Business

Business terms

1. "A" Loan or "A" Paper A credit rating where the FICO score is 660 or above. There have been no late mortgage payments within a 12-month period.
2. "B" Loan or "B" Paper FICO scores from 620 - 659. Factors include two 30 day late mortgage payments and two to three 30 day late installment loan payments in the last 12 months.
3. "Bait-and-switch" schemes The lender may promise one type of loan or interest rate but, without good reason, gives you a different one.
4. "Blue Book" Price the price of a used car as measured by a quality index of many similar vehicles.
5. "C" Loan or "C" Paper FICO scores typically from 580 to 619. Factors include three to four 30 day late mortgage payments and four to six 30 day late installment loan payments…
6. "Go-to" rate Interest rate you are charged after the introductory rate.
7. "Repos" (Repurchase Agreements) An agreement to purchase securities from an entity for a specified amount of cash and to resell the securities to the entity at an agreed upon price and…
8. 10-k The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires that all publicly traded companies file a Form 10-k every year.
9. 12b-1 fee A number of load and no-load mutual funds levy 12b-1 fees on the value of your mutual fund account to offset the fund's promotional and marketing expenses.
10. 2 to 4 Family Residence A residential building (excluding hotels and motels with normal room rentals for less than 6 months' duration) containing no more than four dwelling units.
11. 203(b) FHA's single family program which provides mortgage insurance to lenders to protect against the borrower defaulting; 203(b) is used to finance the…
12. 203(k) This FHA mortgage insurance program enables homebuyers to finance both the purchase of a house and the cost of its rehabilitation through a single…
13. 30 Days Delinquent The percentage of loans underlying a Security that are 30 to 59 days behind on their scheduled payments.
14. 401 (k) plan An employer-sponsored retirement plan that permits employees to divert part of their pay into the plan and avoid current taxes on that income.
15. 401(k) You participate in a 401(k) retirement savings plan by deferring part of your salary into an account set up in your name.
16. 401(k) Savings Plan and 457 Savings Plan Tax-deferred savings plans, both of which are offered under the South Carolina Deferred Compensation Program .
17. 403(b) A 403(b) plan, sometimes known as a tax-sheltered annuity (TSA) or a tax-deferred annuity (TDA), is an employer sponsored retirement savings plan for…
18. 403(b) Plan An arrangement in which an employee places pre-tax earnings into a tax deferred retirement account that a state or local government employer or non-profit…
19. 457 These tax-deferred retirement savings plans are available to state and municipal employees.
20. 529 college savings plan Each 529 college savings plan is sponsored by a particular state or group of states, and while each plan is a little different, they share many basic…
21. 529 Plan (Prepaid Tuition Plan) An education savings account or plan operated by a state or educational institution designed to help families accrue funds for future college costs.
22. 529 prepaid tuition plan With a prepaid tuition plan, you purchase tuition credits at current rates to be used at some point in the future when your beneficiary attends one of the…
23. 60 Days Delinquent The percentage of loans underlying a Security that are 60 to 89 days behind on their scheduled payments.
24. 8-k The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires that all publicly traded companies use Form 8-k to report anything that could have a significant…
25. A.P.R. See: annual percentage rate.
26. ability to pay A concept of tax fairness that states that people with different amounts of wealth or different amounts of income should pay tax at different rates.
27. Abstract of Title A historical summary provided by a title insurance company of all records affecting the title to a property.
