Microfinance Glossary
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Accounting and internal control system － 会计和内控系统
A series of procedures to promote and ensure the healthy management of the organization, including general system and financial system.
Accounts payable (A/P) － 应付账款
Accounts payable are debts that must be paid off within a given period of time in order to avoid default.
Accounts receivable (A/R) － 应收帐款
Money owed by customers (individuals or corporations) to another entity in exchange for goods or services that have been delivered or used, but not yet paid for. Receivables usually come in the form of operating lines of credit and are usually due within a relatively short time period, ranging from a few days to a year.
Accumulated depreciation － 权责发生制
The cumulative depreciation of an asset up to a single point in its life. Regardless of the method used to calculate it, the depreciation of an asset during a single period is added to the previous period’s accumulated depreciation to get the current accumulated depreciation.
Active clients － 有效客户/活跃客户
The number of clients with loans outstanding on any given date. An institution's official statistics on active clients are usually recorded as the number of clients with loans outstanding on the date its financial statements are filed.
Active loan portfolio － 有效贷款组合
The total amount loaned out less the total amount of repaid loans; i.e., all money that is "on the street" or owed to the institution in the form of loans on the date the report is filed.
Add-on interest loan － 等额本息贷款
A method of calculating interest whereby the interest payable is determined at the beginning of a loan and added onto the principal. The sum of the interest and principal is the amount repayable upon maturity.
Advance repayment － 提前还款
A payment of part or all of a loan debt before the loan is due, also 'pre-payment'.
Aging analysis － 账龄分析
A study of delinquent loans classified by length of time in arrears, to enable an MFI to set an appropriate loan loss reserve.
Aging of loans － 逾期贷款账龄分类
A way of categorising loans according to how long payments on the loan have been past due - also often referred to as 'aging of delinquencies' or 'aging of loans in arrears'.
Amortization schedule － 账龄时段表
A complete schedule of periodic blended loan payments, showing the amount of principal and the amount of interest that comprise each payment so that the loan will be paid off at the end of its term. Early in the schedule, the majority of each periodic payment is interest. Later in the schedule, the majority of each periodic payment is put toward the principal.
Anticipated interest － 预期利息
The amount of interest that a savings account will earn at some future date, assuming no deposits or withdrawals during the intervening period.
Apex funds － 批发资金基金
Capital funds which are managed and made available by apex institutions to retail-level finance institutions for the purposes of making loans.
Apex institution － 批发机构
A second-tier or wholesale institution that channels funding (grants, loans, guarantees) to multiple micofinance institutions in a single country or region. Funding may be provided with or without supporting technical assistance.
Apex loan － 批发贷款
A loan supplied by an apex institution to a retail-level finance institution for the express purpose of delivering financial services to the end client.
Appraisal － 评定
A valuation of property (ie. real estate, a business, an antique) by the estimate of an authorized person. In order to be a valid appraisal, the authorized person will have a designation from a regulatory body governing the jurisdiction the appraiser operates within.
Arrears － 逾期贷款
Amounts due on loans in the past that were not paid. If a loan comes to maturity without being paid back on time, it is considered 'in arrears'.
Arrears rate － 逾期率
The percentage or portion of a financial institution's total loans which are in arrears (see above).
Accumulating Savings & Credit Association (ASCA) － 储蓄与信贷协会
An informal community-based microfinance institution that collects savings from members. One member is then appointed to keep records and manage an internal fund, of which the surplus is lent out. After a set period of time (usually 6 to 12 months), the ASCA calls back all loans and redistributes the fund plus any profits to all the members.
Asset － 资产
1. A resource with economic value that an individual, corporation or country owns or controls with the expectation that it will provide future benefit. 2. A balance sheet item representing what a firm owns.
Asset-based lending － 资产抵押贷款
A business loan secured by collateral (assets). The loan, or line of credit, is secured by inventory, accounts receivable and/or other balance-sheet assets. Also known as "commercial finance" or "asset-based financing".
Autonomous Region (AR) － 自治区
Equivalent of a province; but because of large population of non-Han Chinese Minority nationality peoples; theoretically has more autonomy than a province.
Bad debt － 呆账/坏账
A debt that is not collectible and therefore worthless to the creditor.
Balance Sheet (B/S) － （贷款）余额
Financial statement presenting measures of the assets, liabilities and owner's equity or net worth of business firm or nonprofit organization as of a specific moment in time.
Balloon loan － 漂浮式贷款
A type of loan which does not fully amortize over its term. Since it is not fully amortized, a balloon payment is required at the end of the term to repay the remaining principal balance of the loan.
Balloon payment － 漂浮式付款
An oversized lump sum payment due at the end of a mortgage, commercial loan or other amortized loan.
Bank current account － 银行活期账户
An account which allows permanent and flexible access to deposited cash, characterised primarily by its convenience to the account-holder. This type of account is not well-suited to use for savings or for accruing interest.
Baseline Study － 基线研究
Survey conducted to understand the socio-economic status of communities prior to introducing financial or other services and to measure the impact of these activities.
Benchmarking － 基准
Peer group benchmarking puts performance measurements in context by comparing an institution with similar institutions based on a common factor, such as region, size or methodology. A benchmark can also refer to the standard against which all similar institutions are compared.
Bilateral donors － 双边援助方
An organisation which, on the behalf of a government aid agency, supplies domestic development aid or loans. These agencies can be government bureaus, or private agencies which have been granted the authority to cooperate with the government in distributing aid.
Borrowing capacity － 借款能力
The debt level that a borrower can take on determined according to her assets and income.
Borrowing cost － 借款成本
The sum of all costs associated with obtaining a loan, including interests, commissions, fees and related monetary costs, as well as the opportunity costs associated with the time and effort needed to complete a loan agreement.
Branch (office) － 分支机构/营业所
A location, other than the main office, where business is conducted.
