Glossary - B

The process of moving an outstanding balance from one credit card to another. This transfer is usually done to obtain a lower interest rate on the outstanding balance. Transfers are sometimes subjected to a Balance Transfer Fee.

In general, a banking day is any business day (up to the financial institution’s cut-off time) when the institution is open for substantially all of its banking activities.

A person, firm, or corporation, which has insufficient assets to cover their debts. The debtor seeks relief through a court proceeding to work out a payment schedule or erase debts. In some cases, the debtor must surrender control of all assets to a court-appointed trustee.

The legal proceedings by which the affairs of a bankrupt person are turned over to a trustee or receiver for administration under the bankruptcy laws. There are two types of bankruptcy:

• Involuntary bankruptcy-one or more creditors of an insolvent debtor file a petition having the debtor declared bankrupt.
• Voluntary bankruptcy-the debtor files a petition claiming inability to meet financial obligations and willingness to be declared bankrupt.

Base Price is the cost of a car without options, but includes standard equipment and factory warranty. It is also known as sticker price.

A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a share account, will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract.

The time interval between the dates on which regular periodic statements are issued.

The month, date, and year when a periodic or monthly statement is generated. Calculations have been performed for appropriate finance charges, minimum payment due, and new balance.

A charge that appears on a periodic statement associated with an extension of credit (e.g., credit card) that includes:

• unauthorized charges by a merchant to either a credit card, debit card ,or share account
• charges not accepted by the cardholder or the cardholder's designee.

A billing error can also be caused by a creditor's failure to credit a payment, or other credit, to an account as well as accounting and clerical errors.

Savings bonds are issued in face value denominations by the U.S. Government in denominations ranging from $50 to $10,000. They are typically long-term, low-risk investment tools.

A budget is a plan on how much to save each week or month to make a purchase or to reach a savings goal.

In general, a business day is defined as Mondays through Fridays except most federal holidays.