MASTERCARD INCORPORATED NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued) (In thousands, except percent and per share data) The Company does not make any contributions to its Postretirement Plan other than funding benefits payments.
The following table summarizes expected net benefit payments from the Company’s general assets through 2018:
## Table 0 ##
The Company provides limited postemployment benefits to eligible former U. S.  employees, primarily severance under a formal severance plan (the “Severance Plan”).
The Company accounts for severance expense in accordance with SFAS No.112, “Employers’ Accounting for Postemployment Benefits” by accruing the expected cost of the severance benefits expected to be provided to former employees after employment over their relevant service periods.
The Company updates the assumptions in determining the severance accrual by evaluating the actual severance activity and long-term trends underlying the assumptions.
As a result of updating the assumptions, the Company recorded severance expense (benefit) related to the Severance Plan of $2,643, $(3,418) and $8,400, respectively, during the years 2008, 2007 and 2006.
The Company has an accrued liability related to the Severance Plan and other severance obligations in the amount of $63,863 and $56,172 at December 31, 2008 and 2007, respectively.
Note 13.
Debt On April 28, 2008, the Company extended its committed unsecured revolving credit facility, dated as of April 28, 2006 (the “Credit Facility”), for an additional year.
The new expiration date of the Credit Facility is April 26, 2011.
The available funding under the Credit Facility will remain at $2,500,000 through April 27, 2010 and then decrease to $2,000,000 during the final year of the Credit Facility agreement.
Other terms and conditions in the Credit Facility remain unchanged.
The Company’s option to request that each lender under the Credit Facility extend its commitment was provided pursuant to the original terms of the Credit Facility agreement.
Borrowings under the facility are available to provide liquidity in the event of one or more settlement failures by MasterCard International customers and, subject to a limit of $500,000, for general corporate purposes.
A facility fee of 8 basis points on the total commitment, or approximately $2,030, is paid annually.
Interest on borrowings under the Credit Facility would be charged at the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) plus an applicable margin of 37 basis points or an alternative base rate, and a utilization fee of 10 basis points would be charged if outstanding borrowings under the facility exceed 50% of commitments.
The facility fee and borrowing cost are contingent upon the Company’s credit rating.
The Company also agreed to pay upfront fees of $1,250 and administrative fees of $325 for the Credit Facility which are being amortized straightline over three years.
Facility and other fees associated with the Credit Facility or prior facilities totaled $2,353, $2,477 and $2,717 for each of the years ended December 31, 2008, 2007 and 2006, respectively.
MasterCard was in compliance with the covenants of the Credit Facility and had no borrowings under the Credit Facility at December 31, 2008 or December 31, 2007.
The majority of Credit Facility lenders are customers or affiliates of customers of MasterCard International.
In June 1998, MasterCard International issued ten-year unsecured, subordinated notes (the “Notes”) paying a fixed interest rate of 6.67% per annum.
MasterCard repaid the entire principal amount of $80,000 on June 30,
The following table summarizes the primary drivers of changes in adjusted operating expenses in 2016 and 2015:
## Table 1 ##
Note: Table may not sum due to rounding.
** Not meaningful.1 Includes foreign currency transactional impact versus 2014.2 See “Non-GAAP Financial Information” for further information on Special Items.3.
Represents the foreign currency translational and transactional impact versus 2015.4 Represents the foreign currency translational impact versus 2014.
General and Administrative General and administrative expenses increased 11% in 2016 versus 2015 and increased 6% in 2015 versus 2014.
Excluding the impact of the U. S.  Employee Pension Plan Settlement Charge, adjusted general and administrative expenses increased 14% in 2016 versus 2015 and increased 3% in 2015 versus 2014.
In 2016, adjusted general and administrative expenses increased primarily due to higher personnel cost and the lapping of the impact of foreign exchange activity gains in 2015, partially offset by improved cost controls.
In 2015, the increase was due to acquisitions and higher data processing costs, partially offset by improved cost controls, the favorable impact of foreign currency translation, lapping of the impact of the restructuring charge taken in 2014 and foreign exchange activity gains.