28. Abusive tax avoidance transaction (ATAT) (ATAT) Is defined as: Tax shelter as defined under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 6662(d)(2)(C), Reportable transaction as defined under IRC Section…
29. Abusive tax schemes Transactions promoted for the promise of tax benefits with no meaningful change in the taxpayer's control over or benefit from the taxpayer's income or…
30. Accelerated death benefit If your life insurance policy has an accelerated death benefit (ADB), you may qualify to use a portion of the death benefit to pay for certain healthcare…
31. Accelerated Death Benefits Benefits available in some life insurance policies prior to death.
32. Acceleration The right of the lender to demand payment on the outstanding balance of a loan.
33. acceleration clause A clause that allows a lender to declare the entire outstanding balance of a loan immediately due and payable should a borrower violate specific loan…
34. Acceptance The written approval of the buyer's offer by the seller.
35. Accidental Death Benefit A provision added to a life insurance policy for payment of an additional benefit in case of death as a result of an accident.
36. Account Agreement The contract governing your open-end credit account, it provides information on changes that may occur to the account.
37. Account balance Your account balance is the amount of money you have in one of your financial accounts.
38. Account History The payment history of an account over a specific period of time, including the number of times the account was past due or over limit.
39. Account Holder Any and all persons designated and authorized to transact business on behalf of an account.
40. Accounts Payable An account in the general ledger representing the amount owed by the business to its creditors on open purchased of goods and/or services.
41. Accounts Receivable An account in the general ledger representing the amount due the business from its customers for goods and/or services sold on credit.
42. Accredited investor An accredited investor is a person or institution that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) defines as being qualified to invest in unregistered…
43. Accrued Interest Interest that has been earned but not yet paid.
44. Accumulation period The accumulation period refers to the time during which your retirement savings accumulate in a deferred annuity.
45. Accumulation unit Accumulation units are the shares you own in the separate account funds of a variable annuity during the period you're putting money into your annuity.
46. Acquiring Bank In a merger, the bank that absorbs the bank acquired.
47. acquisition If a company buys another company outright, or accumulates enough shares to take a controlling interest, the deal is described as an acquisition.
48. Act The National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 and any amendments to it.
49. Action Taken Date The settlement or closing date for originations. For applications that did not result in an origination, the date when the action was taken or when the…
50. Action Taken Type The disposition of the loan/application.
51. Actively managed fund Managers of actively managed mutual funds buy and sell investments to achieve a particular goal, such as providing a certain level of return or beating a…
52. Activities of daily living To live independently, you must be able to handle certain essential functions, called activities of daily living (ADLs).
53. Activity Year The year for which the HMDA data are being collected.
54. Actual cash value An amount equivalent to the replacement cost of lost or damaged property at the time of the loss, less depreciation.
55. Actual Cash Value (ACV) (ACV) The value of your property, based on the current cost to replace it minus depreciation.
56. Actual wage Actual wage means the wage rate paid by the employer to all individuals with experience and qualifications similar to the H-1B nonimmigrant's experience…
57. Additional Living Expenses Pays expenses over and above your normal living costs (motel rooms, restaurant meals, and laundry service) while your home is being repaired or rebuilt…
58. Additional living expenses (ALE) (ALE) Reimburses the policyholder for the cost of temporary housing, food, and other essential living expenses, if the home is damaged by a covered peril that…
59. Additional Principal Payment Money paid to the lender in addition to the established payment amount used directly against the loan principal to shorten the length of the loan.
60. Additive See Additive, additivity
61. Additive, additivity A characteristic of a measurement series whereby the summed components equal the aggregate. Related terms: Chained-dollar estimate.
62. Additivity See Additive, additivity
63. Address on file Your address on file is the address that you provided on your application to open this credit card account, unless (1) we have received and processed your…
64. Adjustable mortgage loan A mortgage instrument that allows maximum flexibility in selecting the terms under which interest rates and payments may be adjusted over the maturity of…
65. Adjustable Rate Loans (also known as variable-rate loans), usually offer a lower initial interest rate than fixed-rate loans.
66. Adjustable-Rate Mortgage (ARM) (ARM) A mortgage that does not have a fixed interest rate. The rate changes during the life of the loan based on movements in an index rate, such as the rate…
67. Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMS) Also known as variable-rate mortgages. The initial interest rate is usually below that of conventional fixed-rate loans.
