Loan Loss Provision

Loan Loss Provision

A non-cash expense for banks to account for future losses on loan defaults. Banks assume that a certain percentage of loans will default or become slow-paying. Banks enter a percentage as an expense when calculating their pre-tax incomes. This guarantees a bank's solvency and capitalization if and when the defaults occur. The loan loss provision allocated each year increases with the riskiness of the loans a given bank makes. A bank making a small number of risky loans will have a low loan loss provision compared to a bank taking higher risks.