Categories: Accounting

What is capital reserve?

The term capital reserve is sometimes used for the capital buffers that banks have to establish to meet regulatory requirements which are different from cash reserves that banks to maintain as per Central Bank (RBI) regulations. In general terms, a capital reserve is an account on the balance sheet of a company that can be used for a sum earmarked for specific purposes or long-term projects or mitigating capital losses or any other long-term contingencies or to offset capital losses.

The capital reserve is created from profit earned on sale of fixed assets at a price greater than its cost or profit made from forfeiture of shares, the reissue of forfeited shares, share premium, Capital Redemption Reserve or Debenture Redemption Reserve, or upward revaluation of assets. In simple words, Capital reserve represents the surplus which is not due to retained earnings. Sums allocated to a capital reserve are permanently invested and cannot be used to pay dividends; therefore they are also known as undistributable reserves.

Surendra Naik

Share
Published by
Surendra Naik

Recent Posts

What is Weighted Marginal Cost of Capital?

The marginal cost of capital (MCC) is the total combined cost of debt, equity, and…

30 minutes ago

Meaning of WACC and factors affecting the WACC

The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the average rate that a business pays…

17 hours ago

Regulations on Interest Rate Resets on EMI based personal loans explained

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) defines a personal loan as a type of unsecured…

18 hours ago

Determining the Proportion:  Preference V/s Equity Shares

A share is a unit of ownership in a company and has an exchangeable value…

1 day ago

Overview: Cost of Debt, Taxation, & Capital Structure

The cost of debt is the interest rate a company pays on its debt, and…

2 days ago

Various Theories/Approaches on Capital Structuring Explained

This article explains the assumptions and key aspects of approaches to capital structuring, including the…

3 days ago