ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2026
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Principles of Consolidation	For purposes of this report, “Ford Credit,” the “Company,” “we,” “our,” “us,” or similar references mean Ford Motor Credit Company LLC, our consolidated subsidiaries, and our consolidated VIEs of which we are the primary beneficiary, unless the context requires otherwise. We are an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Ford Motor Company (“Ford”).
Basis of Accounting	Our consolidated financial statements are presented in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for interim financial information, instructions to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, and Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X.
Adoption of New Accounting Standards and Accounting Standards Issued But Not Yet Adopted	Adoption of New Accounting Standards Accounting Standards Updates (“ASUs”) adopted during 2026 did not have a material impact to our consolidated financial statements or financial statement disclosures. Accounting Standards Issued But Not Yet Adopted ASU 2024-03, Disaggregation of Income Statement Expenses (“DISE”). In November 2024, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued a new accounting standard to improve the disclosures about an entity’s expenses and address requests from investors for more detailed information about the types of expenses included in commonly presented expense captions. The new standard is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2026, and interim reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2027, with retrospective application permitted. We are assessing the effect on our consolidated financial statement disclosures; however, adoption will not impact our consolidated income statements, balance sheets, or statements of cash flows. All other ASUs issued but not yet adopted were assessed and determined to be not applicable or are not expected to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements or financial statement disclosures.
Provision for Income Taxes	Provision for Income Taxes For interim tax reporting, we estimate one single effective tax rate for tax jurisdictions not subject to a valuation allowance, which is applied to the year-to-date ordinary income/(loss). Tax effects of significant unusual or infrequently occurring items are excluded from the estimated annual effective tax rate calculation and recognized in the interim period in which they occur. Ford Credit and certain of its subsidiaries are disregarded entities for United States income tax purposes. Our provision for income taxes includes only income tax liabilities for Ford Credit entities recognized as taxable within a jurisdiction. Our Provision for/(Benefit from) income taxes for the third quarter and the first nine months of 2026 was a provision of $115 million and a benefit of $95 million, respectively, resulting in an effective tax rate of 14.3% for the third quarter and negative 4.0% for the first nine months. The first nine months rate was driven by a benefit resulting from legal entity restructuring of our United States vehicle leasing operations in the second quarter of 2026.
Credit Quality	Consumer Portfolio. Credit quality ratings for consumer receivables are based on aging. Receivables over 60 days past due are in intensified collection status. Non-Consumer Portfolio. The credit quality of dealer financing receivables is evaluated based on our internal dealer risk rating analysis. We use a proprietary model to assign each dealer a risk rating. This model uses historical dealer performance data to identify key factors about a dealer that we consider most significant in predicting a dealer’s ability to meet its financial obligations. We also consider numerous other financial and qualitative factors of the dealer’s operations, including capitalization and leverage, liquidity and cash flow, profitability, and credit history with ourselves and other creditors. Dealers are assigned to one of four groups according to risk ratings as follows: •Group I – strong to superior financial metrics •Group II – fair to favorable financial metrics •Group III – marginal to weak financial metrics •Group IV – poor financial metrics, including dealers classified as uncollectible We generally suspend credit lines and extend no further funding to dealers classified in Group IV.
Finance Receivables and Allowance for Credit Losses	Non-Accrual of Revenue. The accrual of financing revenue is discontinued at the time a receivable is determined to be uncollectible or when it is 90 days past due. Accounts may be restored to accrual status only when a customer settles all past-due deficiency balances and future payments are reasonably assured. For receivables in non-accrual status, subsequent financing revenue is recognized only to the extent a payment is received. Payments are generally applied first to outstanding interest and then to the unpaid principal balance. Loan Modifications. Consumer and non-consumer receivables that have a modified interest rate and/or a term extension (including receivables that were modified in reorganization proceedings pursuant to the U.S. Bankruptcy Code) are typically considered to be loan modifications. We do not grant modifications to the principal balance of our receivables. If a receivable is modified in a reorganization proceeding, all payment requirements of the reorganization plan need to be met before remaining balances are forgiven. NOTE 4. FINANCE RECEIVABLES AND ALLOWANCE FOR CREDIT LOSSES (Continued) During the collection process, we may offer a term extension to a customer experiencing financial difficulty. During the extension period, finance charges continue to accrue. If the customer's financial difficulty is not temporary, but we believe the customer is willing and able to repay their loan at a lower payment amount, we may offer to modify the interest rate and/or extend the term in order to lower the scheduled monthly payment. In those cases, the outstanding balance generally remains unchanged. The use of interest