Branch-level Staff － 分支机构（营业所）员工
An employee of the branch office of a bank or financial institution.
Branch Manager － 分支机构（营业所）经理
An executive in charge of a branch office of a bank or financial institution.
Breadth of outreach － 覆盖面
A measurement of coverage according to the overall quantity and number of people receiving financial services (from an MFI). The greater the breadth of outreach, the more people may receive these services.
Break-even analysis － 收支平衡分析
An analysis to determine the point at which revenue received equals the costs associated with receiving the revenue.
Bridge financing/loan － 过渡性贷款
Interim financing used to solidify a position until more permanent financing can be made.
Bullet loan － 一次还本贷款
Any loan that requires a balloon payment at the end of the term and anticipates that the loan will be refinanced in order to meet the balloon payment obligation.
Bullet payment － 一次还本付款
A single payment for an entire loan amount that is paid at maturity.
Business improvement loan － 业务拓展贷款
A loan given to businesses to aid in acquisition or improvement of fixed assets, with the aim of improving or expanding that business's services.
Business plan － 业务计划
A written document that describes in detail how a new business is going to achieve its goals. A business plan will lay out a written plan from a marketing, financial and operational viewpoint.
CAMEL analysis (rating) system － CAMEL评级系统
An international bank-rating system where bank supervisory authorities rate according to six factors: Capital adequacy, Asset quality, Management quality, Earnings, Liquidity and Sensitivity to Market risk.
Capacity building － 能力建设
Training aimed at introducing new management skilsl and knowledge for microfinance institutions and microfinance organizations.
Capital adequacy － 资本充足
Percentage ratio of a financial institution's capital to its assets (loans and investments), used as a measure of financial strength and stability.
Capital adequacy ratio (CAR) － 资本充足率
A measure of a bank's capital. It is expressed as a percentage of a bank's risk weighted credit exposures.
Capital requirements － 最低资本要求
The standardized requirements in place for banks and other depository institutions, which determines how much liquidity is required to be held for a certain level of assets through regulatory agencies such as the People's Bank of China.
Cash-flow analysis － 现金流分析
Financial analysis that compares the timing and amount of cash inflows with the timing and amount of cash outflows.
Cash-flow based lending － 以现金流为基础的放贷
A loan which is provided according to the loan applicant's expected income, but which is not related to the guarantees, credit records and examinations usually used by commercial banks. MFIs apply this method of approving loans extensively, because loan applicants are often unable to supply collateral. Due to this condition, unlike in commercial banks, the expected cashflow of loan applicants is the most important variable in this method of deciding loan evaluations.
Cash-flow statement － 现金流量表
One of the quarterly financial reports any publicly traded company is required to disclose to the SEC and the public. The document provides aggregate data regarding all cash inflows a company receives from both its ongoing operations and external investment sources, as well as all cash outflows that pay for business activities and investments during a given quarter.
Central bank － 中央银行
The entity responsible for overseeing the monetary system for a nation (or group of nations). Central banks have a wide range of responsibilities, from overseeing monetary policy to implementing specific goals such as currency stability, low inflation and full employment. Central banks also generally issue currency, function as the bank of the government, regulate the credit system, oversee commercial banks, manage exchange reserves and act as a lender of last resort. The central bank in China is the People's Bank of China (PBoC).
Certificate of deposit (COD) － 存单
A savings certificate entitling the bearer to receive interest.
Certificate of insurance (COI) － 保单
A document issued by an insurance company/broker that is used to verify the existence of insurance coverage under specific conditions granted to listed individuals.
Character-based lending － 基于个人特征的信贷
Most commercial financing institutions use asset-based or project-based lending, however, microfinance clients often neither have the asset nor the skills to qualify for loans from traditional commercial funding sources. As a result, microfinance institutions adopt a form of lending which use character and cash-flow as the basis for extending loans to clients.
China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) － 中国银行业监督管理委员会（银监会）
The regulatory authority over all formal financial institutions in China, also the promoter of the "village and township bank" initiative in rural areas of China
City Commercial Banks (CCB) － 城市商业银行
City commercial banks evolved from urban credit co-operatives. Due to their history, mandate and capital strength, the scope of city commercial banks' business tends to be concentrated in the city where they are located, though this has been changing since 2007, when Harbin Bank extended branch operations to Dalian and then Tianjin.
Client retention ratio － 客户保留率
A ratio which expresses the number of clients who continue to borrow from a microfinance institution against the total number of clients in a set period of time.
Collateral － 抵押品
Collateral is an asset supplied by a loan applicant as a form of insurance. If the loan applicant defaults, the loan applicant must forfeit the collateral to help the institution recoup some of its financial loss.
Collateral savings － 抵押储蓄
A deposit that a loan recipient is compelled or required to make, as a form of collateral against potential loan default.
Collective guarantee － 小组联保
In group loans, this refers to the guarantee or promise made to mutually fulfil the financial obligations of the loan. If any member of the group does not repay his portion of the loan, the other members must act as a substitute to repay his portion of the loan. Also called 'group guarantee' or 'peer lending guarantee'.
Commercial Banks in China － 商业银行
There are five large national commercial banks in China. The Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), established in 1979,has a special credit unit dedicated to giving micro-entreprise credit in pilot regions. The Bank of China (BoC), established in 1912, is mainly engaged in commercial banking, including corporate and retail banking, treasury business and financial institutions banking. China Construction Bank (CCB), established in 1954, specializes in medium to long-term credit for long term specialized projects, such as infrastructure projects and urban housing development. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), established in 1984, has a special credit unit dedicated to giving micro-entreprise credit in pilot regions. The Bank of Communications (BankComm), established in 1908, is one of the Big Five commercial banks but is not heavily involved in microfinance.
Commercial funds － 商业资金
Commercial funds, as opposed to discounted funds, are received from the financial market according to the condition of the enterprise or of the market.