The significant components of our general and administrative expenses were as follows:
## Table 2 ##
Note: Table may not sum due to rounding.
** Not meaningful.1 See “Non-GAAP Financial Information” for further information on Special Items.
The primary drivers of changes in general and administrative expenses in 2016 and 2015 were: ?
Personnel expenses increased 6% in 2016 versus 2015 and 2% in 2015 versus 2014.
These percentage changes include the impact of the U. S.  Employee Pension Plan Settlement Charge of $79 million recorded in 2015, which decreased Personnel expense growth by 4 percentage points for 2016 and increased it by 4 percentage points for 2015.
Excluding the impact of the U. S.  Employee Pension Plan Settlement Charge, adjusted Personnel expense grew 10% for 2016 versus 2015 and decreased 2% for 2015 versus 2014.
The adjusted 2016 increase was driven by a higher number of employees to support our continued investment in the areas of digital, services, data analytics and geographic expansion.
The adjusted 2015 decrease was due to the lapping of the restructuring charge of $87 million recorded in 2014 and improved cost controls, partially offset by an increase in the number of employees resulting from our acquisitions.
Net cash used in financing activities decreased $165 million in 2016 versus 2015, primarily due to higher proceeds from debt, partially offset by higher dividends paid.
Net cash used in financing activities increased $119 million in 2015 versus 2014, primarily due to higher dividends paid and an increase in purchases of treasury stock in 2015, partially offset by increased proceeds from debt in 2015.
The table below shows a summary of select balance sheet data at December 31:
## Table 3 ##
The Company believes that its existing cash, cash equivalents and investment securities balances, its cash flow generating capabilities, its borrowing capacity and its access to capital resources are sufficient to satisfy its future operating cash needs, capital asset purchases, outstanding commitments and other liquidity requirements associated with its existing operations and potential obligations.
Debt and Credit Availability In November 2016, the Company issued $650 million aggregate principal amount of notes due 2021, $750 million aggregate principal amount of notes due 2026 and $600 million aggregate principal amount of notes due 2046 (collectively the “2016 USD Notes”).
Including the 2016 USD Notes, our total debt outstanding as of December 31, 2016 was $5,239 million (collectively the “Notes”).
The Company is not subject to any financial covenants under the Notes.
The Notes are senior unsecured obligations and would rank equally with any future unsecured and unsubordinated indebtedness.
The proceeds of the Notes are being used for general corporate purposes.
The Company has established a commercial paper program (the “Commercial Paper Program”), under which the Company is authorized to issue up to $3.75 billion in outstanding notes, with maturities up to 397 days from the date of issuance.
In conjunction with the Commercial Paper Program, the Company has entered into a committed unsecured $3.75 billion revolving credit facility (the “Credit Facility”) which expires in October 2021.
Borrowings under the Commercial Paper Program and the Credit Facility are to provide liquidity for general corporate purposes, including providing liquidity in the event of one or more settlement failures by the Company’s customers.
In addition, the Company may borrow and repay amounts under these facilities for business continuity purposes.
Mastercard had no borrowings outstanding under the Commercial Paper Program or the Credit Facility at December 31, 2016 and 2015.
See Note 12 (Debt) to the consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 for further discussion on the Notes, the Commercial Paper Program and the Credit Facility.
In June 2015, the Company filed a universal shelf registration statement to provide additional access to capital, if needed.
Pursuant to the shelf registration statement, the Company may from time to time offer to sell debt securities, preferred stock, Class A common stock, depository shares, purchase contracts, units or warrants in one or more offerings.
Dividends and Share Repurchases Mastercard has historically paid quarterly dividends on its outstanding Class A common stock and Class B common stock.
Subject to legally available funds, we intend to continue to pay a quarterly cash dividend.
However, the declaration and payment of future dividends is at the sole discretion of our Board of Directors after taking into account various factors, including our financial condition, operating results, available cash and current and anticipated cash needs.
