Saturday, March 1, 2008

An off set loan is a type of lending arrangement, usually for a mortgage, in which a borrower also maintains a savings account with the lender. Instead of receiving interest the savings account. The regular payment is calculated on the full amount of the loan, however, so making regular payments will pay off the loan faster than a standard loan with the same interest rate, amount, and periodic payment.
Lenders usually charge a higher interest rate on offset loans than other types of loans. This makes offset loans only a good idea for borrowers that normally have large cash balances. If the cash to be used to offset is permanently available to pay down the mortgage and not needed for emergency spending, borrowers are normally better off pre-paying a more typical mortgage.
Many offset loans are also flexible in their periodic payment amounts, allowing for overpayment, or underpayment if prior overpayment has been made. This makes them more attractive to some of the population likely to use them (those with irregular income), but is not a key defining feature of the loan.

A loan is a type of debt. All material things can be lent but this article focuses exclusively on monetary loans. Like all debt instruments, a loan entails the redistribution of financial assets over time, between the lender and the borrower.
The borrower initially receives an amount of money from the lender, which they pay back, usually but not always in regular installments, to the lender. This service is generally provided at a cost, referred to as interest on the debt. A borrower may be subject to certain restrictions known as loan covenants under the terms of the loan.
Acting as a provider of loans is one of the principal tasks for financial institutions. For other institutions, issuing of debt contracts such as bonds is a typical source of funding. Bank loans and credit are one way to increase the money supply.
Legally, a loan is a contractual promise of a debtor to repay a sum of money in exchange for the promise of a creditor to give another sum of money.While included in the term "financial aid" higher education loans differ from scholarships and grants in that they must be paid back. They co
me in several varieties in the United States:
student loans in united state
Federal student loans made to students directly: No payments while enrolled in at least half time status. If a student drops below half time status, the account will go into its 6 month grace period. If the student re-enrolls in at least half time status, the loans will be deferred, but when they drop below half time again they will no longer have their grace period. Amounts are quite limited as well.
* Federal student loans made to parents: Much higher limit, but payments start immediately
* Private student loans made to students or parents: Higher limits and no payments until after graduation, although interest will start to accrue immediately. Private loans may be used for any education related expenses such as tuition, room and board, books, computers, and past due balances. Private loans can also be used to supplement federal student loans, when federal loans, grants and other forms of financial aid are not sufficient to cover the full cost of higher education



FINANCE

An entity whose income exceeds its expenditure can lend or invest the excess income. On the other hand, an entity whose income is less than its expenditure can raise capital by borrowing or selling equity claims, decreasing its expenses, or increasing its income. The lender can find a borrower, a financial intermediary, such as a bank or buy notes or bonds in the bond market. The lender receives interest, the borrower pays a higher interest than the lender receives, and the financial intermediary pockets the difference.
A bank aggregates the activities of many borrowers and lenders. A bank accepts deposits from lenders, on which it pays the interest. The bank then lends these deposits to borrowers. Banks allow borrowers and lenders, of different sizes, to coordinate their activity. Banks are thus compensator of money flows in space.
A specific example of corporate finance is the sale of stock by a company to institutional investors like investment banks, who in turn generally sell it to the public. The stock gives whoever owns it part ownership in that company. If you buy one share of XYZ Inc, and they have 100 shares outstanding (held by investors), you are 1/100 owner of that company. Of course, in return for the stock, the company receives cash, which it uses to expand its business in a process called "equity financing". Equity financing mixed with the sale of bonds (or any other debt financing) is called the company's capital structure.
Finance is used by individuals (personal finance), by governments (public finance), by businesses (corporate finance), as well as by a wide variety of organizations including schools and non-profit organizations. In general, the goals of each of the above activities are achieved through the use of appropriate financial instruments, with consideration to their institutional setting.
Finance is one of the most important aspects of business management. Without proper financial planning a new enterprise is unlikely to be successful. Managing money (a liquid asset) is essential to ensure a secure future, both for the individual and an organization.

Personal finance
* How much money will be needed by an individual (or by a family) at various points in the future?
* Where will this money come from (e.g. savings or borrowing)?
* How can people protect themselves against unforeseen events in their lives, and risk in financial markets?
* How can family assets be best transferred across generations (bequests and inheritance)?
* How do taxes (tax subsidies or penalties) affect personal financial decisions?
Personal financial decisions may involve paying for education, financing durable goods such as real estate and cars, buying insurance, e.g. health and property insurance, investing and saving for retirement.Personal financial decisions may also involve paying for a loan.

Corporate finance

Managerial or corporate finance is the task of providing the funds for a corporation's activities. For small business, this is referred to as SME finance. It generally involves balancing risk and profitability, while attempting to maximize an entity's wealth and the value of its stock.
Long term funds are provided by ownership equity and long-term credit, often in the form of bonds. The balance between these forms the company's capital structure. Short-term funding or working capital is mostly provided by banks extending a line of credit.
Another business decision concerning finance is investment, or fund management. An investment is an acquisition of an asset in the hope that it will maintain or increase its value. In investment management -- in choosing a portfolio -- one has to decide what, how much and when to invest. To do this, a company must:
* Identify relevant objectives and constraints: institution or individual goals, time horizon, risk aversion and tax considerations;
* Identify the appropriate strategy: active v. passive -- hedging strategy
* Measure the portfolio performance
Financial management is duplicate with the financial function of the Accounting profession. However, financial accounting is more concerned with the reporting of historical financial information, while the financial decision is directed toward the future of the firm.
Free Business Advertise Yellow Pages for Local Business Business Directory Join Gomylocal.