interest rate swaps. To the extent the fair value hedge is effective, the gain or loss on the hedging instrument offsets the loss or gain on the hedged item attributable to the hedged risk. Any difference between the changes in the fair va lue of the derivative and the hedged item is referred to as hedge ineffectiveness and is reflected in earnings as a component of other expenses. Hedge ineffectiveness may be caused by differences between the debt’s interest coupon and the benchmark rate, p rimarily due to credit spreads at inception of the hedging relationship that are not reflected in the valuation of the interest rate swap. Furthermore, hedge ineffectiveness may be caused by changes in the relationship between 3-month LIBOR and 1-month LIB OR, as well as between the overnight indexed swap rate (OIS) and 1-month LIBOR, as basis spreads may impact the valuation of the interest rate swap without causing an offsetting impact in the value of the hedged debt. If a fair value hedge is de-designated or no longer considered to be effective, changes in fair value of the derivative continue to be recorded through earnings but the hedged asset or liability is no longer adjusted for changes in fair value resulting from changes in interest rates. The exist ing basis adjustment of the hedged asset or liability is amortized or accreted as an adjustment to yield over the remaining life of that asset or liability. Total Return Contract The Company hedged its exposure to changes in the fair value of its equity investment in ICBC in local currency. The Company used a TRC to transfer this exposure to its derivative counterparty. On July 18, 2014, the Company sold its remaining 34.3 million shares in ICBC and terminated t he TRC. As of December 31, 2013 only, the fair value of the equity investment in ICBC was $122 million (180.7 million shares). Prior to termination, to the extent the hedge was effective, the gain or loss on the TRC offset the gain or loss on the investment in ICBC. Any difference between the changes in the fair value of the derivative and the hedged item resulted in hedge ineffectiveness and was recognized in O ther expenses in the Consolid ated Statements of Income. The following table summarizes the impact on the Consolidated Statements of Income associated with the Company’s hedges of its fixed-rate long-term debt and its investment in ICBC for the years ended December 31:
|  | Gains (losses) recognized in income
(Millions) |  | Derivative contract |  | Hedged item |  | Net hedge
|  | Income Statement |  | Amount |  | Income Statement |  | Amount |  | ineffectiveness
Derivative relationship |  | Line Item |  | 2014 |  | 2013 |  | 2012 |  | Line Item |  | 2014 |  | 2013 |  |  | 2012 |  | 2014 |  | 2013 |  | 2012
Interest rate contracts |  | Other expenses |  | $ | (143) |  | $ | (370) |  | $ | (178) |  | Other expenses |  | $ | 148 |  | $ | 351 |  | $ | 132 |  | $ | 5 |  | $ | (19) |  | $ | (46)
Total return contract |  | Other non-interest |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | Other non-interest |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|  | revenues |  | $ | 11 |  | $ | 15 |  | $ | (53) |  | revenues |  | $ | (11) |  | $ | (15) |  | $ | 54 |  | $ | ― |  | $ | ― |  | $ | 1
The Company also recognized a net reduction in interest expense on long-term debt of $283 million, $346 million and $491 million for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively, primarily related to the net settlements (interest accruals) on the Company’s interest rate derivatives designated as fair value hedges. Cash Flow Hedges As of December 31, 2014 and 2013, the Company did not have any designated cash flow hedges. During the year ended December 31, 2012 only, the Company reclassified $(1) million from AOCI into earnings as a component of interest expense. Any ineffective portion of the gain or loss on the derivatives is reported as a component o f other expenses. No ineffectiveness associated with cash flow hedges was reclassified from AOCI into income for the year s ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012. Net Investment Hedges A net investment hedge is used to hedge future changes in currency exposure of a net investment in a foreign operation. The Company primarily designates foreign currency derivatives, typically foreign exchange forwards, and on occasion foreign currency denominated debt, as hedges of net investments in certain for eign operations. These instruments reduce exposure to changes in currency exchange rates on the Company’s investments in non-U.S. subsidiaries. The effective portion of the gain or (loss) on net investment hedges, net of taxes, recorded in AOCI as part of the cumulative translation adjustment, was $455 million, $253 million and $(288) million for the years ended 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively. Any ineffective portion of the gain or (loss) on net investmen t hedges is recognized in other expenses during the period of change. During the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012, the Company reclassified $10 million, nil and nil , respectively, from AOCI to earnings as a component of Other expenses. No ineffectiveness associated with net investment hedges was reclassified from AOCI into income during the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012. Derivatives Not Designated As Hedges The Company has derivatives that act as economic hedges, but are not designated as such for hedge accounting purposes. Foreign currency transactions and non-U.S. dollar cash flow exposures from time to time may be partially or fully economically hedged through foreign currency contracts, primarily foreign exchange forwards, options and cross-currency swaps. These hedges generally mature within one