Financial risk is the chance that an actual financial outcome differs from the expected one, usually for the worse. It can mean losing capital, missing a target return, or failing to meet a debt obligation.
Financial risk takes several forms, including market risk, credit risk, liquidity risk, interest rate risk, currency risk, and operational risk. Each can lead to investment losses, higher borrowing costs, or trouble meeting commitments when conditions change.
Financial risk is the counterpart of return: the higher the potential reward, the more risk usually comes with it. Investors and businesses manage it through diversification, hedging, insurance, and careful debt and liquidity planning rather than trying to remove it altogether.
A company borrows USD 500,000 to fund expansion.
If sales fall and cash flow weakens, it may struggle to make the loan repayments.
That is financial risk: the actual outcome turns out worse than expected and threatens the company's ability to meet its debt.