This balance represents either a debit balance, which is the amount of money owed to Merrill Lynch as a result of such transactions as trade commitments or Visa charges or a credit balance, which is the amount of money held in your account after all commitments or Visa charges have been paid in full. Please note: A credit balance may reflect proceeds from a short sale, where the proceeds of the short sale transaction appear as a credit balance on the "Balance Screen". You may still be required to deposit additional funds and/or marginable securities to cover a margin call that may exist. Please see the margin tutorial for more information on short sale transactions.