Debt is borrowed money, either between people, businesses, or banks, as well as a financial ins💝trument 🤡used as leverage by corporations to borrow or purchase.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What has an impact on a company’s net inter❀est m𝕴argin?

    Multiple factors may affect a financial institution's net interest margin: chief among them, supply and demand. If there's a large demand for savings accounts compared to loans, net interest margin decreases, as the bank is required to pay out more interest than it receives. Conversely, if there's a higher demand in loans versus savings accounts, where more consumers are borrowing than saving, a bank's net interest margin increases.

  • How much debt can a company safely take on?

     If a company has no debt at all, then taking on some debt could give the company more opportunity to reinvest in its operations. Typically, though, too much debt is bad for companies and shareholders because it inhibits a company's ability to create a cash surplus. However, high debt levels may negatively affect common stockholders, who are last in line for claiming payback from a company that becomes insolvent.

  • What is an AA+ rating?

    Considered one of the rankings for investment-grade debt, investments rated by ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) with an AA+ rating have a strong likelihood of repaying their debts, making the chance of default very low. The firm creates its ratings based on information such as annual reports, news articles, and company management.

  • Why would a c🔯ompany choose debt over equity financ🧸ing?

    In order not to have to surrender any part of its compaꦺny, a firm can choose debt financing over equity financing. Sources of debt financing include term loans, business lines of credit, invoice factoring, busine𒈔ss credit cards, SBA loans, and personal loans, usually from a family member or friend. A company that believes in its financials would not want to miss on the profits they would have to pass to shareholders if they assigned someone else equity.

  • How is mezzanine financing helpful to a company?

    Mezzanine financing can help a company support specific growth projects or acquisitions. The benefits for a company include the fact that the providers of ♛mezzanine capital are often long-term investors in the company. Since traditional creditors generally view a company with long-term investors in a more favorable light and are then more likely to extend credit and favorable terms to that company, this could make it easier to obtain other types of financing.

  • What is meant by short/current long-term debt?

    Creditors as well as investors use this item to determine if a company can pay off its short-term obligations. The 🍎short/current long-term debt is a separate line item on a balance sheet account that outlines the total amount of debt that must be paid within the current year. The current liability account or short-term debt entry is for debt that is to be paid off within the next 1💙2 months. There may also be a portion of long-term debt shown in the short-term debt account.

