paper loss
noun[CorU]
ACCOUNTINGukusalossin thevalueof aninvestment, etc. thatappearsinaccounts, but that does notinvolveareallossofcash, forexamplesharesthat havefalleninvaluebut that have not beensold:
The USbankinggiantwasfacingapaperlossof about $37.5 million.
Some of the thousands ofprivateinvestorssittingonbigpaperlossescould still gettheirmoneyback.