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Agribusiness Loans: Legal Issues, Terms, and Interest Rates. Chapter 2. Promissory Note. Promissory Note -- written evidence of a debt. It is the loan document that creates a contract between the parties. Elements of a Note . Names of borrower and lender A promise to pay a specific amount
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Agribusiness Loans: Legal Issues, Terms, and Interest Rates Chapter 2
Promissory Note Promissory Note -- written evidence of a debt. It is the loan document that creates a contract between the parties.
Elements of a Note • Names of borrower and lender • A promise to pay a specific amount • The due date • Manner of payment • The interest rate
Elements of a Note • Collateral • Penalties for lat or nonpayment • Whether it can be prepaid • Dates of creation of the instrument • Signature of borrower
Parties to Loan Transactions The parties in a loan transaction include the borrower, lender, and sometimes a third party. Third parties assist in the transaction.
Borrower Borrower – becomes the debtor and must make repayment under the terms of the loan. They are the maker of the note.
Lender Lender – provides the initial funds to the borrower and can be a private party, commercial bank or other depository institution, a government sponsored agency or other business. They are known as the beneficiary of the note, they receive the benefit of the interest and principal payments.
Third Parties Third Parties – include escrow companies, dealers and vendors who provide personal property to the borrower, possible asset recovery entities, such as the local court system.
Security Agreement • A security agreement is a standardized description of the assets pledged as collateral for the loan. • The collateral is classified by type of asset: • Inventory • Equipment • Real Estate
Mortgages Versus Deeds of Trust • Mortgage Document – a pledge of the real estate to the lender as security for the debt • Deed of Trust – provides temporary title to the collateral to an independent third party, usually a title or escrow company. Only comes into effect should the borrower fail to comply with the terms of the promissory note. This is called default.
Other Loan Terminology • Principal – the amount originally borrowed or owed to the lender. • Interest – the “rent” charged by the lender for the use of principal. • Loan Term – the length of time until the loan contract matures. • Short term – loans up to one year • Intermediate term – loans from one year to ten • Long term – loans longer than ten years • Term debt – any loan with a term of more than one year
Amortization • Amortization – the periodic payment of the principal to extinguish the debt over the loan’s term. • Most agribusiness loans are fully amortizing, the periodic payments are sufficient to extinguish the debt over the term or the loan. • Partially amortizing loans have a balloon or lump sum payment at the end. • More common types of loans than partially amortizing loans are interest only.
APR • Annual Percentage Rate or APR - the actual or effective rate of interest for the loan
Points • Prepaid Interest is known as Points • One point is 1% of the loan principal • Points do not reduce the amount of interest you pay over the loan’s term • They merely enhance the yield by the lender.
Amortization Schedule An amortization schedule is an algorithmic table that details the repayment of the loan principal and the payment of interest for the entire term of the loan.
Life Cycle of a Loan There are seven phases to the loan process • Application – the building of a loan file, provides information for the decision maker on whether or not to grant the loan. Materials they require are employment history, tax returns, insurance, and property holdings and indebtedness • Processing – the loan file is organized to facilitate underwriting • Underwriting – the loan file is scrutinized so that a determination can be made to either approve, deny or suspend the request.
Life Cycle of a Loan • Documents – Preparation of contractual documents. A security agreement for the loan collateral, or mortgage must be prepared. Truth in lending documents. Could be as much as 10 pages for a short term loan and 30 for a real-estate mortgages • Funding - review for legal compliance, if funding goes into escrow the funds will not be released until all contractual obligations are met.
Life Cycle of a Loan • Closing – The formal release of funds to the appropriate party occurs at closing. For property this occurs after deed transfer. Vehicles when legal title is provided to lender • Servicing – performed by the original lender. More sophisticated today.
