Average balance

[LordGrover]

We are sometimes asked for our 'average balance' for current accounts. What does it mean?

For example, here's the daily balance for a given account by day for a month:

1  1,220 
2  1,106 
3  938 
4  938 
5  703 
6  593 
7  593 
8  593 
9  509 
10  375 
11  375 
12  375 
13  132 
14  132 
15  132 
16 -119 
17 -243 
18 -247 
19 -247 
20  2,282 
21  2,282 
22  2,282 
23  1,739 
24  1,428 
25  1,328 
26  1,078 
27  1,078 
28  1,078 
29  1,078 
30  706 
31  706 

If I sum those figures and divide by 31 the average is c. 804 but I doubt that's what a bank or building society think of as the average.

[Foxhound]

Thats certainly how the Bank I work for does it. Its not usually a terribly useful figure as opposed to things like fluctuations in balance and a trend of how the account is conducted for example.

[v15ben]

Same as the bank I work for does as well. The figure doesn't mean too much so for a lot of things we look at what is left in the account just before wages/benefits are paid!