34.2. Credit and default risk

The credit and default risk arising from financial assets involves the risk of default by counterparties, and therefore comprises at a maximum the amount of the claims under carrying amounts receivable from them and the irrevocable credit commitments. The maximum potential credit and default risk is reduced by collateral held and other credit enhancements in the amount of €66,555 million (previous year: €68,763 million). The collateral held relates solely to financial assets carried at amortized cost and mainly serves to secure financial services receivables and trade receivables. Collateral comprises vehicles and assets transferred as security, as well as guarantees and real property liens. Cash collateral is also used in hedging transactions. The risk arising from nonderivative financial instruments is also accounted for by recognizing bad debt losses. Significant cash and capital investments, as well as derivatives, are only entered into with national and international banks of good credit standing. Risk is additionally limited by a limit system based primarily on credit assessments by international rating agencies and on the equity base of the counterparties concerned. Financial guarantees issued also give rise to credit and default risk. The maximum potential credit and default risk is calculated from the amount Volkswagen would have to pay if claims were to be asserted under the guarantees. The corresponding amounts are presented in the Liquidity risk section.

There were no material concentrations of risk at individual counterparties or counterparty groups in the past fiscal year due to the global allocation of the Group’s business activities and the resulting diversification. There was hardly any change in the concentration of credit and default risk exposures to the German public banking sector as a whole that has arisen from Group-wide cash and capital investments as well as derivatives: the portion attributable to this sector was 14.6% at the end of 2014 compared with 12.9% at the end of 2013. Any existing concentration of risk is assessed and monitored both at the level of individual counterparties or counterparty groups and with regard to the countries in which these are based, in each case using the share of all credit and default risk exposures accounted for by the risk exposure concerned.

There are no past due financial instruments measured at fair value in the Volkswagen Group. In fiscal year 2014, marketable securities measured at fair value with a cost of €97 million (previous year: €85 million) were individually impaired.

The Volkswagen Group performs a credit assessment of borrowers in all loan and lease agreements, using scoring systems for the high-volume business and rating systems for corporate customers and receivables from dealer financing. Receivables rated as good are contained in risk class 1. Receivables from customers whose credit rating is not good but have not yet defaulted are contained in risk class 2.

Collateral that was accepted for financial assets in the current fiscal year was recognized in the balance sheet in the amount of €94 million (previous year: €103 million). This mainly relates to vehicles.