Notes Payable

The contingent convertible senior notes included in notes payable are accounted for separately as a liability component and an equity component in the consolidated balance sheets. The liability component and equity component are as follows:



	September 30, 2012								December 31, 2011
	September 2015 Notes			December 2029 Notes			December 2024 Notes		September 2015 Notes			December 2029 Notes			December 2024 Notes
	(Dollars in thousands)
Notes payable:
Principal amount of liability component	$	200,000		$	115,839		$	28,243	$	200,000		$	115,839		$	28,243
Unamortized discount	(23,736		)	(13,650		)	—		(28,906		)	(17,568		)	—
Net carrying amount of liability component	$	176,264		$	102,189		$	28,243	$	171,094		$	98,271		$	28,243
Additional paid-in capital:
Carrying amount of equity component				$	15,586		$	22,637				$	15,586		$	22,637
Amount by which the if-converted value exceeds principal	$	—		$	23,193		$	—	$	—		$	8,489		$	—

The discount is being amortized over the expected lives of the notes, which is December 15, 2014 for the 2029 notes and September 15, 2015 for the 2015 notes, and was December 15, 2011 for the 2024 notes. The effective interest rates during the discount amortization periods are 8.9%, 8.5% and 11.9% on the 2015 notes, the 2024 notes and the 2029 notes, respectively. The interest cost recognized in operations for the convertible notes, inclusive of the coupon and amortization of the discount and debt issue costs, was $7.1 million and $21.2 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012, respectively, and $8.0 million and $23.7 million for the same periods in 2011.

We are required to include the dilutive effect of the 2024 and 2029 notes in our diluted earnings per share calculation. Because these notes include a mandatory cash settlement feature for the principal amount, incremental dilutive shares will only exist when the fair value of our common stock at the end of the reporting period exceeds the conversion price per share of $14.03 for the 2024 notes and $9.69 for the 2029 notes. At September 30, 2012 and 2011, the conversion premium of the 2029 notes was dilutive and the effect has been included in diluted earnings per share for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011. The 2015 notes and the 2015 notes hedges are excluded from the dilutive effect in our diluted earnings per share calculation as they are currently to be settled only in cash. The 2015 warrants could have a dilutive effect on our earnings per share to the extent that the price of our common stock exceeds the strike price of the 2015 warrants.

In 2011, we entered into a three year $160 million revolving line of credit agreement with seven banks. The interest rate is floating at a rate based on our election that will be equal to the alternate base rate (as defined in the credit agreement) plus the applicable margin or the adjusted LIBOR rate (as defined in the credit agreement) plus the applicable margin. We also pay a commitment fee on the available unused portion of the credit facility. The applicable margin and commitment fee rate are based on our credit rating and can change throughout the period of the credit facility. Based upon our current credit rating, the applicable margin is 2.00% for alternate base rate borrowings and 3.00% for adjusted LIBOR rate borrowings and the commitment fee is 0.50%. Under this agreement, we are required to maintain a minimum risk-based capital ratio at American Equity Life, a maximum ratio of debt to total capital, a minimum cash coverage ratio, and a minimum level of statutory surplus at American Equity Life. No amounts were outstanding at September 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011.