24 Hour Loans glossary of financial terms

Balance Outstanding

The balance outstanding is the term used by the financial industry to describe the sum(s) that are still owed on a lending account or a product such as a loan, credit card or a mortgage. So, for example, if you have a mortgage then, at any given time during the life of the loan, you will have a balance outstanding on it ? this will be the money that you still owe to your lender. You will usually receive a formal record of this outstanding balance in your annual mortgage statement. In some cases, the balance outstanding may be calculated to include any interest that will be repaid during the course of a loan.

The term is also widely used in the credit card industry and you may come across it in balance transfers. Here, you will change credit cards and take your balance outstanding with you ? so you?ll transfer what you owe to your new credit card provider, for example.