Variable Interest Entities and Securitizations

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2025

Variable Interest Entities and Securitization [Abstract]

Variable Interest Entities and Securitizations


NOTE 6—VARIABLE INTEREST ENTITIES AND SECURITIZATIONS

In the normal course of business, we enter into various types of transactions with entities that are considered to be variable interest entities (“VIEs”). Our primary involvement with VIEs is related to our securitization transactions in which we transfer assets to securitization trusts. We primarily securitize credit card and auto loans, which provide a source of funding for us and enable us to transfer a certain portion of the economic risk of the loans or related debt securities to third parties.

The entity that has a controlling financial interest in a VIE is referred to as the primary beneficiary and is required to consolidate the VIE.

Summary of Consolidated and Unconsolidated VIEs

The assets of our consolidated VIEs primarily consist of cash, loan receivables and the related allowance for credit losses, which we report on our consolidated balance sheets under restricted cash for securitization investors, loans held in consolidated trusts and allowance for credit losses, respectively. The assets of a particular VIE are the primary source of funds to settle its obligations. Creditors of these VIEs typically do not have recourse to our general credit. Liabilities primarily consist of debt securities issued by the VIEs, which we report under securitized debt obligations on our consolidated balance sheets. For unconsolidated VIEs, we present the carrying amount of assets and liabilities reflected on our consolidated balance sheets and our maximum exposure to loss. Our maximum exposure to loss is estimated based on the unlikely event that all of the assets in the VIEs become worthless and we are required to meet the maximum amount of any remaining funding obligations.

The tables below present a summary of VIEs in which we had continuing involvement or held a significant variable interest, aggregated based on VIEs with similar characteristics as of September 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024. We separately present information for consolidated and unconsolidated VIEs.

Table 6.1: Carrying Amount of Consolidated and Unconsolidated VIEs


	September 30, 2025
	Consolidated				Unconsolidated
(Dollars in millions)	Carrying Amount of Assets		Carrying Amount of Liabilities		Carrying Amount of Assets		Carrying Amount of Liabilities		Maximum Exposure to Loss
Securitization-Related VIEs:(1)
Credit card loan securitizations(2)	$	54,533	$	11,983	$	0	$	0	$	0
Auto loan securitizations	2,441		1,913		0		0		0
Total securitization-related VIEs	56,974		13,896		0		0		0
Other VIEs:(3)
Affordable housing entities	358		75		6,120		1,930		6,120
Entities that provide capital to low-income and rural communities	2,821		10		51		31		51
Other(4)	0		0		1,146		153		1,146
Total other VIEs	3,179		85		7,317		2,114		7,317
Total VIEs	$	60,153	$	13,981	$	7,317	$	2,114	$	7,317


	December 31, 2024
	Consolidated				Unconsolidated
(Dollars in millions)	Carrying Amount of Assets		Carrying Amount of Liabilities		Carrying Amount of Assets		Carrying Amount of Liabilities		Maximum Exposure to Loss
Securitization-Related VIEs:(1)
Credit card loan securitizations(2)	$	24,753	$	11,500	$	0	$	0	$	0
Auto loan securitizations	4,100		3,204		0		0		0
Total securitization-related VIEs	28,853		14,704		0		0		0
Other VIEs:(3)
Affordable housing entities	354		75		5,544		1,877		5,544
Entities that provide capital to low-income and rural communities	2,605		9		0		0		0
Other(4)	0		0		874		110		874
Total other VIEs	2,959		84		6,418		1,987		6,418
Total VIEs	$	31,812	$	14,788	$	6,418	$	1,987	$	6,418

__________

(1)Excludes insignificant VIEs from previously exited businesses.

(2)Represents the carrying amount of assets and liabilities of the VIE, which includes the seller’s interest and repurchased notes held by other related parties.

(3)In certain investment structures, we consolidate a VIE which holds as its primary asset an investment in an unconsolidated VIE. In these instances, we disclose the carrying amount of assets and liabilities on our consolidated balance sheets as unconsolidated VIEs to avoid duplicating our exposure, as the unconsolidated VIEs are generally the operating entities generating the exposure. The carrying amount of assets and liabilities included in the unconsolidated VIE columns above related to these investment structures were $2.8 billion of assets and $1.1 billion of liabilities as of September 30, 2025, and $2.7 billion of assets and $1.0 billion of liabilities as of December 31, 2024.

(4)Primarily consists of variable interests in companies that promote renewable energy sources and other equity method investments.

Securitization-Related VIEs

In a securitization transaction, assets are transferred to a trust, which generally meets the definition of a VIE. We engage in securitization activities as an issuer and an investor. Our primary securitization issuance activity includes credit card and auto securitizations, conducted through securitization trusts which we consolidate. Our continuing involvement in these securitization transactions mainly consists of acting as the primary servicer and holding certain retained interests. We also engage in securitization-related activity in our multifamily agency business, where we do not consolidate the securitization trusts employed in these transactions.