Community bank － 社区银行
Community banks are independent, locally owned and operated institutions with assets ranging from less than $10 million to multi-billion dollar institutions.
Compound interest － 复利
Interest that accrues on the initial principal and the accumulated interest of a principal deposit, loan or debt. Compounding of interest allows a principal amount to grow at a faster rate than simple interest, which is calculated as a percentage of only the principal amount.
Compulsory insurance － 强制保险
A form of insurance which is mandated by law. The holder of assets which fall under this form of insurance is legally responsible for appointing a corporate insurance policy for these assets.
Compulsory savings － 强制储蓄
This is a clause of a financial credit contract by which the loan recipient is compelled to put forward some savings. These savings can act as a substitute form of loan guarantee, to help recoup a potential loan loss.
Concessionary lending － 优惠贷款
A loan offered to a recipient at conditions and interest rates which are more preferential than the commercial standard. These loans include loans with extended due dates, and loans for which the recipient need only repay the interest, and does not need to repay the starting funds. These sorts of credit services are often subsidised.
Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) － 扶贫协商小组 (CGAP)
Launched in June 1995 to strengthen donor coordination in MF, to set up and disseminate best practices in MF, to support mFIs catering to the poor. CGAP's goal is to expand the level of resources reraching the poorest of the economically active poor.
Contingency fund － 应急基金
A savings fund which an organisation or a person can use in case of an urgent situation such as a large-scale commercial risk or a serious illness; a 'rainy-day fund'.
Cost of capital － 资本成本
The required return necessary to make a capital budgeting project, such as building a new factory, worthwhile. Cost of capital includes the cost of debt and the cost of equity.
Cost-benefit analysis － 成本-效益分析
A process by which business decisions are analyzed. The benefits of a given situation or business-related action are summed and then the costs associated with taking that action are subtracted.
Coverage ratio (for loans) － 贷款损失准备金充足率
An accounting ratio that helps measure a company's ability to meet its obligations satisfactorily.
Credit ceiling － 信贷限额
The highest level of allowance permitted for a loan.
Credit Committee － 信用委员会
Committee that evaluates loan applications, especially in invididual lending methodologies.
Credit cooperative － 信用合作社
A member-owned and -controlled financial cooperative society, which uses savings accounts to establish a common fund, enabling members to lend each other money. It is unlike other types of financial organisation, in that members of a credit cooperative must have common ties to the other members. For example, a credit union could be composed of members from one location, or members which are employed at the same company.
Credit history － 信用记录
A record of a consumer's ability to repay debts and demonstrated responsibility in repaying debts.
Credit risk － 信贷风险
The risk of loss of principal or loss of a financial reward stemming from a borrower's failure to repay a loan or otherwise meet a contractual obligation.
Credit scoring － 信贷评分
Measures the risk associated with each credit applicant/ microborrower. Credit scoring is an automated system that assigns points for various credit factors, providing lenders with the ability to grade prospective clients and to calculate the risk of extending credit. In a microfinance context, the credit scoring method is modified to take into account a microentrepreneur's experience, character and capacity to repay. The final credit score is an overall measure of the creditworthiness of the credit applicant.
Credit terms and conditions － 信贷条款和条件
All of the concrete requirements added to a loan agreement; contained within are the contractual conditions as well as the rights and obligations of the lender and the recipient. These conditions and clauses include interest rates and other fees, the extent and due date of the loan, factors related to collateral and third-party guarantees and other general conditions (such as the conditions under which the loan would end).
Creditor － 债权人
An entity (person or institution) that extends credit by giving another entity permission to borrowmoney if it is paid back at a later date. Creditors can be classified as either "personal" or "real". Those people who loan money to friends or family are personal creditors.
Credit worthiness － 信用可靠度
An assessment of the likelihood that a borrower will default on their debt obligations.
Crop insurance － 作物信贷
A form of insurance designed to compensate in the event of crop loss. The loss may be due to any one of many causal factors (such as extreme climate or natural disaster).
Current loan － 正常贷款
As opposed to overdue or defaulted loans, these are loans which have not yet reached their due date, and which appear (as of now) likely to be paid on time. Also called a 'healthy loan'.
Debt － 债务
An amount of money borrowed by one party from another. Many corporations/individuals use debt as a method for making large purchases that they could not afford under normal circumstances. A debt arrangement gives the borrowing party permission to borrow money under the condition that it is to be paid back at a later date, usually with interest.
Debt capacity － 负债能力
Assessment of the amount of debt an individual or firm can repay in a timely manner (from available sources of income) without jeapordizing its financial viability)
Debt service － 偿债总额
Payment of principal and interest due on an existing debt.
Debt-to-equity ratio － 债务与所有者权益比率
A measure of a company's financial leverage and its capacity for debt repayment, it indicates the proportion of the company's assets contributed by equity and debt.
Declining Balance Method － 余额递减法
A method of calculating in which amount remaining unpaid on a loan decreases with every loan instalment paid.
Default － 违约
Failure to make timely payment of interest or principal on a loan。
Default loan － 违约贷款
A loan that cannot be reclaimed, either because the debtor refuses to repay the loan or because the debtor's financial situation does not allow them to repay the loan. Only when all methods have been tried to recover the loan, and when the financial institution no longer has any reason to believe they will receive the loaned money, should the loan be marked as in default and the debtor's default status recorded.
Default rate － 违约率
The rate of borrowers who fail to repay loans in a timely manner within a microfinance institutions' loan portfolio.
Delinquency － 逾期/逾期贷款
A term describing the failure to meet required obligations according to schedule.
Delinquency rate － 逾期率
The percentage of loans within a loan portfolio that have delinquent payments. The delinquency rate is calculated as the number of loans that have delinquent payments divided by the total number of loans an institution holds. Typically, delinquency rates on loans are affected by the credit quality of the borrower and macroeconomic factors such as unemployment.
Delivery mechanism － 发放机制
The methods or mechanisms by which a financial organisation offers credit, savings or other services to clients.
