Analysis Of The Balance Sheet Of XY Bank

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In this paper, we review the balance sheet provided or XY Bank and cover the differences between a company and a bank’s balance sheet. Additionally we highlight why some of the balance sheet figures are what they are and look at loans and securities and cash levels held at the bank.

Balance Sheet of XY Bank Analysis To understand why a bank’s balance sheet will be different to a commercial (non-financial) company’s balance sheet we first need to define what information a balance sheet provides. According to Investopedia (n.d.),
“A balance sheet is a financial statement that summarizes a company 's assets, liabilities and shareholders ' equity at a specific point in time. These three balance sheet segments give investors …show more content…

Even though the bank has the customers cash (deposits) on hand it is treated as a liability as the money is owned by the customer and could be withdrawn by the customer at any time. While there are investment opportunities for banks whilst holding customers money (deposits), the bank does have limitations on its investment options and how long these investments options can be made. All of these factors make bank operations and their balance sheets different to a traditional commercial (non-financial) company’s balance …show more content…

This reflects the behaviour that banks prefer loans over securities. Generally common securities for a bank can be bonds, assets and derivatives as well as a few others. These are also referred to as secondary reserves. These securities can be risker for a bank when compared to loans and some securities are not as easy to transfer into cash such as fixed assets. Loans however are easier to setup and fit better with banking business models of borrow shorter and loan longer, as can be seen in the real estate market. Borrowers can be scrutinised for creditworthiness and hence reduce the risk of lending. Loans can also return over time more profit for a bank. It is this combination of more profit, better suited to the longer term lending model of the bank and reduced risk that banks prefer loans over

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