reserve for bad debts

Such increases point to the distinct possibility that reserves for bad debts will rise, cutting into earnings.

Citicorp's Example The most dramatic of these announcements came in May when Citicorp said it would add $3 billion to its reserve for bad debts.

They notably include the booking of reserves for bad debts and contingent liabilities and the devaluation of inventory and financial assets.

By raising its reserve for bad debts owed to it by customers by $2.9 million, IDB partly offset the profits from the sale of satellite rights.

The company had no reserve for bad debts, a fact that bears on the stock have complained bitterly about, particularly since the area developers have been losing money at a rapid rate - $156.5 million last year.

But Microsoft also sets aside non-public reserves for bad debts, returned products and other related business contingencies, and it is possible that the S.E.C. investigation is related to those practices.

In banking, the Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses (ALLL), formerly known as the reserve for bad debts, is a calculated reserve that financial institutions establish in relation to the estimated credit risk within the institution's assets.