Key Terms

Short-Term Debt
Short-Term Debt (Current Liabilities): What I🔴t Is, How It Works
Allowance For Credit Losses
Debt Restructuring
Debt Re🎶structuring: Definition, How It Works, Types & Examples
Deleverage
Deleverage: Overview, Examples and Formulas
Netting
Netting: Defini𒊎tion, How It Works, Types, Benefits, and Example
Project Finance
Project Finance: Definition, Ho👍w It Works, and Types of Loans
Syndicated Loan
Syndicated Loan: What It Is, How It Works, andꦕ Examples
Working Capital Loan
Working Capital Loan: 𒆙Definition, Uses in 🦂Business, Types
Advance Payment
Advance Payment♕: What It Is, How It Work🦄s, Examples
Bail-In
Bail-In: Definition and Role in a ⛄Financial Crisis
Buyer's Credit
Buyer's Credit For Importers: Process and Advantages
Hire Purchase Agreements
Hire Purchase Agreements: Definition, How The🧔y Work, Pros and Cons
Liquidation Preference
Liquidation Prefer🧸ence: Definition, How It ℱWorks, and Examples
Merton Model
Merton Mod🍸el: Definition, H🐭istory, Formula, and What It Tells You
Second Lien Debt
Second-Lien Debt: Definition, Risks, Example
Unitranche Debt
Unitranche Debt (Financing): Ho൩w These Hybrid Loans Work
Waterfall Payment
Waterfall Payment: Definition, Benefits, How It Works and Exam🌃ple
4 Types of Debt Yields
Credit Analysis
What Is Credit Analysis? How It Works With Evaluat🎃in🌞g Risk
Rollover Risk
Rolꦦlover Risk: Definition, How It Works, and🏅 Example
Gearing
Gearing: Definition, 🌃ဣHow It’s Measured, and Example
Leaseback
Leaseback (or Sale-Leaseback): Defini🧸tion, Benefits, and Exam﷽ples
Balance Sheet
Understanding Off-Balance Sheet (OBS) Financing
Two people shaking hands over financial documents
Reasons for Bank Guarantees and How to Get One
Receivership
Rece𓂃ivership: What It Is, How It Works, vs𒁃. Bankruptcy
focused corporate team working at a desk in an office with papers and laptops
Wh🍃o Bears the Risk of Bad Debts in Securitization?
Debt-Adjusted Cash Flow (DACF)
Debt-Adjusted Cash Flow (DACF): What it is♋, How it Works
Leveraged Recapitalization
Leveraged Recapitalization: Overview and History
Negative Amortization: Meaning, Ov♛erview, Examples
Do Companies Measure Their Cost of Debt With Befor🍒e- Or A🐻fter-tax Returns?
looking up at skyscrapers in manhattan with a blue sky
When Does a Corporation Decide to Refinance Debt?
Financial Distress
Fi𝕴nan♊cial Distress: Definition, Signs, and Remedies
A hand with a pen analyzing charts of information
How Do Share Capital and Paid-Up Capital Differ?
Commercial Loan
Commercial Loan: Whꦡat It Is, How It Works, Different Types
Absolute Priority
Absolute Priority: What it Means, How it Works
Recurring Debt
Recurring Debt: What It is, Impact, Types
Murabaha
Murabaha: Definition, Example, and ൲Financing Und♕er Islamic Law
Debt
Debt: What It Is, How It Works, Types🌱, and Ways to Pay Back
Reasonableness Sta༒ndard:🃏 What it is, How it Works, Examples
Banker's Acceptance (BA)
Banker's Acceptance (BA): Definition, Meaning, and Types
Mezzanine Debt
Mezzanine Deb⛄t: What Iܫt Is, How It Works, and Examples
A woman uses a laptop in a motorhome.
C🥂hattel: Definition, How It Works, Chattel Mortgages, 💝& Examples
Business people discussing financing options inside a warehouse
Warehouse Financing: Definition, Example, Vs. Warehouse Lend♍ing
A staff member of a bank standing behind glass and feeding stacks of banknotes into a cash counter.
Wholesale Money: What it is, How it Works
Businessmen Analyzing Charts on Laptop in Office
Why Would a Corporation Issue Convertible Bonds?
Federal Farm C𝄹redit System (FFCS): Me𓃲aning, Example
Cash Available for Debt Service (CADS)
Overview o🌠f Cash Available for Debt Service (CADS), Calculat♊ion
Farm 𒐪Credit System (FCS): What it Means,🍒 How it Works, History
Bank for Cooperatives
Bank for C💞ooperatives: What It is, How It Works, History
Defeasance
What Is Defe♔asance? How It Works on the Balance Sheet and Exaꦏmple
Businesswoman working in office typing on calculator and holding phone in hand with computer and financial sheets on desk
How D𒁃o Cost of Debt Capital and Co🀅st of Equity Differ?
Shutdown Point
Shutdown Points: How it Works, Exam🌃ples in Economics
Lien
Lien: Definition, Major Types, and Examples
Woman working in an office while talking on a smart phone and taking notes.
Why Do Companies Issue Bonds and Other Debt?
Net Interest Margin
Wh🐠at Is Net Interest Margin? Overview, Formula, and Example
a neoclassical building
Senior B﷽ank Loan: Definition, How It Works, Rates ✨& Risks
Parallel Loan Definition
Net Charge-Off (NCO)
Net Charge-Off: What it is, How it Works, Example
A young couple smile as they shake hands with a bank loan officer after finding out that they are approved for a loan.
Takeout: What it is, How it Works, Acquisition
Debt T🌃ender Offer: Definition, Types, Rules, and Example