Security and risk

What lenders take as security, how it is registered, and what happens when things go wrong.

35 terms in this topic

Bank guarantee

A bank guarantee is a written promise from a bank to pay a set amount to a third party if its customer does not meet an obligation.

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Bill of sale

A bill of sale is a written record that documents the transfer of ownership of personal property, such as a vehicle, boat or equipment, from a seller to a buyer.

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Business risk

Business risk is the chance that an event or condition stops a business meeting its objectives, from profitability and growth to regulatory compliance and continuity.

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Caveat

A caveat is a notice lodged on a property title that warns others of a claimed interest and blocks most dealings until it is resolved.

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Chattel mortgage

A chattel mortgage is a business loan for a vehicle or equipment: you own the asset from settlement and the lender holds a security interest until it is repaid.

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Collateral

Collateral is the property a borrower pledges to a lender as security for a loan, which the lender can sell if the borrower defaults.

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Collateral risk

Collateral risk is the chance that an asset pledged as security fails to cover the exposure because it falls in value, cannot be sold quickly or cannot be enforced.

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Covenants

Covenants are promises, obligations or restrictions written into a contract or recorded on land title that bind the parties, such as a borrower's promise to maintain minimum interest cover.

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Cross-collateralisation

Cross-collateralisation is a lending arrangement where one lender holds more than one of your assets as security, or one asset for more than one loan, tying them together.

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Cross-default

Cross-default is a loan clause that puts you in default on one facility as soon as you default on another finance agreement.

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Deed of release

A deed of release is a signed legal document in which one party gives up a claim or a security interest against another, ending that obligation.

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Encumbrance

An encumbrance is a claim someone else holds over an asset, such as a loan secured against it, that limits how freely it can be sold.

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Fixed charge

A fixed charge is a security interest over a specific, identifiable asset, such as a named machine or building, which the borrower cannot deal with without the lender's consent.

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Floating charge

A floating charge is a security interest over a shifting pool of assets, such as stock and receivables, that lets the business keep trading them until the charge crystallises.

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Guarantee

A guarantee is a contract in which a guarantor promises a creditor to pay or perform if the principal debtor defaults, supporting the debt rather than replacing it.

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Insurance

Insurance is a contract where you pay a premium and an insurer covers specified losses, such as damage to a financed asset or a lender's loss on default.

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Lien

A lien is a legal right a creditor holds over another person's property, such as goods or land, as security until a debt is paid.

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Margin call

A margin call is a demand from a lender for extra cash or security when the value of the assets backing a loan falls too far.

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Material adverse change

A material adverse change is a significant deterioration in your financial position that, under a MAC clause, lets a lender decline to fund a facility or demand repayment.

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Negative pledge

A negative pledge is a promise in a loan contract not to give any other lender security over your assets without the first lender's consent.

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Non-recourse funding

Non-recourse funding is finance where the lender's recovery on default is limited to the secured asset or project and its cash flows, not the borrower's wider assets.

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Pari passu

Pari passu is a Latin term meaning on equal footing: two or more lenders rank equally, so they share any recovery in proportion if the borrower defaults.

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Perfection (of a security interest)

Perfection (of a security interest) is the step that makes a lender's security effective against other creditors, usually by registering it on the PPSR.

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Personal guarantee

A personal guarantee is a legally binding promise by an individual, usually a director or business owner, to pay a creditor if the borrowing business or person defaults.

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Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR)

The Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) is the national online register where lenders and suppliers record security interests over personal property such as vehicles and plant.

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Recourse

Recourse is a lender's or financier's right to pursue the borrower or its guarantors for what is still owed after the security or the underlying receivable falls short.

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Repossession

Repossession is the enforced recovery of goods that secure a loan, such as a car, ute or machinery, after the borrower has defaulted on the contract.

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Residual risk

Residual risk is the exposure that remains after controls have been applied to an inherent risk: the risk an organisation must still accept, transfer or treat further.

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Residual value guarantee (RVG)

A residual value guarantee (RVG) is a lessee's or third party's promise to pay the lessor any shortfall if a leased asset sells for less than its agreed residual.

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Residual value insurance

Residual value insurance (RVI) is a policy that pays an owner, lessor or financier the shortfall when an asset sells below its agreed residual value at lease end.

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Secured loan

A secured loan is a loan backed by an asset the lender can repossess and sell if the borrower defaults, which usually lowers the cost.

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Security (collateral)

Security (collateral) is an asset or legal interest a borrower grants a lender, which the lender can take and sell to recover the debt if the borrower defaults.

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Security deposit

A security deposit is an upfront cash contribution a borrower pays towards the purchase price of a financed asset, reducing the amount the lender funds.

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Subordination

Subordination is an agreement that ranks one debt behind another, so the subordinated lender is paid only after the senior lender has been repaid.

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Title

Title is legal ownership of an asset, and the record that proves it, such as a certificate of title for land.

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