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Finance & Credit Glossary

Amortization
Amortization is the distribution of a single lump-sum cash flow into many smaller cash flow installments, as determined by an amortization schedule. More »
Appreciation
Appreciation is a term used in accounting relating to the increase in value of an asset. In this sense it is the reverse of depreciation, which measures the fall in value of assets over their normal life-time. More »
Asset
assets are everything of value that is owned by a person or company. The balance sheet of a firm records the monetary value of the assets owned by the firm. The two major asset classes are tangible assets and intangible assets. More »
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay its creditors. Creditors may file a bankruptcy petition against a debtor ("involuntary bankruptcy") in an effort to recoup a portion of what they are owed or initiate a restructuring. More »
Collateral
In lending agreements, collateral is a borrower's pledge of specific property to a lender, to secure repayment of a loan. The collateral serves as protection for a lender against a borrower's risk of default - that is, any borrower failing to pay the principal and interest under the terms of a loan obligation. If a borrower does default on a loan (due to insolvency or other event), that borrower forfeits the property pledged as collateral - and the lender then becomes the owner of the collateral. More »
Collection agency
A collection agency is a business that pursues payments on debt owed by individuals or businesses. Most collection agencies operate as agents of creditors and collect debt for a fee or percentage of the total amount owed. More »
Credit analysis
Credit analysis is the method by which one calculates the creditworthiness of a business or organization. The audited financial statements of a large company might be analyzed when it issues or has issued bonds. Or, a bank may analyze the financial statements of a small business before making or renewing a commercial loan. The term refers to either case, whether the business is large or small. More »
Credit bureau
A credit bureau (U.S.), or credit reference agency (UK) is a company that collects information from various sources and provides consumer credit information on individual consumers for a variety of uses. More »
Credit history
Credit history or credit report is, in many countries, a record of an individual's or company's past borrowing and repaying, including information about late payments and bankruptcy. The term "credit reputation" can either be used synonymous to credit history or to credit score. More »
Credit risk
Credit risk is the risk of loss due to a debtor's non-payment of a loan or other line of credit (either the principal or interest (coupon) or both) More »
Debt ratio
Debt Ratio is a financial ratio that indicates the percentage of a company's assets are provided via debt. It is the ratio of total debt (the sum of current liabilities and long-term liabilities) and total assets (the sum of current assets, fixed assets, and other assets such as 'goodwill'). More »
Depreciation
Depreciation is a term used to spread the cost of an asset over the span of several years. In simple words we can say that depreciation is the reduction in the value of an asset due to usage, passage of time, wear and tear, technological outdating or obsolescence, depletion, inadequacy, rot, rust, decay or other such factors. More »
Down payment
Down payment (or downpayment) is a term used in the context of the purchase of expensive items such as a car and a house, whereby the payment is the initial upfront portion of the total amount due and it is usually given in cash at the time of finalizing the transaction. A loan is then required to make the full payment. More »
Equity
In accounting terms, after all liabilities are paid, ownership equity is the remaining interest in assets. If valuations placed on assets do not exceed liabilities, negative equity exists. More »
Financial statements
Financial statements (or financial reports) are formal records of a business' financial activities. Financial statements provide an overview of a business' financial condition in both short and long term. There are four basic financial statements: 1. Balance sheet 2. Income statement 3. Statement of retained earnings 4. Statement of cash flows. More »
Goodwill
Goodwill is an accounting term used to reflect the portion of the book value of a business entity not directly attributable to its assets and liabilities; it normally arises only in case of an acquisition. It reflects the ability of the entity to make a higher profit than would be derived from selling the tangible assets. Goodwill is also known as an intangible asset. More »
Gross income
Gross income is commonly defined as the amount of a company's or a person's income before all deductions or any taxpayer's income, except that which is specifically excluded by the Internal Revenue Code, before taking deductions or taxes into account. More »
Interest-only loan (term loans)
An interest-only loan is a loan in which for a set term the borrower pays only the interest on the principal balance, with the principal balance unchanged. At the end of the interest-only term the borrower may enter an interest-only mortgage, pay the principal, or (with some lenders) convert the loan to a principal and interest payment (or amortized) loan at his/her option. More »
Lease
A lease is a legal document which confers a right on one person (called a tenant or lessee) to possess property belonging to another person (called a landlord or lessor) to the exclusion of the owner landlord. It is a rental agreement between landlord and tenant. The relationship between the tenant and the landlord is called a tenancy, and the right to possession by the tenant is sometimes called a leasehold interest. The consideration for the lease is called rent or the rental. More »
Liability
A liability is defined as an obligation of an entity arising from past transactions or events, the settlement of which may result in the transfer or use of assets, provision of services or other yielding of economic benefits in the future. More »
Line of credit
A line of credit is any credit source extended to a business by a bank or financial institution. A line of credit may take several forms such as cash credit, overdraft, demand loan, export packing credit, term loan, discounting or purchase of commercial bills etc. It is like an account that can readily be tapped into if the need arises or not touched at all and saved for emergencies. Interest is only paid on the money actually taken out. More »
Mortgage
A mortgage is the transfer of an interest in property (or in law the equivalent - a charge) to a lender as a security for a debt - usually a loan of money. While a mortgage in itself is not a debt, it is lender's security for a debt. It is a transfer of an interest in land (or the equivalent), from the owner to the mortgage lender, on the condition that this interest will be returned to the owner of the real estate when the terms of the mortgage have been satisfied or performed. More »
Profit
Accounting profit is the difference between price and the costs of bringing to market whatever it is that is accounted as an enterprise (whether by harvest, extraction, manufacture, or purchase) in terms of the component costs of delivered goods and/or services and any operating or other expenses. More »
Repossession
Repossession is generally used to refer to a financial institution taking back an object that was either used as collateral or rented or leased in a transaction. Note that repossession is a "self-help" type of action in which the party having right of ownership of the property in question takes the property back from the party having right of possession without invoking court proceedings. More »
Residual value
Residual value is one of the constituents of a leasing calculus or operation. It describes the future value of a good in terms of percentage of depreciation of its initial value. More »
Revolving credit
Revolving credit is a type of credit that does not have a fixed number of payments, in contrast to installment credit. Examples of revolving credits used by consumers include credit cards. Corporate revolving credit facilities are typically used to provide liquidity for a company's day-to-day operations. More »
Subprime lending
Subprime lending (near-prime, non-prime, or second chance lending) is a financial term that was popularized by the media during the "credit crunch" of 2007 and involves financial institutions providing credit to borrowers who do not meet prime underwriting guidelines. Subprime borrowers have a heightened perceived risk of default, such as those who have a history of loan delinquency or default, those with a recorded bankruptcy, or those with limited debt experience. More »
Working capital
Working capital, also known as net working capital, is a financial metric which represents operating liquidity available to a business. Along with fixed assets such as plant and equipment, working capital is considered a part of operating capital. It is calculated as current assets minus current liabilities. More »
Write-off
Refers to recognition of the reduced or zero value of an asset. In income tax statements, it refers to a reduction of taxable income as recognition of certain expenses required to produce the income. More »
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