What this form is for
Banks require a Personal Financial Statement when you apply for a business loan or line of credit to assess your personal creditworthiness and ability to guarantee repayment. This snapshot of your individual or household finances shows lenders whether you have sufficient assets to backstop the loan if your business cannot pay.
Before you start
- Recent statements for all bank accounts, brokerage accounts, retirement accounts (401k, IRA), and any other investment accounts showing current balances
- Latest mortgage statement and payoff amount for your primary residence and any investment properties you own
- Current loan balances for auto loans, student loans, credit cards, and any other personal debts
- Recent property tax assessment or appraisal for real estate you own to establish fair market value
- List of personal assets including vehicles (year, make, model, estimated value), life insurance cash value, and valuable personal property over $1,000
Step-by-step
1. Complete the header section with your full legal name, current address, Social Security number, and date of birth. If married and filing jointly, include spouse information in the designated fields.
2. List all cash and liquid assets including checking accounts, savings accounts, money market funds, and certificates of deposit with the financial institution name and current balance for each line item.
3. Itemize marketable securities separately: stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and brokerage accounts with the name of each holding or account and present market value.
4. Enter real estate holdings starting with your primary residence. For each property, provide the address, original purchase price, current market value (based on recent appraisal or tax assessment), and outstanding mortgage balance. Georgia property values should reflect current county assessments where available.
5. List other assets including retirement accounts (noting any early-withdrawal penalties), automobiles with year and make, life insurance cash surrender value, and other valuable items. Total this section.
6. Move to liabilities and debts. Enter all credit card balances, personal loans, auto loans, student loans, and any other amounts owed with creditor name, account number, current balance, and monthly payment.
7. List all mortgage debt and real estate loans matching the properties from your asset section. Include lender name, original loan amount, current balance, monthly payment, and loan maturity date.
8. Calculate total assets and total liabilities, then subtract liabilities from assets to determine your net worth. Double-check all arithmetic before signing.
What lenders look for
- Banks focus heavily on liquidity ratio, meaning cash and near-cash assets versus total debt. A strong personal balance sheet shows at least 20-30 percent of total assets in liquid form, not tied up entirely in home equity or retirement accounts.
- Common mistakes include overstating real estate values without documentation, forgetting to list contingent liabilities like co-signed loans or personal guarantees on other business debts, and omitting credit cards with zero balances that still represent available credit lines.
- Georgia lenders may verify property values against county tax records, so use conservative estimates and have appraisals ready if your stated value exceeds the assessed value by more than 10 percent.