Deposit mobilization － 存款动员
A process of actively encouraging and levying bank deposits.
Depth of outreach － 覆盖深度
The lowest level of poverty of clients reached by a microfinance institution
Development bank － 开发银行
A specialised financial institution established to meet the financial service needs of special clients (for example, new industries and small enterprises which cannot receive adequate financial services from larger, established financial institutions); usually these are owned and run by the government. These banks, in order to reach a sustainable level of functionality, often require long-term capital investments and technical aid.
Disposable income － 可支配收入
The amount of money that households have available for spending and saving after income taxes have been accounted for. Disposable personal income is often monitored as one of the many key economic indicators used to gauge the overall state of the economy.
Downscaling approach － 金融服务下移
An approach taken by commercial banks whereby they expand their business by offering microcredit services to clients who traditionally have no way of receiving financial services.
Drop-out rate － 退出率
A ratio which measures the number of clients who have left and terminated their current service relationship with an organisation (or who have not renewed their contracts with the organisation) over the organisation's total number of clients.
Effective interest rate － 有效利率
The practice of accounting for the discount at which a bond is sold as an interest expense to be amortized over the life of the bond.
Eligibility (for a loan) － 符合（贷款）条件
A condition wherein an individual or an organisation is in keeping with the qualifications for receiving a loan, as well as fulfilling other related requirements.
Eligibility criterion － 贷款资格标准
A criterion used for determining whether a loan applicant is or is not in keeping with the requirements for receiving a loan.
Equal principal payments － 等额本金还款
Equal principal" payments mean the same amount is applied to principal at each payment; AND the payment reduces gradually, as the interest does
Equity － 所有者权益
A stock or any other security representing an ownership interest.
Equity financing － 权益融资
Equity finance is a way of raising share capital from external investors in return for handing over a share of the business.
Equity grant － 权益赠款
Funds received by an organisation which it is under no obligation to pay back, and for which the donor does not expect to receive from the organisation equity shares or a position.
Extension (of a loan term) － 贷款展期
This agreement is between a lender and borrower extending the date for the repayment of a loan. This form provides for a new specific maturity date.
Face value － 面值
The nominal value or dollar value of a security stated by the issuer
Feasibility study － 可行性研究
An analysis of the ability to complete a project successfully, taking into account legal, economic, technological, scheduling and other factors.
Field staff － 信贷员
Employees who work at the grassroots level and interact directly with the microfinance institution's clients。
Financial analysis － 财务分析
The process of evaluating businesses, projects, budgets and other finance-related entities to determine their suitability for investment. Typically, financial analysis is used to analyze whether an entity is stable, solvent, liquid, or profitable enough to be invested in.
Financial institution － 金融机构
An establishment that focuses on dealing with financial transactions, such as investments, loans and deposits. Conventionally, financial institutions are composed of organizations such as banks, trust companies, insurance companies and investment dealers.
Financial leverage － 财务杠杆作用
The amount of debt used to finance a firm's assets. A firm with significantly more debt than equity is considered to be highly leveraged. The use of various financial instruments or borrowed capital, such as margin, to increase the potential return of an investment.
Financial market － 金融市场
Broad term describing any marketplace where buyers and sellers participate in the trade of assets such as equities, bonds, currencies and derivatives. Financial markets are typically defined by having transparent pricing, basic regulations on trading, costs and fees and market forces determining the prices of securities that trade.
Financial self-sufficiency (FSS) － 财务自负盈亏
Ratio used to demonstrate the financial institution's ability to be fully sustainable in the long-run by covering all operating costs and maintaining value of capital. FSS is calculated as total operating revenues divided by total administrative and financial expenses, adjusted for low-interest loans and inflation.
Fixed assets － 固定资产
A long-term tangible peice of property that an individual owns and/or uses in the business for income generation (i.e., a sewing machine for a microentrepreneur who owns her own tailor business)
Fixed interest rate － 固定利率
A loan or mortgage with an interest rate that will remain at a predetermined rate for the entire term of the loan.
Flat interest rate － 统一利率
Interest charged on the full amount of a loan throughout its entire term and commonly known as a 'pre-determined' credit charge. The flat rate takes no account of the fact that periodic repayments, which include both interest and principal gradually reduce the amount owed.
Floating interest rate － 浮动利率
Any interest rate that changes on a periodic basis. The change is usually tied to movement of an outside indicator, such as the prime interest rate.
Follow-up loan － 后续贷款
Loans that follow an initial transfer of loan fund.
Foreign Banks in China － 中国的外资银行
After China's banking sector started opening up to foreign competition on December 11, 2006, the number of foreign banks and the scope of their operations has greatly expanded. As of the end of December 2006, there were a total of 274 foreign banks operating in China, including 14 locally incorporated foreign-funded banks, 74 with branches in China, and 186 with representative offices
Gap analysis － 差距分析
A method of asset-liability management that can be used to assess interest rate risk or liquidity risk excluding credit risk. It determines the difference between rate sensitive assets and rate-sensitive liabilities
Getihu － 个体户
Or Individual Entrepreneur. Refers to a single-proprietor small business registered with the State Administration of Industry and Commerce.
Grace period － 宽限期
A grace period is a time past the deadline for an obligation during which a late penalty is waived.
Greenfield approach － 新建小额信贷机构（模式）
The Greenfield Approach is applied to the design and formation of a new microfinance institution and its working practices.
Group lending － 小组贷款
Lending to a group of people who have common wish to borrow and act as each others' guarantors.、
Guarantor － 担保人
A person who guarantees to pay for someone else's debt if he or she should default on a loan obligation.
Hidden transaction cost － 隐性交易成本
Refers to a cost of financial transaction which a client must pay, but which is outside the payments due to the financial organisation. For example, the cost of transportation to and from the place where the bank is located would be such a cost.
