American Express 2015 Annual Report Download - page 90

TABLE 22: UNSECURED DEBT RATINGS
Credit Agency Entity Rated Short-Term Ratings Long-Term Ratings Outlook
DBRS ......................... Allrated entities R-1 (middle) A (high) Stable
Fitch .......................... Allrated entities F1 A+ Stable
Moody’s ....................... TRSandrated operating subsidiaries (a) Prime-1 A2 Stable
Moody’s ....................... American Express Company Prime-2 A3 Stable
S&P .......................... TRSandrated operating subsidiaries (a)(b) A-2 A- Stable
S&P .......................... American Express Company A-2 BBB+ Stable
(a) American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.
(b) S&P does not provide a rating for TRS short-term debt.
Downgrades in the ratings of our unsecured debt or asset securitization program securities could result in higher
funding costs, as well as higher fees related to borrowings under our unused lines of credit. Declines in credit ratings
could also reduce our borrowing capacity in the unsecured debt and asset securitization capital markets. We believe
our funding mix, including the proportion of U.S. retail deposits insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
(FDIC), should reduce the impact that credit rating downgrades would have on our funding capacity and costs.
SHORT-TERM FUNDING PROGRAMS
Short-term borrowings, such as commercial paper, are defined as any debt with an original maturity of 12 months
or less, as well as interest-bearing overdrafts with banks. Our short-term funding programs are used primarily to meet
working capital needs, such as managing seasonal variations in receivables balances. The amount of short-term
borrowings issued in the future will depend on our funding strategy, our needs and market conditions.
We had the following short-term borrowings outstanding as of December 31:
TABLE 23: SHORT-TERM BORROWINGS OUTSTANDING
(Billions) 2015 2014
Commercial paper (a) ........................................................................ $ 2.1 $0.8
Other short-term borrowings ................................................................. 2.7 2.7
Total ...................................................................................... $4.8 $3.5
(a) Average commercial paper outstanding was $0.9 billion and $0.2 billion in 2015 and 2014, respectively.
Refer to Note 9 to the “Consolidated Financial Statements” for further description of these borrowings.
DEPOSIT PROGRAMS
We offer deposits within our American Express Centurion Bank (Centurion Bank) and American Express Bank,
FSB (American Express Bank) subsidiaries (together, the Banks). These funds are currently insured up to $250,000
per account holder through the FDIC. Our ability to obtain deposit funding and offer competitive interest rates is
dependent on the Banks’ capital levels. We, through the American Express Bank, have a direct retail deposit program,
Personal Savings from American Express, to supplement our distribution of deposit products sourced through third-
party distribution channels. The direct retail program makes FDIC-insured certificates of deposit (CDs) and high-yield
savings account products available directly to consumers.
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