Principal & Interest
A loan is a contract between a borrower and a lender in which the borrower receives an amount of money (principal) that they are obligated to pay back in the future. Most loans can be categorized into one of three categories:
Many consumer loans fall into this category of loans that have regular payments that are amortized uniformly over their lifetime. Routine payments are made on principal and interest until the loan reaches maturity (is entirely paid off). Some of the most familiar amortized loans include mortgages, car loans, student loans, and personal loans.
Many commercial loans or short-term loans are in this category. Unlike amortized loans with payments spread uniformly over their lifetimes, these loans have a single, large lump sum due at maturity. Some loans, such as balloon loans, can also have smaller routine payments during their lifetimes, but this calculation only works for loans with a single payment of all principal and interest due at maturity.
This kind of loan is rarely made except in the form of bonds. Technically, bonds operate differently from more conventional loans in that borrowers make a predetermined payment at maturity. The face, or par value of a bond, is the amount paid by the issuer (borrower) when the bond matures, assuming the borrower doesn't default. Face value denotes the amount received at maturity.
Nearly all loan structures include interest, which is the profit that banks or lenders make on loans. Interest rate is the percentage of a loan paid by borrowers to lenders. For most loans, interest is paid in addition to principal repayment. Loan interest is usually expressed in APR, or annual percentage rate, which includes both interest and fees.
Compound interest is interest that is earned not only on the initial principal but also on accumulated interest from previous periods. Generally, the more frequently compounding occurs, the higher the total amount due on the loan. In most loans, compounding occurs monthly.
A loan term is the duration of the loan, given that required minimum payments are made each month. The term of the loan can affect the structure of the loan in many ways. Generally, the longer the term, the more interest will be accrued over time, raising the total cost of the loan for borrowers, but reducing the periodic payments.
There are two basic kinds of consumer loans: secured or unsecured.
A secured loan means that the borrower has put up some asset as a form of collateral before being granted a loan. The lender is issued a lien, which is a right to possession of property belonging to another person until a debt is paid. In other words, defaulting on a secured loan will give the loan issuer the legal ability to seize the asset that was put up as collateral. The most common secured loans are mortgages and auto loans.
An unsecured loan is an agreement to pay a loan back without collateral. Because there is no collateral involved, lenders need a way to verify the financial integrity of their borrowers. This can be achieved through the five C's of credit, which is a common methodology used by lenders to gauge the creditworthiness of potential borrowers: