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Securities, Investments, and Off-Balance-Sheet Items

Balance-sheet terms for available-for-sale securities, trading securities, investment premiums, and off-balance-sheet reporting.

Securities, Investments, and Off-Balance-Sheet Items is the financial-statement landing page for available-for-sale securities, trading securities, investment premiums, and off-balance-sheet reporting. It keeps related terms in one branch so readers can move from a broad statement question to the article that owns the evidence.

Use this page when an investment classification or off-balance-sheet item changes risk, measurement, or leverage analysis. Use the parent Balance Sheet Assets, Liabilities, and Equity page when you need the broader reporting map. For an individual decision, confirm the statement line, disclosure note, reporting period, measurement basis, and calculation before relying on the term.

Use the table below to move from this landing page into the term page that best matches the statement evidence.

Key Terms in This Branch

TermUse it for
Available-for-Sale SecuritiesAvailable-for-Sale Securities is a investment or off-balance-sheet term used to place the narrower article in the right statement, period, and disclosure context.
Held-For-Trading SecurityHeld-For-Trading Security is a investment or off-balance-sheet term used to place the narrower article in the right statement, period, and disclosure context.
Off-Balance-SheetOff-Balance-Sheet is a investment or off-balance-sheet term used to place the narrower article in the right statement, period, and disclosure context.
Trading SecuritiesTrading Securities is a investment or off-balance-sheet term used to place the narrower article in the right statement, period, and disclosure context.
Unamortized Premiums on InvestmentsUnamortized Premiums on Investments is a investment or off-balance-sheet term used to place the narrower article in the right statement, period, and disclosure context.

Example in Use

A guarantee or structured arrangement may create risk even when the related asset or liability is not shown as ordinary debt.

What to Check

  • Security classification, fair-value treatment, amortized cost basis, premium or discount, and holding intent.
  • Off-balance-sheet exposure, guarantee, consolidation assessment, and note disclosure.
  • Unrealized gains or losses, OCI treatment, liquidity classification, and impairment signal.
  • Effect on leverage, earnings volatility, equity, liquidity, and risk exposure.

Common Mistakes

  • Ignoring note disclosures for obligations that are not obvious on the face of the balance sheet.
  • Comparing investment balances without checking classification and fair-value treatment.
  • Treating trading securities and available-for-sale securities as interchangeable.

Securities & Off-Balance-Sheet content is educational and does not provide personalized investment, tax, legal, accounting, audit, valuation, or securities advice.

In this section

Choose a subsection first. Deeper term pages live inside each subsection, which keeps large topic hubs readable.

Available-for-Sale Securities

Available-for-Sale Securities is a balance-sheet asset concept used to classify resources, liquidity, or future economic benefits.

Held-For-Trading Security

Held-For-Trading Security is a balance-sheet asset concept used to classify resources, liquidity, or future economic benefits.

Off-Balance-Sheet

Financial-reporting term for assets, liabilities, or structures not recorded directly on the balance sheet in the ordinary presentation.

Trading Securities

Trading securities are financial assets acquired primarily for generating profit from short-term fluctuations in market prices.

Revised on Sunday, June 21, 2026