year. Foreign currency contracts involve the purchase and sale of a d esignated currency at an agreed upon rate for settlement on a specified date. The changes in the fair value of the derivatives effectively offset the related foreign exchange gains or losses on the underlying balance sheet exposures. From time to time, the Company may enter into interest rate swaps to specifically manage funding costs related to its proprietary card business. The Company has certain operating agreements containing payments that may be linked to a market rate or price, pr imarily foreign curr ency rates. The payment components of these agreements may meet the definition of an embedded derivative, in which case the embedded derivative is accounted for separately and is classified as a foreign exchange contract based on its primary risk exposure. For derivatives that are not designated as hedges, changes in fair value are reported in current period earnings. The following table summarizes the impact on pretax earnings of derivatives not designated as hedges, as reported o n the Consolidated Statements of Income for the years ended December 31:
|  | Pretax gains (losses)
|  |  |  | Amount
Description (Millions) |  | Income Statement Line Item |  | 2014 |  | 2013 |  | 2012
Interest rate contracts |  | Other expenses |  | $ | ― |  | $ | 1 |  | $ | (1)
Foreign exchange contracts (a) |  | Interest expense on long-term debt and other |  |  | ― |  |  | ― |  |  | (1)
|  | Other expenses |  |  | 194 |  |  | 72 |  |  | (56)
|  | Cost of Card Member services |  |  | 4 |  |  | ― |  |  | ―
Total |  |  |  | $ | 198 |  | $ | 73 |  | $ | (58)
F oreign exchange contracts include forwards and embedded foreign currency derivatives. Gains (losses) on these embedd ed derivatives are included in O ther expenses.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for derivative instruments and hedging activities including, but not limited to, risk management strategies, non-hedging derivative instruments, assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses, and methodologies and assumptions used in determining the amounts. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 815 -SubTopic 30 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35736893&loc=d3e80748-113994 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 815 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 4A -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35706170&loc=SL5618551-113959 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 815 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 4K -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35706170&loc=SL5708775-113959 Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 815 -SubTopic 25 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6886632&loc=d3e76258-113986 Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 815 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 4E -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35706170&loc=SL5624181-113959 Reference 6: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 815 -SubTopic 30 -Section 45 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6441202&loc=d3e80720-113993 Reference 7: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 815 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 4H -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35706170&loc=SL5624258-113959 Reference 8: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 815 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 4B -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35706170&loc=SL5624163-113959 Reference 9: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (SX 210.4-08.(n)) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=26873400&loc=d3e23780-122690 Reference 10: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 815 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 4J -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35706170&loc=SL5708773-113959 Reference 11: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 815 -SubTopic 30 -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35736893&loc=d3e80784-113994 Reference 12: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 815 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 4D -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35706170&loc=SL5624177-113959 Reference 13: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 815 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35706170&loc=d3e41620-113959 Reference 14: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 815 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1A -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35706170&loc=SL5579245-113959 Reference 15: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 815 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1B -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35706170&loc=SL5580258-113959 Reference 16: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 815 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35706170&loc=SL5579240-113959 Reference 17: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 815 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 5 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35706170&loc=d3e41641-113959 Reference 18: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 815 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 4 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35706170&loc=d3e41638-113959 Reference 19: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 815 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 4C -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35706170&loc=SL5624171-113959 + Details
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