collateral

collateral, a borrower’s pledge to a lender of something specific that is used to secure the repayment of a loan (see credit). The collateral is pledged when the loan contract is signed and serves as protection for the lender. If the borrower ends up not making the agreed-upon principal and interest payments on the loan because of insolvency or for some other reason—that is, if the borrower defaults on the loan—the lender then becomes the owner of the collateral that was pledged. The lender can then sell the collateral to cover any loss.

Many different things can serve as collateral for a loan. In a typical home-buying transaction, for example, the property is used as collateral to secure a mortgage loan from a bank. If the buyer cannot make the mortgage payments and defaults on the loan, the ownership of the property is then transferred to the bank through a legal process called foreclosure. The bank then sells the foreclosed property to recover its losses.