rate modifications and term extensions helps us mitigate financial loss. Term extensions may assist in cases where we believe the customer will recover from short-term financial difficulty and resume regularly scheduled payments. Before offering an interest rate modification or term extension, we evaluate and take into account the capacity of the customer to meet the revised payment terms. Although the granting of an extension could delay the eventual charge-off of a receivable, we are typically able to repossess and sell the related collateral, thereby mitigating the loss. The effect of most loan modifications made to borrowers experiencing financial difficulty is included in the historical trends used to measure the allowance for credit losses. A loan modification that improves the delinquency status of a borrower reduces the probability of default, which results in a lower allowance for credit losses. At September 30, 2026, an insignificant portion of our total finance receivables portfolio had been granted a loan modification and these modifications are generally treated as a continuation of the existing loan. Allowance for Credit Losses The allowance for credit losses represents our estimate of the lifetime expected credit losses inherent in finance receivables as of the balance sheet date. The adequacy of the allowance for credit losses is assessed quarterly. Adjustments to the allowance for credit losses are made by recording charges to Provision for credit losses on our consolidated income statements. The uncollectible portion of a finance receivable is charged to the allowance for credit losses at the earlier of when an account is deemed to be uncollectible or when an account is 120 days delinquent, taking into consideration the financial condition of the customer or borrower, the value of the collateral, recourse to guarantors, and other factors. Charge-offs on finance receivables include uncollected amounts related to principal, interest, late fees, and other allowable charges. Recoveries on finance receivables previously charged off as uncollectible are credited to the allowance for credit losses. In the event we repossess the collateral, the receivable is charged off and the collateral is recorded at its estimated fair value less costs to sell and reported in Other assets on our consolidated balance sheets.
Net Investment in Operating Leases	Net investment in operating leases consists primarily of lease contracts for vehicles with individuals, daily rental companies, and fleet customers with terms of 60 months or less. Included in Net investment in operating leases are net investment in operating leases that have been sold for legal purposes in securitization transactions but continue to be reported in our consolidated financial statements. See Note 6 for additional information.
Transfers of Receivables and Variable Interest Entities	We securitize finance receivables and net investment in operating leases through a variety of programs using amortizing, variable funding, and revolving structures. We also sell finance receivables, or pledge them as collateral in certain transactions outside of the United States, in other types of structured financing transactions. Due to the similarities between securitization and structured financing, we refer to structured financings as securitization transactions. Our securitization programs are targeted to institutional investors in both public and private transactions in capital markets primarily in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and China. The finance receivables sold for legal purposes and net investment in operating leases included in securitization transactions are available only for payment of the debt issued by, and other obligations of, the securitization entities that are parties to those securitization transactions. They are not available to pay our other obligations or the claims of our other creditors. The debt is the obligation of our consolidated securitization entities and not the obligation of Ford Credit or our other subsidiaries. We hold the right to receive the excess cash flows not needed to pay the debt issued by, and other obligations of, the securitization entities that are parties to those securitization transactions. We use special purpose entities (“SPEs”) to issue asset-backed securities in our securitization transactions. We have deemed most of these SPEs to be VIEs of which we are the primary beneficiary, and therefore, are consolidated. The SPEs are established for the sole purpose of financing the securitized financial assets. The SPEs are generally financed through the issuance of notes or commercial paper into the public or private markets or directly with conduits. We continue to recognize our financial assets related to our sales of receivables when the financial assets are sold to a consolidated VIE or a consolidated voting interest entity. We derecognize our financial assets when the financial assets are sold to a non-consolidated entity and we do not maintain control over the financial assets. We have the power to direct significant activities of our SPEs when we have the ability to exercise discretion in the servicing of financial assets, issue additional debt, exercise a unilateral call option, add assets to revolving structures, or control investment decisions. We generally retain a portion of the economic interests in the asset-backed securitization transactions, which could be retained in the form of a portion of the senior interests, the subordinated interests, cash reserve accounts, residual interests, and servicing rights. The transfers of assets in our securitization transactions do not qualify for accounting sale treatment. We have no obligation to repurchase or replace any securitized asset that subsequently becomes delinquent in payment or otherwise is in default, except when representations and warranties about the eligibility of the securitized assets are breached, or when certain changes are made to the underlying asset contracts. Securitization investors have no recourse to us or our other assets other than as provided above and have no right to require us to repurchase the asset-backed securities. We generally have no obligation to provide liquidity or contribute cash or additional assets to the VIEs and do not guarantee any asset-backed securities. We may choose to support the performance of certain securitization transactions, however, by increasing cash reserves. Certain of our securitization entities may enter into derivative transactions to mitigate interest rate exposure, primarily resulting from fixed-rate assets securing floating-rate debt. In certain instances, the counterparty enters into offsetting derivative transactions with us to mitigate its interest rate risk resulting from derivatives with our securitization entities. These related derivatives are not the obligations of our securitization entities. See Note 7 for additional information regarding the accounting for derivatives.
