Off-balance sheet activities Definition
The business activities of a savings association that generally do not involve booking assets (loans) and taking deposits. Off-balance sheet activities normally generate fees, but produce liabilities or assets that are deferred or contingent and thus, under GAAP, do not appear on the institution's balance sheet until or unless they become actual assets or liabilities with a value or cost that can be determined. Examples include guarantees substituting the institution's own credit for a third party such as in standby letters of credit; interest rate swaps; foreign exchange forward options; repurchase agreements; loan commitments; and recourse associated with sales of assets.