Home improvement loan － 房屋修缮贷款
A loan that finances the renovation or additions to the borrower's home
Impact analysis － 影响评估
Determination and analysis of the outcome of an intervention.
Income statement (I/S) － 损益表
Income statement (also referred as profit and loss statement (P&L), statement of financial performance, earnings statement, operating statement or statement of operations)[1] is a company's financial statement that indicates how the revenue (money received from the sale of products and services before expenses are taken out, also known as the "top line") is transformed into the net income (the result after all revenues and expenses have been accounted for, also known as the "bottom line").
Individual Lending － 个人贷款
Single-client lending where repayment relies solely on the individual.
Informal sector － 非正规部门
A subset of the economy consisting of self-owned enterprises and the enterprises of informal employers, in both urban and rural areas. The businesses of the informal sector are not registered with any taxation or regulatory bodies.
In-kind subsidy － 非现金补贴
The phrase "in-kind" means provided in a form other than money. Typical in-kind benefits provided by governments are subsidized housing, specific infrastructure (like a road servicing a single mine or factory),
Inclusive financial systems － 普惠金融体系
The purpose of inclusive financial systems is to prepare microcredit businesses to conform to financial system standards, in order to guarantee that the people who ordinarily cannot receive banking services are able to have opportunities to receive banking services in perpetuity. To offer these clients all forms of financial services requires: a large number of organisations; reinforcement of the structure of existing retail finance institutions; the creation of complete financial bases; and a favourable policy environment.
Indemnity － 赔偿
A contractual agreement made between different parties to compensate for any damages or losses.
Informal financial institution － 非正规金融机构
Informal lending and savings institutions exist around the world, and often include regular door-to-door deposit collection of cash. Some banks have adopted similar services in order to expand access to banking services in areas that lack physical branches
Informal lending － 非正规贷款
Lending by informal financial institutions, associations, loan sharks, as well as friends and family.
Insolvency － 破产
When an individual or organization can no longer meet its financial obligations with its lender or lenders as debts become due. Insolvency can lead to insolvency proceedings, in which legal action will be taken against the insolvent entity, and assets may be liquidated to pay off outstanding debts.
Insurance premium － 保险费
The periodic payment made on an insurance policy, also called 'premium'.
Interest － 利息
The fee rate charged by a lender to a borrower for the use of borrowed money, usually expressed as an annual percentageof the principal; the rate is dependent upon the time value of money, the credit risk of the borrower, and the inflation rate.
Interest after loan payment － 贷款余额递减计息法
A method of calculating interest according to the amount of loan money awaiting repayment that was not a part of the original loan. As a result, the interest calculated by this method is only taken according to the original money lent subtracted from the total (including extra dues).
Interest ceiling － 利率上限
The maximum interest rate that a financial institution can charge a borrower for an adjustable rate mortgage or loan according to the contractual terms of the mortgage or loan. This interest rate is expressed as an absolute percentage.
Interest in arrears － 未付利息
Interest on a loan which is due to be paid at the maturity date rather than periodically during the life of the loan. The interest leading up to the due date is payable but not yet paid.
Interest on overdue payment － 逾期贷款利息
Interest collected by financial or lending organisations from clients holding overdue loans.
Interest on savings － 储蓄利息
Interest paid at regular intervals by financial or lending organisations to clients holding savings accounts; usually it is paid in a fixed, direct proportion to the amount in savings.
Interest payable － 应付利息
Interest that is owed but has not yet been paid. Accounting reports will show the amount of interest that is owed on a balance sheet.
Interest payment － 利息支付
A payment determined by by the interest rate on an account. As a borrower, an interest payment represents the rate charged for being lent funds. As an investor, interest payments represent the income earned on cash accounts or fixed and variable rate securities.
Interest rate deregulation － 取消利率管制
The removal of the power and services of interest rate control from a financial oversight agency.
Interest rate limit － 利率限制
This refers to the maximum interest rate a formal financial institution may charge for a loan. For example, VTBs are allowed by the central bank to charge up to 4 times the current basic interest rate on loans, whereas RCCs are only allowed to charge up to 2.3 times the current basic interest rate.
Interest rate margin or spread － 存贷利差
The difference between the interest a bank pays on deposits and the interest it charges on loans
Interest rate risk － 利率风险
The risk associated with changes in market interest rates that can harm a financial institution's profitability.
Interest rebate － 利息返还
A preferential rate of interest given by an organisation to clients who repay their loans ahead of schedule.
Inventory credit － 存货贷款
A form of loan for which the loan recipient uses her own products as collateral; also called 'warehouse receipt financing'.
Joint-stock commercial banks － 股份制商业银行
Shareholding or joint-stock commercial banks are incorporated as joint-stock limited companies under the People's Republic of China's Company Law. Most of them have majority state ownership.
Joint liability － 连带责任
The condition in which responsibility rests with two or more people for fulfilling the termsof a home loan or other financial debt.
Late payment － 逾期支付
The payment made to the lender after the due date has passed.
Legal reserve － 法定存款准备金
Minimum amount of money that financial institutions such as banks, building societies, credit unions and insurance companies are required by law to keep as security. Legal reserves must be kept in the form prescribed by law and cannot be used to pay depositors.
Lending costs － 贷款成本
The opportunity costs associated with lending and collecting loans; these include evaluation, monitoring and opportunity costs of executing collection.
Lending methodology － 贷款方法
The financial products, lending technologies and plans used by financial organisations engaged in lending.
Leverage － 财务杠杆
The amount of money borrowed by an MFI relative to the amount of its equity.
Leverage ratio － 财务杠杆比率
A ratio used to measure an organisation's financial leverage. The most commonly used ones are the ratio of debt to profits and the ratio of debt to total assets.
Liabilities － 负债
A claim against the assets, or legal obligationsof a person or organization, arising out of past or currenttransactions or actions. Liabilities require mandatorytransfer of assets, or provision of services, at specifieddates or in determinable future.
