Glossary / What to know
BLC Bank’s glossary of banking terms and definitions assists you in better understanding the terms used in the financial products and services. You can find in it the definitions to commonly used banking terms.
Account

An account owned by one person

An account owned by two or more persons. And/OR: either of the account holders may manage the account. And: both persons have to sign for each transaction

The amount of money required to be on deposit in an account to qualify the depositor for special services or to waive a service charge

Specific date at which time the funds will become available or deducted from the account

Cards

The billing cycle is 40 days which represents the time interval between the dates on which regular periodic statements are issued.

The billing date for credit cards is on the 20th of each month, it represents the date on which all the utilized amount during the previous billing cycle is subject to interest unless total outstanding amount is settled by client before the billing date, no interest will be charged on his account.

A card that charges no interest but requires the user to pay his/her balance in full upon receipt of the statement on a monthly basis.

Card allowing the holder to withdraw money directly from his bank account.

The minimum amount that must be paid each month on a credit card defined by client and based on Bank conditions.

The location at which a transaction using the BLC cards takes place.

A credit agreement that allows a customer to borrow against a credit line from the bank when purchasing goods and services. The borrower is only billed for the amount that is actually borrowed plus any interest due.

Interest

Interest rate that never changes during the contract period between the bank and client.

Interest calculated on the total loan amount.

The term interest is used to describe the cost of using money.

Interest calculated on the remaining loan amount after each installment.

Interest rate that changes on a periodic basis.

Index Rate

The Beirut Reference Rate (BRR), considered as the reference rate for lending in foreign currency, replaced the London Inter-Bank Offering Rate (LIBOR) in 2009 as the ABL considered that the LIBOR no longer accurately reflects the cost of funding and lending in Lebanon.

All banks have a cost, known as cost of funds, due to the interest they pay to clients on their deposits. These costs are compensated by the interest charged on loans which take into consideration the cost of funds and other expensive the bank may incur.

Treasury bills, also known as "T-bills," are a security issued by a government. It is represented by investment return and issued by the government.

Loans

The letters APR stand for “Annual Percentage Rate” and provide an indication of how expensive a loan is. In addition to the interest rate, the APR includes the percentage equivalent of the file fees (or loan origination fees), insurance fees, and any other fee or cost associated with the transaction (except for penalties), reflecting as such the annual cost of borrowing money. The APR of a loan might be higher than the interest rate communicated. If you are looking to take a loan, and wish to compare the offers of different potential lenders, the APR provides you with the easiest and clearest way to do so; it is the most accurate tool reflecting the cost of the loan on the borrowers. Remember, you usually want as low an APR rate as possible, since the higher the APR on a loan, the more you will have to pay (assuming all other conditions are equal).

The act of evaluating and setting the value of a specific piece of personal or real property.

A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract.

A written order instructing a financial institution to pay immediately on demand a specified amount of money from the check writer's account to the person named on the check or, if a specific person is not named, to whoever bears the check to the institution for payment.

Assets that are offered to secure a loan or other credit. For example, if you get a real estate mortgage, the bank's collateral is typically your house. Collateral becomes subject to seizure on default.

Someone who owes monies to another party.

A payment postponed until a future date.

A debt that was not paid when due.

A party who agrees to be responsible for the payment of another party's debts should that party default.

The date on which the principal balance of a loan or other financial instrument becomes due and payable.

A debt instrument used in a real estate transaction where the property is the collateral for the loan. A mortgage gives the lender a right to take possession of the property if the borrower fails to pay off the loan.

A service that allows an account holder to obtain account information and manage certain banking transactions through a personal computer via the financial institution's web site on the Internet. (This is also known as Internet or electronic banking.)

When the amount of money withdrawn from a bank account is greater than the amount actually available in the account, the excess is known as an overdraft, and the account is said to be overdrawn.

The complete repayment of a loan, including principal, interest, and any other amounts due. Payoff occurs either over the full term of the loan or through prepayments.

The payment of a debt before it actually becomes due.

A penalty imposed on a borrower for repaying the loan before its due date.