Derivative Financial Instruments and Hedging Activities	have elected to apply hedge accounting to certain of these instruments. Derivatives that are designated in hedging relationships are evaluated for effectiveness using regression analysis at the time they are designated and throughout the hedge period. Some derivatives do not qualify for hedge accounting; for others, we elect not to apply hedge accounting.
Segment Information	We report segment information consistent with the way our chief operating decision maker (“CODM”), our President and Chief Executive Officer, evaluates the operating results and performance of the Company. We conduct our financing operations directly and indirectly through our subsidiaries and affiliates. We offer substantially similar products and services throughout many different regions, subject to local legal restrictions and market conditions. Our reportable segments are: the United States and Canada, Europe, and All Other. Our All Other reportable segment includes our operations in China, Mexico, and our joint venture in South Africa, as well as wind down activities in Brazil, Argentina, and India. We report segment earnings on an income before income taxes basis after excluding market valuation adjustments to derivatives and exchange-rate fluctuations on foreign currency-denominated transactions, which are reflected in Unallocated Other. These adjustments are excluded when assessing our segment performance because they are carried out at the corporate level. Our CODM reviews segment earnings on an income before income taxes basis to evaluate performance and allocate resources, predominately in the budgeting, planning, and forecasting processes.
Guarantees and Indemnifications	Guarantees and indemnifications are recorded at fair value at their inception. For financial guarantees, subsequent to initial recognition, the guarantee liability is adjusted at each reporting period to reflect the current estimate of expected payments resulting from possible default events over the remaining life of the guarantee. For non-financial guarantees, we regularly review our performance risk under these arrangements, and in the event it becomes probable we will be required to perform under a guarantee or indemnity, the amount of probable payment is recorded. In some cases, we have guaranteed debt and other financial obligations of outside third parties and unconsolidated affiliates, including Ford. Expiration dates vary, and guarantees will terminate on payment and/or cancellation of the underlying obligation. A payment by us would be triggered by failure of the third party to fulfill its obligation covered by the guarantee. In some circumstances, we are entitled to recover from a third party amounts paid by us under the guarantee. In the ordinary course of business, we execute contracts involving indemnifications standard in the industry and indemnifications specific to a transaction, such as the sale of a business. These indemnifications might include and are not limited to claims relating to any of the following: environmental, tax, and shareholder matters; intellectual property rights; governmental regulations and employment-related matters; dealer and other commercial contractual relationships; and financial matters, such as securitizations. Performance under these indemnities generally would be triggered by a breach of contract claim brought by a counterparty or a third-party claim. While some of these indemnifications are limited in nature, many of them do not limit potential payment. Therefore, we are unable to estimate a maximum amount of future payments that could result from claims made under these unlimited indemnities. Litigation and Claims Various legal actions, proceedings, and claims (generally, “matters”) are pending or may be instituted or asserted against us. These include, but are not limited to, matters arising out of governmental regulations; tax matters; alleged illegal acts resulting in fines or penalties; financial services; employment-related matters; dealer and other contractual relationships; investor matters; and financial reporting matters. Certain of the pending legal actions are, or purport to be, class actions. Some of the matters involve or may involve claims for compensatory, punitive, or antitrust or other treble damages in very large amounts, sanctions, assessments, or other relief, which, if granted, would require very large expenditures. The extent of our financial exposure to these matters is difficult to estimate. Many matters do not specify a dollar amount for damages, and many others specify only a jurisdictional minimum. To the extent an amount is asserted, our historical experience suggests that in most instances the amount asserted is not a reliable indicator of the ultimate outcome. We accrue for matters when losses are deemed probable and reasonably estimable. In evaluating matters for accrual and disclosure purposes, we take into consideration factors such as our historical experience with matters of a similar nature, the specific facts and circumstances asserted, the likelihood that we will prevail, and the severity of any potential loss. We reevaluate and update our accruals as matters progress over time.

ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2026

For purposes of this report, “Ford Credit,” the “Company,” “we,” “our,” “us,” or similar references mean Ford Motor Credit Company LLC, our consolidated subsidiaries, and our consolidated VIEs of which we are the primary beneficiary, unless the context requires otherwise. We are an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Ford Motor Company (“Ford”).

Basis of Accounting

Our consolidated financial statements are presented in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for interim financial information, instructions to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, and Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X.

Adoption of New Accounting Standards and Accounting Standards Issued But Not Yet Adopted

Adoption of New Accounting Standards

Accounting Standards Updates (“ASUs”) adopted during 2026 did not have a material impact to our consolidated financial statements or financial statement disclosures.

Accounting Standards Issued But Not Yet Adopted

ASU 2024-03, Disaggregation of Income Statement Expenses (“DISE”). In November 2024, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued a new accounting standard to improve the disclosures about an entity’s expenses and address requests from investors for more detailed information about the types of expenses included in commonly presented expense captions. The new standard is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2026, and interim reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2027, with retrospective application permitted. We are assessing the effect on our consolidated financial statement disclosures; however, adoption will not impact our consolidated income statements, balance sheets, or statements of cash flows.

All other ASUs issued but not yet adopted were assessed and determined to be not applicable or are not expected to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements or financial statement disclosures.

Provision for Income Taxes

For interim tax reporting, we estimate one single effective tax rate for tax jurisdictions not subject to a valuation allowance, which is applied to the year-to-date ordinary income/(loss). Tax effects of significant unusual or infrequently occurring items are excluded from the estimated annual effective tax rate calculation and recognized in the interim period in which they occur.

Ford Credit and certain of its subsidiaries are disregarded entities for United States income tax purposes. Our provision for income taxes includes only income tax liabilities for Ford Credit entities recognized as taxable within a jurisdiction.

Our Provision for/(Benefit from) income taxes for the third quarter and the first nine months of 2026 was a provision of $115 million and a benefit of $95 million, respectively, resulting in an effective tax rate of 14.3% for the third quarter and negative 4.0% for the first nine months. The first nine months rate was driven by a benefit resulting from legal entity restructuring of our United States vehicle leasing operations in the second quarter of 2026.

Credit Quality

Consumer Portfolio. Credit quality ratings for consumer receivables are based on aging. Receivables over 60 days past due are in intensified collection status.

Non-Consumer Portfolio. The credit quality of dealer financing receivables is evaluated based on our internal dealer risk rating analysis. We use a proprietary model to assign each dealer a risk rating. This model uses historical dealer performance data to identify key factors about a dealer that we consider most significant in predicting a dealer’s ability to meet its financial obligations. We also consider numerous other financial and qualitative factors of the dealer’s operations, including capitalization and leverage, liquidity and cash flow, profitability, and credit history with ourselves and other creditors.

Dealers are assigned to one of four groups according to risk ratings as follows:

•Group I – strong to superior financial metrics

•Group II – fair to favorable financial metrics

•Group III – marginal to weak financial metrics

•Group IV – poor financial metrics, including dealers classified as uncollectible

We generally suspend credit lines and extend no further funding to dealers classified in Group IV.

Finance Receivables and Allowance for Credit Losses

Non-Accrual of Revenue. The accrual of financing revenue is discontinued at the time a receivable is determined to be uncollectible or when it is 90 days past due. Accounts may be restored to accrual status only when a customer settles all past-due deficiency balances and future payments are reasonably assured. For receivables in non-accrual status, subsequent financing revenue is recognized only to the extent a payment is received. Payments are generally applied first to outstanding interest and then to the unpaid principal balance.

Loan Modifications. Consumer and non-consumer receivables that have a modified interest rate and/or a term extension (including receivables that were modified in reorganization proceedings pursuant to the U.S. Bankruptcy Code) are typically considered to be loan modifications. We do not grant modifications to the principal balance of our receivables. If a receivable is modified in a reorganization proceeding, all payment requirements of the reorganization plan need to be met before remaining balances are forgiven.

