How to Understand Bank Financial Statements

Understanding the basics of bank financial statements is key to keeping up with your accounts and making sure there haven't been any errors with your money. With solid knowledge of how to read your statement, you'll be able to keep a better handle on your money.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Notice the account number on your statement. This number is the unique identifier for your account. No other person at your banking institution will have the same number.

2. Look for the statement period on your bank financial statement, which is typically somewhere near the top of the statement. Usually, the statement period is 1 month, though some periods may last 2 months or even a quarter. Transactions listed on your statement will fall within the dates listed.

3. See the account summary portion to find your balance at the beginning of the statement period as well as the total withdrawals and deposits for the statement period. This section will also list the total service charges and your new balance as of the end of the statement period.

4. Look at the checks and debits section to see a summary of the money that was taken from your account during the statement period. This will include withdrawals of all types, including teller and ATM withdrawals, ACH payments, service charges and checks.

5. Peruse the detailed check list on your bank financial statement to see details about each check that was cashed from your account, including the date it was cashed, the amount and the check number.

6. Check the deposit and credit section to see all teller and ATM deposits you made during the statement period. You'll also find ACH deposits, interest and other types of credits here.

7. See the daily balance summary to find the transactions for your account on each day of the statement period.

Tips & Warnings

• If your bank charges a maintenance fee for your account, you'll usually find this charge in the debit and withdrawal section.
• If you notice that your financial statements don't separate transactions by debits and credits, don't panic. These transactions will still be available for you to view, with one transaction shown on each line. This is your transaction detail, which is typically provided in chronological order. You simply won’t have transactions broken up by category.
• If you have a savings account, you can expect your statement to have many of the features of a checking account statement, except you won't have a list of check withdrawals.