Money lent, which has to be returned, usually with interest. Loans may be secured, that is, backed by collateral, which the lender can sell to get their money back if the borrower fails to pay, or may be unsecured. If a debtor cannot pay all debts in full, unsecured creditors rank below secured ones in their claim on such assets as are available. Soft loans are ones where it is expected that if the borrower has problems in paying the terms will be relaxed, allowing reductions or delay in payments; hard loans are ones where it is expected that the conditions will be strictly enforced. See also bank loan; personal loan; revolving loan; roll-over of loans; secured loan; soft loan; syndicated loan; term loan; tied loans; unsecured loan.