legal reserve

noun

1. the amount of cash assets that a bank, insurance company, etc., is required by law to set aside as reserves.

Word History and Origins

Origin of legal reserve¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

Under Brazil’s 2012 Forest Code, farmers are required to leave 80% of Amazon land as a “legal reserve”, but just 20% in most of the Cerrado region.

From The Guardian

Werner said the inflation forecast for 2019 has also been adjusted downward from the 10 million percent expected in April to below 1 million because of a recent increase of the legal reserve ratio imposed on local banks by the Venezuelan Central Bank.

From Seattle Times

Adjusted earnings per share excludes the impact of change in pension accounting and segment reporting, impairment of aircrafts and an increase in legal reserve.

From Forbes

Separately, Denver-based DaVita reported on Tuesday an adjusted first-quarter operating profit excluding a legal reserve of $196.9 million, or $1.84 per share.

From Reuters

Lovejoy thought about the Brazilian law and realized that the legal reserve could provide a way to probe these questions.

From Nature