Credit Card and Auto Securitizations

We securitize a portion of our credit card receivables and auto loans which provides a source of funding for us. This is inclusive of the Discover credit card securitization program acquired in the Transaction. These securitizations involve the transfer of assets, including credit card receivables and auto loans, into securitization trusts. These trusts then issue debt securities collateralized by the transferred assets to third-party investors. We hold certain retained interests and continue to service the assets in these trusts. We consolidate these trusts because we are deemed to be the primary beneficiary as we have the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the economic performance of the trusts, and the right to receive benefits or the obligation to absorb losses that could potentially be significant to the trusts.

Multifamily Agency Securitization Activity

In our multifamily agency business, we originate multifamily commercial real estate loans and transfer them to GSEs who may, in turn, securitize them. We retain the related mortgage servicing rights (“MSRs”) and service the transferred loans pursuant to the guidelines set forth by the GSEs. We do not consolidate the securitization trusts employed in these transactions as we do not have the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the economic performance of these securitization trusts. We exclude these VIEs from the tables within this note because we do not consider our continuing involvement with these VIEs to be significant as we either solely invest in securities issued by the VIE and were not involved in the design of the VIE or no transfers have occurred between the VIE and ourselves. Our maximum exposure to loss as a result of our involvement with these VIEs is the carrying value of the MSRs and investment securities on our consolidated balance sheets as well as our contractual obligations under loss sharing arrangements. See “Note 14—Commitments, Contingencies, Guarantees and Others” for information about the loss sharing agreements, “Note 7—Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets” for information related to our MSRs associated with these securitizations and “Note 3—Investment Securities” for more information on the securities held in our investment securities portfolio.

Other VIEs

Affordable Housing Entities

As part of our community reinvestment initiatives, we invest in private investment funds that make equity investments in multifamily affordable housing properties, a majority of which are VIEs. We receive affordable housing tax credits for these investments. The activities of these entities are financed with a combination of invested equity capital and debt. We account for our investments in qualified affordable housing projects using the proportional amortization method, where costs of the investment are amortized over the period in which the investor expects to receive tax credits and other tax benefits, and the resulting amortization is recognized as a component of income tax expense attributable to continuing operations. For the nine months ended September 30, 2025 and 2024, we recognized amortization of $515 million and $527 million, respectively, and tax credits of $605 million and $671 million, respectively, associated with these investments within income tax provision. The carrying value of our equity investments in these qualified affordable housing projects was $5.8 billion and $5.3 billion as of September 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively. We are periodically required to provide additional financial or other support during the period of the investments. Our liability for these unfunded commitments was $2.1 billion as of both September 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024 and is largely expected to be paid from 2025 to 2028.

For those investment funds considered to be VIEs, we are not required to consolidate them if we do not have the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the economic performance of those entities. We record our interests in these unconsolidated VIEs in loans held for investment, other assets and other liabilities on our consolidated balance sheets. Our maximum exposure to these entities is limited to our variable interests in the entities which consisted of assets of approximately $6.1 billion and $5.5 billion as of September 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively. The creditors of the VIEs have no recourse to our general credit and we do not provide additional financial or other support other than during the period that we are contractually required to provide it. The total assets of the unconsolidated VIE investment funds were approximately $18.2 billion and $18.1 billion as of September 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively.

Entities that Provide Capital to Low-Income and Rural Communities

We hold variable interests in entities (“Investor Entities”) that invest in community development entities (“CDEs”) that provide debt financing to businesses and non-profit entities in low-income and rural communities. Variable interests in the CDEs held by the consolidated Investor Entities are also our variable interests. The activities of the Investor Entities are financed with a combination of invested equity capital and debt. The activities of the CDEs are financed solely with invested equity capital. We receive federal and state tax credits for these investments. We consolidate the VIEs in which we have the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the VIE’s economic performance and where we have the obligation to absorb losses or right to receive benefits that could potentially be significant to the VIE. We consolidate other investments and CDEs that are not considered to be VIEs, but where we hold a controlling financial interest. The assets of the VIEs that we consolidated, which totaled approximately $2.8 billion and $2.6 billion as of September 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively, are reflected on our consolidated balance sheets in cash, loans held for investment, and other assets. The liabilities are reflected in other liabilities. The creditors of the VIEs have no recourse to our general credit. We have not provided additional financial or other support other than during the period that we are contractually required to provide it.

Other

We hold variable interests in other VIEs, including companies that promote renewable energy sources and other equity method investments. We are not required to consolidate these VIEs because we do not have the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact their economic performance. Our maximum exposure to these VIEs is limited to the investments on our consolidated balance sheets of $1.1 billion and $874 million as of September 30, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively. The creditors of the other VIEs have no recourse to our general credit. We have not provided additional financial or other support other than during the period that we are contractually required to provide it.

Our renewable energy source equity investments subject to proportional amortization had a carrying value of $728 million as of September 30, 2025. We are periodically required to provide additional financial or other support during the period of the investments. Our liability for these unfunded commitments was $153 million as of September 30, 2025, and is expected to be paid from 2025 to 2034.

In addition, where we have certain lending arrangements in the normal course of business with entities that could be VIEs, we have excluded these VIEs from the tables presented in this note. See “Note 4—Loans” for additional information regarding our lending arrangements in the normal course of business.