NOTE 4. FINANCE RECEIVABLES AND ALLOWANCE FOR CREDIT LOSSES (Continued)

During the collection process, we may offer a term extension to a customer experiencing financial difficulty. During the extension period, finance charges continue to accrue. If the customer's financial difficulty is not temporary, but we believe the customer is willing and able to repay their loan at a lower payment amount, we may offer to modify the interest rate and/or extend the term in order to lower the scheduled monthly payment. In those cases, the outstanding balance generally remains unchanged. The use of interest rate modifications and term extensions helps us mitigate financial loss. Term extensions may assist in cases where we believe the customer will recover from short-term financial difficulty and resume regularly scheduled payments. Before offering an interest rate modification or term extension, we evaluate and take into account the capacity of the customer to meet the revised payment terms. Although the granting of an extension could delay the eventual charge-off of a receivable, we are typically able to repossess and sell the related collateral, thereby mitigating the loss. The effect of most loan modifications made to borrowers experiencing financial difficulty is included in the historical trends used to measure the allowance for credit losses. A loan modification that improves the delinquency status of a borrower reduces the probability of default, which results in a lower allowance for credit losses. At September 30, 2026, an insignificant portion of our total finance receivables portfolio had been granted a loan modification and these modifications are generally treated as a continuation of the existing loan.

Allowance for Credit Losses

The allowance for credit losses represents our estimate of the lifetime expected credit losses inherent in finance receivables as of the balance sheet date. The adequacy of the allowance for credit losses is assessed quarterly.

Adjustments to the allowance for credit losses are made by recording charges to Provision for credit losses on our consolidated income statements. The uncollectible portion of a finance receivable is charged to the allowance for credit losses at the earlier of when an account is deemed to be uncollectible or when an account is 120 days delinquent, taking into consideration the financial condition of the customer or borrower, the value of the collateral, recourse to guarantors, and other factors.

Charge-offs on finance receivables include uncollected amounts related to principal, interest, late fees, and other allowable charges. Recoveries on finance receivables previously charged off as uncollectible are credited to the allowance for credit losses. In the event we repossess the collateral, the receivable is charged off and the collateral is recorded at its estimated fair value less costs to sell and reported in Other assets on our consolidated balance sheets.

Net Investment in Operating Leases

Net investment in operating leases consists primarily of lease contracts for vehicles with individuals, daily rental companies, and fleet customers with terms of 60 months or less. Included in Net investment in operating leases are net investment in operating leases that have been sold for legal purposes in securitization transactions but continue to be reported in our consolidated financial statements. See Note 6 for additional information.

Transfers of Receivables and Variable Interest Entities

We securitize finance receivables and net investment in operating leases through a variety of programs using amortizing, variable funding, and revolving structures. We also sell finance receivables, or pledge them as collateral in certain transactions outside of the United States, in other types of structured financing transactions. Due to the similarities between securitization and structured financing, we refer to structured financings as securitization transactions. Our securitization programs are targeted to institutional investors in both public and private transactions in capital markets primarily in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and China.

The finance receivables sold for legal purposes and net investment in operating leases included in securitization transactions are available only for payment of the debt issued by, and other obligations of, the securitization entities that are parties to those securitization transactions. They are not available to pay our other obligations or the claims of our other creditors. The debt is the obligation of our consolidated securitization entities and not the obligation of Ford Credit or our other subsidiaries. We hold the right to receive the excess cash flows not needed to pay the debt issued by, and other obligations of, the securitization entities that are parties to those securitization transactions.

We use special purpose entities (“SPEs”) to issue asset-backed securities in our securitization transactions. We have deemed most of these SPEs to be VIEs of which we are the primary beneficiary, and therefore, are consolidated. The SPEs are established for the sole purpose of financing the securitized financial assets. The SPEs are generally financed through the issuance of notes or commercial paper into the public or private markets or directly with conduits.

We continue to recognize our financial assets related to our sales of receivables when the financial assets are sold to a consolidated VIE or a consolidated voting interest entity. We derecognize our financial assets when the financial assets are sold to a non-consolidated entity and we do not maintain control over the financial assets.

We have the power to direct significant activities of our SPEs when we have the ability to exercise discretion in the servicing of financial assets, issue additional debt, exercise a unilateral call option, add assets to revolving structures, or control investment decisions. We generally retain a portion of the economic interests in the asset-backed securitization transactions, which could be retained in the form of a portion of the senior interests, the subordinated interests, cash reserve accounts, residual interests, and servicing rights. The transfers of assets in our securitization transactions do not qualify for accounting sale treatment.

We have no obligation to repurchase or replace any securitized asset that subsequently becomes delinquent in payment or otherwise is in default, except when representations and warranties about the eligibility of the securitized assets are breached, or when certain changes are made to the underlying asset contracts. Securitization investors have no recourse to us or our other assets other than as provided above and have no right to require us to repurchase the asset-backed securities. We generally have no obligation to provide liquidity or contribute cash or additional assets to the VIEs and do not guarantee any asset-backed securities. We may choose to support the performance of certain securitization transactions, however, by increasing cash reserves.