68. Adjustable-Rate Mortgages (ARMS,ARM) (ARMS,ARM) Also known as variable-rate mortgages. The initial interest rate is usually below that of conventional fixed-rate loans.
69. Adjusted gross income (AGI) (AGI) Your AGI is your gross, or total, income from taxable sources minus certain deductions.
70. Adjuster A person who investigates and settles losses for an insurance carrier.
71. Adjustment Date The actual date that the interest rate is changed for an ARM.
72. Adjustment Index The published market index used to calculate the interest rate of an ARM at the time of origination or adjustment.
73. Adjustment Interval The time between the interest rate change and the monthly payment for an ARM. The interval is usually every one, three or five years depending on the…
74. Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) (ALJ) Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) means an official appointed pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 3105.
75. Administrator Administrator means the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division, Department of Labor, and such authorized representatives as may be designated to…
76. Advance estimate The first estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) and its components for a quarter.
77. Advance estimates See Advance estimate
78. Advance Fee Loan Scam A form of fraud in which consumers are asked to pay a fee up front and receive a quick loan of a large size with a very low APR.
79. Advance-decline (A-D) line The advance-decline line graphs the ratio of stocks that have risen in value - the advancers - to stocks that have fallen in value - the decliners - over…
80. Advancer Stocks that have gained, or increased, in value over a particular period are described as advancers.
81. Adverse Action Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, a creditor's refusal to grant credit on the terms requested, termination of an existing account, or an unfavorable…
82. Adverse Action Notice The notice required by the Equal Credit Opportunity Act advising a credit applicant or existing debtor of the denial of their request for credit or…
83. Affidavit A sworn statement in writing before a proper official, such as a notary public.
84. Affinity card A card that offers rewards that benefit groups and organizations.
85. Affinity fraud Affinity fraud occurs when a dishonest person plays on your affiliation with a group - such as a house of worship, social club, support group, charity, or…
86. After-hours market Securities, such as stocks and bonds, may change hands on organized markets and exchanges after regular business hours, in what is known as the…
87. After-tax contribution An after-tax contribution, or excess deferral, is money you put into your 401(k) or other employer sponsored retirement savings plan in addition to your…
88. After-tax income After-tax income, sometimes called post-tax dollars, is the amount of income you have left after federal income taxes (plus state and local income taxes…
89. Aftermarket Crash Part A non-original equipment manufacturer (OEM) replacement part, either new or used, for any of the non-mechanical parts that generally constitute the…
90. Agency A firm that solicits insurance for one or more insurance carriers. It also may issue policies and adjust losses.
91. Agency bond Some federal agencies, including Ginnie Mae (GNMA) and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), raise money by issuing bonds and short-term discount notes…
92. Agency Code Code to identify the supervisory/regulatory agency of the HMDA reporting institution.
93. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) (ATSDR) As the lead Agency within the Public Health Service for implementing the health-related provisions of CERCLA, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease…
94. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's Hazardous Substance Release/Health Effects Database (ATSDR-HazDat) (ATSDR-HazDat) "HazDat", the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's Hazardous Substance Release/Health Effects Database, is the scientific and administrative…
95. Agency Mortgage-Backed Security (MBS) (MBS) A type of Mortgage-Backed Security backed by government guaranteed mortgage loans.
96. Agency Securities Securities issued by U.S. government agencies, such as the Federal Home Loan Bank.
97. agency, bank An agency bank is a form of organization commonly used by foreign banks to enter the United States' market.
98. Agent Agent means any individual, other than a broker-dealer, who represents a broker-dealer or issuer in effecting or attempting to effect purchases or sales…
99. agent of issuer An agent of issuer is an individual who represents the issuer in effecting (or attempting o effect) purchases or sales of an issuer's securities.
100. Aggressive-growth fund Aggressive-growth mutual funds buy stock in companies that show rapid growth potential, including start-up companies and those in hot sectors.