Life of credit － 信用额度
A limit on the volume of credit offered to a client by a financial organisation; this limit can include a series of credit transactions. Should a client take out loans close to his limit, he should return his old loan to the bank to reduce his debt, thus making him more eligible to take out a new loan.
Liquidity － 流动性
The extent to which a person or organization has cash to meet immediate and short-term obligations, or assets that can be quickly converted to this.
Liquidity ratio － 流动性比率
A calculation determining whether enough cash is available for disbursements and whether there is too much idle cash. Calculated as liquid assets as a percentage of total assets.
Liquidity risk － 流动性风险
The risk of not having enough to meet demands for cash, leading to extra expenses in obtaining short-term funds to fund an illiquid position
Livestock saving － 以牲畜的形式储蓄
A form of saving which is not undertaken with a financial organisation and not paid in cash, but which is a form of savings using cattle as capital. This form of investment is both unsafe and inconvenient; because of these shortcomings, other methods of savings are usually adopted by farming families.
Loan － 贷款
Written or oral agreement for a temporary transfer of a property (usually cash) from its owner (the lender) to a borrower who promises to return it according to the termsof the agreement, usually with interest for its use.
Loan agreement － 贷款协议
A written contract between a lender and a borrower that sets out the rights and obligations of each party regarding a specified loan.
Loan application form － 贷款申请表
Document that provides the essential financial and other information about the borrower on which the lender bases the decision to lend. For a business loan, it normally requires a detailed business plan that includes current and projected (usually for 3 years, or for the period of the loan) income statement (profit and loss account), balance sheet, and cash flow statement.
Loan appraisal － 贷款评估
The procedure used by lenders to evaluate a loan. The loan appraisal procedure includes collection and analysis of interrelated information on applicants as well as their activities, cash flow and any possible guarantees (such as collateral). There is an important relationship between loan appraisal and the decision whether or not to make a loan.
Loan balance － 贷款余额
The balance remaining to be paid on an amortized loan. Sometimes called a remaining balance table.
Loan contract － 贷款合同
Formal legal document that evidences a loan.
Loan cycle － 贷款周期
The loan cycle includes the following stages: loan application, sanctioning, provision, monitoring and repayment. Once the above stages are completed, the loan recipients who repaid their loans on time may take out a new loan.
Loan-deposit ratio － 存贷比
The amount of a bank's loans divided by the amount of its deposits at any given time. The higher the ratio, the more the bank is relying on borrowed funds, which are generally more costly than most types of capital.
Loan disbursement － 贷款发放
A process in which the lender pays the loan to the recipient.
Loan losses － 贷款损失
Losses produced because of unpaid loans due to the clients' inability to repay. According to microfinance best practices,
Loan Loss Rate － 贷款损失率
Total write-offs divided by active portfolio. The loan loss rate is an indicator to measure unrecovered loans.
Loan Loss Reserve － 贷款损失准备金
Provision set aside to cover potential losses. In general, microfinance institutions establish a loan loss reserve equal to 2-5% of the value of their active portfolios. The Loan Loss Reserve is recorded as an expense on the income statement and as a negative asset on the balance sheet.
Loan maturity － 贷款期限
The life of the loan or the amount of time the loan will remain in existence until the debt is paid off
Loan officer (LO) － 信贷员
A person who helps borrowers acquire loans, such as mortgages, from banks or other lending institutions.
Loan officer productivity － 信贷员生产率
The productivity of a loan officer, as measured by their number of clients, by total amount in loans or by default rate.
Loan portfolio － 贷款余额
Total of all loans held by a bank or finance company on any given day; also called 'loans outstanding'.
Loan products － 贷款产品
Types of loans with particular sets of terms and conditions, and often for a particular use. Within the field of microfinance, loan products include fixed-asset lending, home improvement loans and solidarity group lending.
Loan scoring － 信贷评分
Classification system used by banks to rate (grade) existing and requested loans on the basis of the borrower's credit history, likelihood of repayment of interest and principalwhen due, and the quality of guaranties and collateral. Also called loan scoring.
Loan size － 贷款额度
The monetary value of a loan given to a loan recipient.
Loan term － 贷款期限
Period over which a loan agreement is in force, and before or at the end of which the loan should either be repaid or renegotiated for another term.
Management Information System (MIS) － 管理信息系统
A set of systems which gathers and reports data to management, allowing managers to take the decisions and actions necessary to maintain portfolio quality, control costs and project and monitor income. A good MIS strengthens institutional accountability, supports internal control processes and facilitates outside supervision. An example of a microfinance-specific MIS systems include MIFOs, developed by Grameen Bank.
Microcredit － 小额贷款
A part of the microfinance field, microcredit is the provision of credit services to low-income entrepreneurs. Microcredit is often characterized has having short loan terms, smaller loan sizes and more relaxed restrictions on collateral and guarantees. Microcredit can also refer to microloans.
Microcredit company (MCC) － 小额贷款公司
These institutions, founded under a pilot project of the People's Bank of China to provide loan services in rural areas, MCCs are restricted to only microloans and cannot provide savings services.
Microentrepreneur － 微型企业家
Owner/ proprietor of a microenterprise.
Microfinance － 微型金融
The furnishing of financial services to low-income clients. As opposed to the term microcredit, microfinance can include all manner of authorized financial services.
Microfinance institution (MFI) － 微型金融机构
Microfinance institutions are financial institutions that provide microfinance products and services to low-income clients. MFIs can range across different forms of institutions which may be fundamentally different from one another in terms of legal structure, goals, means of supervising loans, supervision etc. However, these organisations all share a common characteristic: they offer services to a sector which is more impoverished and more vulnerable than the client sector served by traditional banks.
Microinsurance － 微型保险
A developing segment of microfinance that provides insurance products to microentrepreneurs and employees in the informal sector.
