Glossary
Balance sheet

Solvency

Whether the company can survive in the long run, given what it owes.

Solvency asks whether total assets exceed total liabilities, and whether the business generates enough to service its debts over time. Liquidity is about this month; solvency is about the decade.

A company can be liquid but insolvent (plenty of cash, hopeless debts) or solvent but illiquid (valuable assets, no cash to hand). Both kill, on different timescales.

Figure

Why a solvent bank can die in 48 hours

What it owes todayDeposits, repayable on demandWhat it can collect todayCashLong loans and bondsnot due for yearsa rumourForced to sell long assets at bad prices. Paper loss becomes real.

The bank lent your deposit out. That is not a scandal, it is what a bank is. It only becomes fatal when everyone asks for their money on the same afternoon.

Why it matters

It determines whether the equity is worth anything at all in a bad scenario.

The mistake everyone makes

Assuming a profitable year means a solvent balance sheet.

Related terms

See Solvency on a real company

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