The following table summarizes the annual, per share dividends paid in the years reflected:

Tables referenced above, in order (Table 0 first):
<table><tr><td></td><td>Benefit Payments</td><td>Expected Subsidy Receipts</td><td>Net Benefit Payments</td></tr><tr><td>2009</td><td>$2,641</td><td>$77</td><td>$2,564</td></tr><tr><td>2010</td><td>3,139</td><td>91</td><td>3,048</td></tr><tr><td>2011</td><td>3,561</td><td>115</td><td>3,446</td></tr><tr><td>2012</td><td>3,994</td><td>140</td><td>3,854</td></tr><tr><td>2013</td><td>4,357</td><td>169</td><td>4,188</td></tr><tr><td>2014 – 2018</td><td>25,807</td><td>1,269</td><td>24,538</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td></td><td colspan="10">For the Years Ended December 31,</td></tr><tr><td></td><td colspan="2">Operational</td><td colspan="2">Special Items<sup>2</sup></td><td colspan="2">Acquisitions</td><td colspan="2">Foreign Currency</td><td colspan="2">Total</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>2016</td><td>2015<sup>1</sup></td><td>2016</td><td>2015</td><td>2016</td><td>2015</td><td>2016<sup>3</sup></td><td>2015<sup>4</sup></td><td>2016</td><td>2015</td></tr><tr><td>General and administrative</td><td>15%</td><td>-1%</td><td>-3%</td><td>3%</td><td>1%</td><td>7%</td><td>-1%</td><td>-3%</td><td>11%</td><td>6%</td></tr><tr><td>Advertising and marketing</td><td>—%</td><td>2%</td><td>—%</td><td>—%</td><td>—%</td><td>—%</td><td>-1%</td><td>-7%</td><td>-1%</td><td>-5%</td></tr><tr><td>Depreciation and amortization</td><td>—%</td><td>4%</td><td>—%</td><td>—%</td><td>4%</td><td>11%</td><td>-2%</td><td>-1%</td><td>2%</td><td>14%</td></tr><tr><td>Provision for litigation settlements</td><td>**</td><td>**</td><td>**</td><td>**</td><td>**</td><td>**</td><td>**</td><td>**</td><td>**</td><td>**</td></tr><tr><td>Total operating expenses</td><td>11%</td><td>1%</td><td>-1%</td><td>3%</td><td>1%</td><td>6%</td><td>-1%</td><td>-4%</td><td>9%</td><td>6%</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td></td><td colspan="3">For the Years Ended December 31,</td><td colspan="2">Percent Increase (Decrease)</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>2016</td><td>2015</td><td>2014</td><td>2016</td><td>2015</td></tr><tr><td></td><td colspan="5">(in millions, except percentages)</td></tr><tr><td>Personnel</td><td>$2,225</td><td>$2,105</td><td>$2,064</td><td>6%</td><td>2%</td></tr><tr><td>Professional fees</td><td>337</td><td>310</td><td>307</td><td>9%</td><td>1%</td></tr><tr><td>Data processing and telecommunications</td><td>420</td><td>362</td><td>273</td><td>16%</td><td>33%</td></tr><tr><td>Foreign exchange activity</td><td>34</td><td>-82</td><td>-30</td><td>**</td><td>**</td></tr><tr><td>Other</td><td>698</td><td>646</td><td>538</td><td>8%</td><td>20%</td></tr><tr><td>General and administrative expenses</td><td>3,714</td><td>3,341</td><td>3,152</td><td>11%</td><td>6%</td></tr><tr><td>Special Item<sup>1</sup></td><td>—</td><td>-79</td><td>—</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Adjusted general and administrative expenses (excluding Special Item)<sup>1</sup></td><td>$3,714</td><td>$3,262</td><td>$3,152</td><td>14%</td><td>3%</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td></td><td>2016</td><td>2015</td></tr><tr><td></td><td colspan="2">(in millions)</td></tr><tr><td>Balance Sheet Data:</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Current assets</td><td>$13,228</td><td>$10,984</td></tr><tr><td>Current liabilities</td><td>7,206</td><td>6,269</td></tr><tr><td>Long-term liabilities</td><td>5,785</td><td>3,919</td></tr><tr><td>Equity</td><td>5,684</td><td>6,062</td></tr></table>

Question: In which year is General and administrative expenses the largest?
Answer: 2016