DictionaryMoney

Bank statement: what it means

A bank statement is the summary your bank or credit union gives you of the activity in your account over a period: deposits, withdrawals, payments and the ending balance. Most send one every month, on paper or online; the law only requires a monthly statement when there was at least one electronic transfer that month, and otherwise it may come quarterly.

In Spanish it is

Estado de cuenta bancario

Also written as: account statement · checking account statement

A pregnant woman takes groceries out of the car in front of her garage.

Verified on October 17, 2026

2 official sources

See the whole dictionary

The full explanation

When you apply for a mortgage, the lender can use your statements to verify you have money for the down payment, closing and reserves. Under Fannie Mae's rules, they must show the bank's name, your name, part of the account number, the period, all transactions and the ending balance.

An example

For his mortgage application, Samuel downloads his complete statements for the last few months from his bank's app and sends them to the lender.

You will see it in…

Your bank's or credit union's app or website
The document list for your mortgage application
The review of your funds to close and your reserves

Words that go with it

You will rarely see this word alone. These are the ones that show up with it on the same papers.

More guides that use “bank statement”

Still confused by a paper?

A HUD-approved housing counselor can walk you through it. Agencies usually charge little or nothing, many work in Spanish, and they do not sell you anything.

What a housing counselor does See free help

Official sources

We sum up what these official sources say, in plain words. We add no rules they do not state; when a rule changes, the definition and its date change.

1. CFPB · Does my bank/credit union have to send me a monthly statement for my checking account? (external site) · in English · Verified on October 17, 2026
2. Fannie Mae · Selling Guide B3-4.2-01: Verification of Deposits and Assets (external site) · in English · Verified on October 17, 2026