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Your money and the financial system Page 10<br />

Why is a bank’s capital important<br />

An unexpected slowdown in the economy can mean<br />

some borrowers get behind on their repayments and<br />

some loans may not get repaid at all.<br />

Solvent<br />

bank<br />

A bank can make financial<br />

losses if some of its risky loans<br />

are not repaid.<br />

This shows up on its balance sheet<br />

as a fall in the value of its assets.<br />

A BANK<br />

BALANCE SHEET<br />

LIABILITIES<br />

ASSETS<br />

CAPITAL<br />

– SHAREHOLDERS’ MONEY<br />

– RESERVES FROM PAST PROFITS<br />

DEPOSITS<br />

– MONEY IN CURRENT ACCOUNTS<br />

– MONEY IN SAVINGS ACCOUNTS<br />

LOSSES ON RISKY LOANS<br />

– TO HOUSEHOLDS<br />

– TO BUSINESSES<br />

– TO OTHER BANKS<br />

SAFER LOANS<br />

– TO HOUSEHOLDS<br />

– TO BUSINESSES<br />

– TO OTHER BANKS<br />

A bank’s capital acts as a<br />

shock absorber to pay for<br />

the unexpected losses it<br />

makes on its risky loans.<br />

Its balance sheet shows a<br />

fall in capital equal to the<br />

value of its losses.<br />

A solvent bank<br />

has more than<br />

enough capital<br />

to pay for the<br />

unexpected<br />

losses it makes<br />

on risky loans.<br />

In the picture, the<br />

white box labelled<br />

CAPITAL is larger<br />

than LOSSES ON<br />

RISKY LOANS.<br />

BONDS<br />

– MONEY FROM BOND SALES<br />

TO INVESTORS<br />

LIQUID ASSETS<br />

– CASH<br />

– DEPOSITS AT BANK OF ENGLAND<br />

– GOVERNMENT BONDS<br />

This protects a<br />

bank’s depositors<br />

and the money<br />

it borrows from<br />

investors.

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