Certain of our securitization entities may enter into derivative transactions to mitigate interest rate exposure, primarily resulting from fixed-rate assets securing floating-rate debt. In certain instances, the counterparty enters into offsetting derivative transactions with us to mitigate its interest rate risk resulting from derivatives with our securitization entities. These related derivatives are not the obligations of our securitization entities. See Note 7 for additional information regarding the accounting for derivatives.

Derivative Financial Instruments and Hedging Activities

have elected to apply hedge accounting to certain of these instruments. Derivatives that are designated in hedging relationships are evaluated for effectiveness using regression analysis at the time they are designated and throughout the hedge period. Some derivatives do not qualify for hedge accounting; for others, we elect not to apply hedge accounting.

Segment Information

We report segment information consistent with the way our chief operating decision maker (“CODM”), our President and Chief Executive Officer, evaluates the operating results and performance of the Company. We conduct our financing operations directly and indirectly through our subsidiaries and affiliates. We offer substantially similar products and services throughout many different regions, subject to local legal restrictions and market conditions. Our reportable segments are: the United States and Canada, Europe, and All Other. Our All Other reportable segment includes our operations in China, Mexico, and our joint venture in South Africa, as well as wind down activities in Brazil, Argentina, and India.

We report segment earnings on an income before income taxes basis after excluding market valuation adjustments to derivatives and exchange-rate fluctuations on foreign currency-denominated transactions, which are reflected in Unallocated Other. These adjustments are excluded when assessing our segment performance because they are carried out at the corporate level. Our CODM reviews segment earnings on an income before income taxes basis to evaluate performance and allocate resources, predominately in the budgeting, planning, and forecasting processes.

Guarantees and Indemnifications

Guarantees and indemnifications are recorded at fair value at their inception. For financial guarantees, subsequent to initial recognition, the guarantee liability is adjusted at each reporting period to reflect the current estimate of expected payments resulting from possible default events over the remaining life of the guarantee. For non-financial guarantees, we regularly review our performance risk under these arrangements, and in the event it becomes probable we will be required to perform under a guarantee or indemnity, the amount of probable payment is recorded.

In some cases, we have guaranteed debt and other financial obligations of outside third parties and unconsolidated affiliates, including Ford. Expiration dates vary, and guarantees will terminate on payment and/or cancellation of the underlying obligation. A payment by us would be triggered by failure of the third party to fulfill its obligation covered by the guarantee. In some circumstances, we are entitled to recover from a third party amounts paid by us under the guarantee.

In the ordinary course of business, we execute contracts involving indemnifications standard in the industry and indemnifications specific to a transaction, such as the sale of a business. These indemnifications might include and are not limited to claims relating to any of the following: environmental, tax, and shareholder matters; intellectual property rights; governmental regulations and employment-related matters; dealer and other commercial contractual relationships; and financial matters, such as securitizations. Performance under these indemnities generally would be triggered by a breach of contract claim brought by a counterparty or a third-party claim. While some of these indemnifications are limited in nature, many of them do not limit potential payment. Therefore, we are unable to estimate a maximum amount of future payments that could result from claims made under these unlimited indemnities.

Litigation and Claims

Various legal actions, proceedings, and claims (generally, “matters”) are pending or may be instituted or asserted against us. These include, but are not limited to, matters arising out of governmental regulations; tax matters; alleged illegal acts resulting in fines or penalties; financial services; employment-related matters; dealer and other contractual relationships; investor matters; and financial reporting matters. Certain of the pending legal actions are, or purport to be, class actions. Some of the matters involve or may involve claims for compensatory, punitive, or antitrust or other treble damages in very large amounts, sanctions, assessments, or other relief, which, if granted, would require very large expenditures.

The extent of our financial exposure to these matters is difficult to estimate. Many matters do not specify a dollar amount for damages, and many others specify only a jurisdictional minimum. To the extent an amount is asserted, our historical experience suggests that in most instances the amount asserted is not a reliable indicator of the ultimate outcome.

We accrue for matters when losses are deemed probable and reasonably estimable. In evaluating matters for accrual and disclosure purposes, we take into consideration factors such as our historical experience with matters of a similar nature, the specific facts and circumstances asserted, the likelihood that we will prevail, and the severity of any potential loss. We reevaluate and update our accruals as matters progress over time.