Loan

Temporary borrowing of a sum of money. If you borrow $1 million you have taken out a loan for $1 million.

Loan

The extension of money from one party to another with the agreement that the money will be repaid. Nearly all loans (except for some informal ones) are made at interest, meaning borrowers pay a certain percentage of the principal amount to the lender as compensation for borrowing. Most loans also have a maturity date, by which time the borrower must have repaid the loan.

A loan may be guaranteed by collateral, meaning that the lender either keeps an asset belonging to the borrower until the loan is repaid or has the right to seize such an asset in the event of default. Often, loans are obtained to purchase a major asset, such as a house. These loans are generally guaranteed by the asset they are used to buy. Lending is a foundational component of capitalism.

loan

the advance of a specified sum of MONEY to a person or business (the BORROWER) by other persons or businesses, or more particularly by a specialist financial institution (the LENDER) which makes its profits from the INTEREST charged on loans. The provision of loans by COMMERCIAL BANKS, FINANCE HOUSES, BUILDING SOCIETIES etc. is an important source of CREDIT in the economy serving to underpin a substantial amount of spending on current consumption and the acquisition of personal and business assets.

Loans may be advanced on an unsecured or secured basis; in the latter case the lender requires the borrower to offer some form of COLLATERAL SECURITY (for example property deeds) which the lender may retain in the event of the borrower defaulting on the repayment of the loan. See BANK LOAN, INSTALMENT CREDIT, MORTGAGE, LOAN STOCK, DEBENTURE, LOAN GUARANTEE SCHEME, INTEREST RATE, SOFT LOAN.

loan

the advance of a specified sum of MONEY to a person or business (the BORROWER) by other persons or businesses, or more particularly by a specialist financial institution (the LENDER), which makes its profits from the INTEREST charged on loans. The provision of loans by COMMERCIAL BANKS, FINANCE HOUSES, BUILDING SOCIETIES, etc., is an important source of CREDIT in the economy, serving to underpin a substantial amount of spending on current consumption and the acquisition of personal and business assets.

Loans may be advanced on an unsecured or secured basis; in the latter case the lender requires the borrower to offer some form of COLLATERAL SECURITY (for example, property deeds) which the lender may retain in the event of the borrower defaulting on the repayment of the loan. See BANK LOAN, INSTALMENT CREDIT, MORTGAGE, LOAN CAPITAL, DEBENTURE, LOAN GUARANTEE SCHEME, INTEREST RATE, SOFT LOAN, BOND.

Collins Dictionary of Economics, 4th ed. © C. Pass, B. Lowes, L. Davies 2005

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