When bank provides credit facility with funds (real cash), it is called funded; while Non-funded are like guarantees and documentary credits (where bank does not give any cash but take risk of the companies and charge commission)
Funded Facilities
- Working Capital Loans – they are generally of short duration (< 1 year). The duration may be longer if the working capital gestation period is longer.
- Overdraft Facility - revolving loans against current account are called overdrafts or ODs which are unsecured in nature. The borrower can overdraw funds beyond available balance upto an agreed limit. Interest is payable only on the money used for the duration of withdrawal compounded daily.
- Cash Credit (CC) Facility – A bank assesses the average value of inventory & receivables of a business. Based on these assets as security, a bank issues 60-70% of asset value as limit on cash credit facility. Just like an OD, borrower can draw on this limit. The buffer of 30-40% which is kept by the bank is called Margin. The riskier the asset, the higher the margin. The interest on CC is usually linked to a benchmark rate & decided periodically. CC is secured in nature unlike OD which is unsecured in nature.
- Working Capital Demand Loans (WCDL) – this is a short term revolving loan facility given for the working capital requirement of the company. A bank will quote a rate on WCDL depending on its current cost of funds to which the customer must agree.
- Long term loans – banks provide these long term loans to finance expansions, buy real estate or machinery.
Non-Funded
Facilities
Trade
Finance
- Intermediaries – banks can act as intermediaries for documents & funds flow in international transactions as transfer through banks is more secure.
- Letter of credit – it is also called Documentary Credit (DC). The bank lends its guarantee of payment to the buyer. The bank also guarantees payment to the seller provided he ships the goods & complies with the terms of agreement. Here seller takes credit risk on the bank instead of buyer. The importer gets credit from the bank & doesn’t have to make advance payment.
- Open account or credit – this means that payment is made on an agreed upon future date. This is very risky for a seller unless he has very strong relationship with the buyer or the buyer has excellent credit rating. There are no guarantees & collecting payment often becomes a tedious affair.
Facility Structure
This is where the bank structures the loan i.e. decides the various loan parameters. It comes after credit evaluation is completed.
Credit Monitoring
Bank should ensure that the collateral is intact & also the proper end-use of funds. It should also inspect the inventory to determine that the working capital requirement is realistic & the company has adequate insurance cover to guard against any unforeseen events that might affect the bank.
A typical monitoring report will also have an ageing analysis to specify whether any loans or interest payments are overdue and for how long. It classifies the loans on the basis of maturity. Such reports are generated by the core banking solution in a bank.
Bank Guarantees
Through a Bank Guarantee, the bank guarantees the performance of a contract or the non-happening of an event such as an event of default to the beneficiary. Bank guarantees can be financial or performance in nature.
Performance guarantee is given when the guarantor or issuing bank guarantees the ability of the applicant to perform a contract to the beneficiary’s satisfaction. Financial guarantees are used to secure a financial commitment such as a loan, security deposit etc.

