Comerica 2014 Annual Report Download - page 137

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Comerica Incorporated and Subsidiaries
F-100
parent company, with prior approval from bank regulatory agencies, approximated $375 million at January 1, 2015, plus 2015 net
profits. Substantially all the assets of the Corporation’s banking subsidiaries are restricted from transfer to the parent company of
the Corporation in the form of loans or advances.
The Corporation’s subsidiary banks declared dividends of $380 million, $480 million and $497 million in 2014, 2013
and 2012, respectively.
The Corporation and its U.S. banking subsidiaries are subject to various regulatory capital requirements administered by
federal and state banking agencies. Quantitative measures established by regulation to ensure capital adequacy require the
maintenance of minimum amounts and ratios of Tier 1 and total capital (as defined in the regulations) to average and risk-weighted
assets. Failure to meet minimum capital requirements can initiate certain mandatory and possibly additional discretionary actions
by regulators that, if undertaken, could have a direct material effect on the Corporation’s financial statements. At December 31,
2014 and 2013, the Corporation and its U.S. banking subsidiaries exceeded the ratios required for an institution to be considered
“well capitalized” (total risk-based capital, Tier 1 risk-based capital and leverage ratios greater than 10 percent, 6 percent and 5
percent, respectively). There have been no conditions or events since December 31, 2014 that management believes have changed
the capital adequacy classification of the Corporation or its U.S. banking subsidiaries.
The following is a summary of the capital position of the Corporation and Comerica Bank, its principal banking subsidiary.
(dollar amounts in millions)
Comerica
Incorporated
(Consolidated) Comerica Bank
December 31, 2014
Tier 1 capital (minimum-$2.7 billion (Consolidated)) 7,169 7,051
Total capital (minimum-$5.5 billion (Consolidated)) 8,543 8,175
Risk-weighted assets 68,273 68,037
Average assets (fourth quarter) 69,284 69,092
Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets (minimum-4.0%) 10.50% 10.36%
Total capital to risk-weighted assets (minimum-8.0%) 12.51 12.02
Tier 1 capital to average assets (minimum-3.0%) 10.35 10.20
December 31, 2013
Tier 1 capital (minimum-$2.6 billion (Consolidated)) $ 6,895 $ 6,803
Total capital (minimum-$5.2 billion (Consolidated)) 8,491 8,340
Risk-weighted assets 64,825 64,629
Average assets (fourth quarter) 64,017 63,836
Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets (minimum-4.0%) 10.64 % 10.53 %
Total capital to risk-weighted assets (minimum-8.0%) 13.10 12.90
Tier 1 capital to average assets (minimum-3.0%) 10.77 10.66
NOTE 21 - CONTINGENT LIABILITIES
Legal Proceedings
As previously reported in the Corporation's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013 and updated in Forms 10-
Q for the quarterly periods ended March 31, 2014, June 30, 2014 and September 30, 2014, Comerica Bank, a wholly owned
subsidiary of the Corporation, was sued in November 2011 as a third-party defendant in Butte Local Development v. Masters Group
v. Comerica Bank (“the case”), for lender liability. The case was tried in January 2014, in the Montana Second District Judicial
Court for Silver Bow County in Butte, Montana ("the court"). On January 17, 2014, a jury awarded Masters $52 million against
the Bank. Following the jury’s decision on the case, the Corporation increased its reserve for litigation-related expense, effective
as of December 31, 2013, to $52 million. The Corporation increased its reserve related to the case to $54 million in March 2014,
to include additional attorney's fees and costs awarded by the court.
The Corporation believes that it has meritorious defenses and appellate issues for this litigation and has appealed to the
Montana Supreme Court, the sole appellate court for the state of Montana. The Montana Supreme Court heard oral arguments in
September 2014 and will be rendering a written decision on the appeal.