Mobile bank － 移动银行
A business practice adopted by microcredit institutions, characterised by an employee of a microcredit institution travelling to a remote village to provide financial services to the clients who live there. While there, the employee manages loan applications, distributes funds, collects loan repayments and encourages savings. This activity is usually based on a fixed and published schedule. By planning scheduled visits to the village on a weekly basis, mobile banking can help clients save both time and transportation costs.
Mobile payment － 移动支付
Money rendered for a product or service through a portable electronic device such as a cell phone, smartphone or PDA. Mobile payment technology can also be used to send money to friends or family members.
Multilateral donor － 多边捐赠机构
Multilateral donors are those involving the assistance of two or more nations, for example the United Nations or the Asian Development Bank.
Mutual aid funds － 互助基金
A tool used by the informal banking sector, wherein community members join together and pool resources to establish a fund, to be used for mutual assistance when an urgent situation arises. Mutual aid funds reflect the economic concepts of common benefit and voluntary reciprocal exchange of resources and services.
National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) － 中国国家发展和改革委员会（发改委）
The National Development and Reform Commission is a macro-economic management agency under the State Council, which studies and formulates policies for economic and social development, and maintains a balance of economic aggregates to guide the overall economic system restructuring. It is a combinantion of the functions of the predecessors, the State Planning Commission and State Economic Commission.
Nominal interest rate － 名义利率
Nominal interest rates refer to referes to the rate of interest prior to taking inflation into account. Depending on its application, an inflation and risk premium must be added to the real interest rate in order to obtain the nominal rate.
Non-governmental organization (NGO) － 非政府组织（NGO）
Private sector voluntary (and usually non-profit and/or non-sectarian) organization that contributes to, or participates in cooperation projects, education, training or other humanitarian, progressive or watchdog activities. Some of them are accredited by the UN, and some collect donations for distribution among disadvantaged or distressed people.
Operating costs － 经营成本
Expenses associated with administering a business on a day to day basis. Operating costs include both fixed costs and variable costs. Fixed costs, such as overhead, remain the same regardless of the number of products produced; variable costs, such as materials, can vary according to how much product is produced.
Operational Self-Sufficiency (OSS) － 经营持续性
A measure of financial efficiency equal to total operating revenues divided by total administrative and financial expenses. If the resulting figure is greater than 100, the organization under evaluation is considered to be operationally self-sufficient. In microfinance, operationally sustainable institutions are able to cover administrative costs with client revenues.
Outreach － 金融服务覆盖面
Actions leading to reaching people outside current client base of a microfinance institution.
Outreach indicator － 覆盖面指标
An indicator describing how well and how broadly an organisation can cover their client base, or which may be used to indicate the degree of poverty among the client base to which the organisation can reach, such that the higher the measure, the greater difficulties it can aid. Under normal circumstances, the average loan quantity or the net worth of the average loan recipient can be used to determine the economic situation of loan recipients.
Payment in kind － 以实物形式偿还
The use of a good or service as payment, instead of cash. Also known as 'paid in-kind'.
Penalty interest － 逾期贷款罚金
Extra interest that is to be paid on the original funds of a loan after it reaches maturity.
Pending loan － 已批准未发放的贷款
A loan that has been approved but which has not yet been provided.
Personal loan － 个人贷款
Consumer loan granted for personal (medical), family(education, vacation), or household (extension, repairs, purchase of air conditioner, computer, refrigerator, etc.) use, as opposed to business or commercial use.
Pledge － 债权人保管抵押品
Cash deposit or placing of owned property by a debtor (the pledger) to a creditor (the pledgee) as a security for a loan or obligation.
Policy Banks (ADBC; CDB; EXIM) － 政策性银行
In 1994, the Chinese government established three policy banks that touch on the lives of the rural poor. Agricultural Development Bank of China (ADBC) is mandated by the CBRC as the key to providing policy- related financial services for agriculture, rural areas, and farmers. China Development Bank (CDB) has been charged with financing the building of China's infrastructure; more recently the bank has been expressing the need to transform itself into a more commercial entity. The Export-Import Bank of China (EXIM) is responsible for supporting agricultural businesses to “go global” under the guidance of the CBRC.
Portfolio at Risk (PAR) － 风险贷款（率）
Measurement of the total outstanding balance of loans past due - not late payments or payments not yet due - divided by the active portfolio.
Portfolio yield － 贷款收益率
The earnings rate received by lenders from loans.
Postal Savings Bank of China (PSBC) － 中国邮政储蓄银行
The Postal Savings Bank of China was inaugurated on March 20, 2007, becoming the country's fifth largest bank. This marked a huge step in China's financial reform, as well as opportunities for the development of rural finance, as approximately 60% of the bank's clients are located in rural areas
Poverty alleviation － 扶贫
Any measure or activity aimed at reducing the poverty level in a community, in a region or in a nation. Poverty alleviation programmes may be concerned with alleviating economic or non-economic poverty. Common poverty alleviation projects include: education, economic growth plans, promotion of financial development, provision of financial services to poor populations, &c.
Poverty Alleviation Office (PAO) － 扶贫办公室（扶贫办）
Office under the State Council in charge of work related to poverty alleviation.
Prepayment clause － 提前还款条款
Provision in some loan agreements under which a borrower may pay off (retire) a loan ahead of the schedule, without incurring prepayment penalty.
Prepayment fee － 提前还款收费
A penalty on advance repayments. If a loan recipient returns his loan early, the lender stands to lose part of the interest he would have earned; thus, a prepayment fee must be paid.
Principal － 本金
The amount borrowed or the amount still owed on a loan, separate from interest.
Provinces (Autonomous Regions and Municipalities) － 省、自治区和直辖市
There are 32 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities listed by China.
Renminbi (RMB) － 人民币（RMB）
The Chinese currency, the renminbi, also known as the Chinese Yuan (CNY).
