Glossary

Clear explanations, formulas, and sources for key investing terms — designed to help early investors build true financial insight.

Published by RecursiveGains.com on Mar 21, 2025

Assets

Assets – Resources owned by a company that have economic value, such as cash, loans, investments, or property.
Found In: Balance Sheet

Book Value

BVPS – The value of a company's assets minus its liabilities divided by the number of shares outstanding.
Found In: Balance Sheet Formula:

Book Value = Total Assets - Total Liabilities
BVPS = (Total Assets - Total Liabilities) / Shares Outstanding

CASA Ratio

Current Account and Savings Account Ratio – A measure of how much of a bank’s deposits come from low-cost sources. Higher CASA means cheaper funding and better margins.
Found In: Balance Sheet Formula:

CASA Ratio = (Current Account Deposits + Savings Account Deposits) / Total Deposits

Cost-to-Income Ratio

Efficiency Ratio – Measures how efficiently a company, particularly a bank, is operating by comparing operating expenses to operating income.
Found In: Income Statement Formula:

Cost-to-Income Ratio = Operating Expenses / Operating Income

Credit Risk Metrics

Credit Quality Indicators – Measures of a bank’s loan quality and risk, such as Non-Performing Loans (NPLs), Loans at Risk (LAR), Loan Loss Provisions, and Loan Loss Coverage Ratio.
Found In: Balance Sheet, Income Statement

Dividend Payout Ratio

Cash Return Ratio – Percentage of net income distributed to shareholders in the form of dividends.
Found In: Income Statement, Cash Flow Statement Formula:

Dividend Payout Ratio = Dividends Paid / Net Income

Fee Income

Non-Interest Revenue – Income from services like wealth management, credit cards, remittances, and transaction banking.
Found In: Income Statement

LAR

Loans at Risk – Includes non-performing loans and special-mention loans that could become problematic, often used as a broader credit risk indicator.
Found In: Balance Sheet

Liabilities

Liabilities – Financial obligations or debts a company owes to others, including loans, bonds, or payable accounts.
Found In: Balance Sheet

Loan-to-Deposit Ratio

LDR – Measures a bank’s liquidity by comparing its total loans to its total deposits. A lower ratio indicates greater liquidity.
Found In: Balance Sheet Formula:

Loan-to-Deposit Ratio = Total Loans / Total Deposits

Net Income

Bottom Line – The total profit of a company after deducting all expenses, taxes, and costs.
Found In: Income Statement Formula:

Net Income = Total Revenue - Total Expenses

NIM

Net Interest Margin – The spread between interest income generated by banks and the amount of interest paid to their depositors, relative to their total interest-earning assets.
Found In: Income Statement, Balance Sheet Formula:

NIM = (Interest Income - Interest Expense) / Average Earning Assets

Non-Performing Loan (NPL)

NPL – Loans on which the borrower is not making interest payments or repaying any principal.
Found In: Balance Sheet

Operating Expenses

OPEX – Costs incurred in the normal course of running a business, such as salaries, rent, IT costs, and marketing.
Found In: Income Statement

Operating Income

Operating Profit – Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT); revenue minus operating expenses.
Found In: Income Statement Formula:

Operating Income = Revenue - Operating Expenses

P/B Ratio

Price to Book Ratio – A ratio used to compare a stock's market value to its book value.
Found In: Market Data, Balance Sheet Formula:

P/B Ratio = Market Price per Share / Book Value per Share

P/E Ratio

Price to Earnings Ratio – A valuation metric comparing a company’s current share price to its per-share earnings.
Found In: Market Data, Income Statement Formula:

P/E Ratio = Market Price per Share / Earnings per Share

Provisioning

Credit Cost Management – Amount set aside by a bank to cover potential loan losses.
Found In: Income Statement, Balance Sheet

ROA

Return on Assets – An indicator of how profitable a company is relative to its total assets.
Found In: Income Statement, Balance Sheet Formula:

ROA = Net Income / Average Total Assets

ROE

Return on Equity – A measure of profitability that calculates how much profit a company generates with the money shareholders have invested.
Found In: Income Statement, Balance Sheet Formula:

ROE = Net Income / Average Shareholders' Equity

Shares Outstanding

Share Count – The total number of a company's shares that are currently owned by all its shareholders, including institutional investors and insiders.
Found In: Balance Sheet


Balance Sheet

Balance Sheet – A financial statement showing a company's assets, liabilities, and equity at a specific point in time. It answers: What do we own and what do we owe?


Cash Flow Statement

Cash Flow Statement – A financial report that tracks the inflow and outflow of cash and cash equivalents over a period. It shows operational, investing, and financing cash movements.


Income Statement

Income Statement – A financial statement summarizing revenues, expenses, and profits or losses over a period. It answers: Did we make money or lose money?