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SIGNATURE J. JERRY INSKEEP JR.
TITLE PRESIDENT
<TABLE> <S> <C>
<ARTICLE> 6
<LEGEND>
THIS SCHEDULE CONTAINS SUMMARY FINANCIAL INFORMATION EXTRACTED FROM THE
AUDITED ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COLUMBIA FUNDS DATED DECEMBER 31, 1998, AND
THE AUDITED ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COLUMBIA FUNDS DATED DECEMBER 31, 1997,
AND IS QUALIFIED IN ITS ENTIRETY BY REFERENCE TO SUCH FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.
</LEGEND>
<CIK> 0000876613
<NAME> COLUMBIA BALANCED FUND, INC.
<S> <C>
<PERIOD-TYPE> YEAR
<FISCAL-YEAR-END> DEC-31-1998
<PERIOD-START> JAN-01-1998
<PERIOD-END> DEC-31-1998
<INVESTMENTS-AT-COST> 797,729,841
<INVESTMENTS-AT-VALUE> 960,497,499
<RECEIVABLES> 21,415,432
<ASSETS-OTHER> 0
<OTHER-ITEMS-ASSETS> 2,336,196
<TOTAL-ASSETS> 984,249,127
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<OTHER-INCOME> 0
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</TABLE>
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS
February 12, 1999
To the Shareholders and Board of Directors of
Columbia Balanced Fund, Inc.:
In planning and performing our audit of the
financial statements of Columbia Balanced Fund,
Inc. for the year ended December 31, 1998, we
considered its internal control, including control
activities for safeguarding securities, in order
to determine our auditing procedures for the
purpose of expressing our opinion on the financial
statements and to comply with the requirements of
Form N-SAR, not to provide assurance on internal
control.
The management of Columbia Balanced Fund, Inc. is
responsible for establishing and maintaining
internal control. In fulfilling this
responsibility, estimates and judgments by
management are required to assess the expected
benefits and related costs of controls.
Generally, controls that are relevant to an audit
pertain to the entity's objective of preparing
financial statements for external purposes that
are fairly presented in conformity with generally
accepted accounting principles. Those controls
include the safeguarding of assets against
unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition.
Because of inherent limitations in internal
control, error or fraud may occur and not be
detected. Also, projection of any evaluation of
internal control to future periods is subject to
the risk that it may become inadequate because of
changes in conditions or that the effectiveness of
the design and operation may deteriorate.
Our consideration of internal control would not
necessarily disclose all matters in internal
control that might be material weaknesses under
standards established by the American Institute of
Certified Public Accountants. A material weakness
is a condition in which the design or operation of
one or more of the internal control components
does not reduce to a relatively low level the risk
that misstatements caused by error or fraud in
amounts that would be material in relation to the
financial statements being audited may occur and
not be detected within a timely period by
employees in the normal course of performing their
assigned functions. However, we noted no matters
involving internal control and its operation,
including controls for safeguarding securities,
that we consider to be material weaknesses as
defined above as of December 31, 1998.
This report is intended solely for the information
and use of management, the Board of Directors of
Columbia Balanced Fund, Inc., and the Securities
and Exchange Commission.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
