A loan agreement is the document which represents the formal evidence of a loan. The document also includes important details such as covenants, positive or negative ones, the information on the collateral such as loan type and its value, as well as guarantees, the applicable interest rates, fees, the conditions according to which the loan is to be repaid, and the period of repayment envisaged.
To sum up, the loan agreement contains the terms and the conditions that are pointed out so that the borrower can draw out a loan. The terms and conditions are set by the lender, which can be a bank, or another type of financial institution. In fact, the loan represents a type of "facility" that is offered by the lender, and that is why the agreement on the conditions under which a loan can be taken out is also referred to as a facility agreement. The agreement comprises four sections.
The first section contains the terms that are to be used in the document and their definitions.
The second section is concerned with the operational terms relevant to the agreement, which means that it points out the amount to be borrowed, the schedule of its repayment, and the interest on the repayment. The second section of the loan agreement is of special interest for the financial agents of the borrower.
The third section is dedicated to the specifics of the loan transaction; it contains the responsibilities of the borrower and the lender, the measures to be undertaken in the event of the borrower's inability to repay the loan; there is also information on the extent to which changes can be made to the agreement. The third section is drawn up after detailed negotiations between the lender and the borrower.
The final fourth sections contains standard text including details such as contract information, the relationships that exist between the finance parties - in the event of more than one tender and more than one law that apply to the agreement.
Loan agreements fall into two main types, according to the type of lender, and according to the type of facility. With respect to the type of lender, there are bilateral loans and syndicated loans. Syndicated loans are provided by groups of lenders, and their structuring and arrangement, as well as their administration, are carried out by more than one bank, commercial or investment ones, and the lending banks are also referred to as arrangers.
Besides a standard loan for which a loan agreement is drawn up, there is another popular type of loan, the demand loan. That is a short term loan, with a period of repayment for up to 180 days. The date for the repayment of the loan is not fixed, and the interest rate for it is a floating one. The demand loan offers advantages for both borrowers and lenders. The lender can demand the repayment of the loan at any time, and on the other hand, the borrower does not need to adhere to a repayment in installments, as the repayment should be made for the entire amount. Furthermore, demand loans are easier to qualify for.
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