Repayment rate － 贷款回收率
The historic rate of loan recovery, measuring repayments made against actual amount due
Repayment schedule － 还款计划
Detailed outlineof aborrower's loan agreement with a lender that shows the original loan amount, when payments aredue, and how much of the payment goes to the principal and interest repayment.
Repeated lending － 重复放贷
A circumstance in which loans are repeatedly given to the same client. Repeated lending is in the interests of the lender, because the loan recipient's creditworthiness has already been proven through her return of the prior loan. Building up a good relationship between lender and recipient can greatly reduce the opportunity costs of making a loan on both sides: for example, by cutting down on the evaluation process and not having to do as much monitoring.
Reserve requirements － 准备金要求
Requirements regarding the amount of funds that banks must hold in reserve against deposits made by their customers.
Return on Assets (ROA) － 资产回报率
Ratio measuring net income earned on the assets of a microfinance institution.
Return on Equity (ROE) － 股本回报率
Ratio measuring the return on funds that are owned by the microfinance institution.
Risk management － 风险管理
The process of identification, analysis and either acceptance or mitigation of uncertainty in investment decision-making.
Rotating savings and credit association (ROSCA) － 合会（ROSCA）
An informal savings and credit group in which a lump sump of equal amounts is collected from each member during each period and is then pooled and lent to members on a rotating schedule. Once all members have borrowed and repaid their loans, the association automatically ends and all funds are shared equally among members. For example, in a ROSCA of 10 people in which each person gives $10 every week, for 10 continuous weeks each member will be given a $100 loan. Variations exist, such as the Auction ROSCA, in which members submit bids for interest payments to borrow the funds, the highest bid wins.
Rural credit cooperatives (RCCs) － 农村信用合作社
These financial institutions, organised under the People's Bank of China, were originally the primary legal means available to people in rural areas to receive credit. They function similarly to banks, but are geographically limited to a single village; many of them suffer from sustainability problems.
Savings account － 储蓄账户
A deposit account held at a bank or other financial institution that provides principal security and a modest interest rate
Savings and credit cooperative － 储蓄和信贷联盟
A type of non-profit financial institution, in which members have full ownership and control of activity. This type of financial institution typically functions by taking the savings from its members and distributing the income from interest back to its members, as well as offering them credit services.
Savings and loan association － 储蓄贷款协会
A microfinance organisation which is set up in a community, which allows its members to save, and which uses members' savings to make loans. It is unlike a ROSCA not only in that it does not use the rotating credit system, but also in that the members are not obligated to take loans. In addition, the amounts saved or borrowed by each member do not have to be equal (as opposed to a ROSCA, wherein all members make equal savings contributions to the fund and in turn receive equal loan amounts). As a result, the organisation and activities of this type of financial institution are more complex.
Savings mobilization － 储蓄动员
Programs intending to mobilize the capital of the poor and to provide savings accounts, as well as credit services, to microentrepreneurs and low-income households.
Secured loan － 抵押贷款
A loan which is backed by assets belonging to the borrower in order to decrease the risk assumed by the lender.
Self-help group (SHG) － 自助小组（SHG）
These are organizations that are used as a foundation to formalize credit and savings operations such as trust banks and/or village banks.
Small-to-Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME) － 中小企业
A business that maintains revenues or a number of employees below a certain level. For more information.on the SME categorizations in China, see http://www.planetfinancechina.org/resource-center/FAQ
Solidarity group － 团结小组
A group, usually composed of no more than five people which applies jointly for a loan. Once the loan has been made, it is distributed among the members. The members of the group, however, take joint responsibility for repaying all of the loan. This way, if one member of the group is unable to pay back his part of the loan, the other members of the group must pay it back for him. The difference between a solidarity group loan and an ordinary group loan (in which each member of the group gets his own portion of the loan) is that, in a solidarity group loan the loan money is distributed amongst members of the group by the group itself, and the lender has no control over the amount of money each person in the group receives. Loans given to solidarity groups are called solidarity group loans.
Solvency － 贷款偿付能力
The ability of a corporation to meet its long-term fixed expenses and to accomplish long- term expansion and growth.
Spread － 差价
The difference between the interest paid on loans taken out by an MFI and the rate of interest the MFI charges on the loans it distributes
State Administration for Exchange Control (SAFE) － 国家外汇管理局
Administration in charge of regulating and managing all matters related to foreign exchange in China.
Subsidized loan － 贴息贷款
A type of loan that does not require the borrower to pay interest; but rather has the interest paid by a third party.
Supplier credit － 卖方信贷
Goods or services received on deferred payment terms. Also called supplier financing.
Technical assistance － 技术支持
Exchange of knowledge, product and services and management technology between technical service providers and microfinancial institutions.
Time deposit － 定期存款
Savings account or CD held in a financial institution, usually a bank, for a fixed term or with the understanding that the customer can withdraw only by giving advanced notice.
Township － 镇
Administration level situated between the county and the village.
Transparency － 透明度
The degree of a financial institution/ MFI's openness as determined by a sequence of financial information-gathering and testing. A transparent microfinance organization gathers and reports accurate financial information on its own, to be verified and analyzed by external parties. These external authorities ensure that the MFI's performance complies with appropriate industry standards.
Underbanked － 未能得到充分金融服务的人群
Clients who may have access to traditional financial services, but whose financial needs are still unsatisfied.
Upscaling － 升级
Transforming a non-regulated microfinance institution into a fully-fledged bank or financial institution.
Unit bank(ing) － 无分支银行
(The operations of) a bank which operates in only one location, and which has not established any branch organisations.
Unsecured loan － 无抵押贷款
A loan that is not backed by collateral. also called signature loan.
Up-front savings － 先期存款
To get a loan, a loan applicant must first save a sum of money, which may also be used as collateral on the loan. The more important aspect, however, is making the loan recipient conscious that savings are necessary to be considered for a loan.
Village and Township Bank (VTB) － 村银行
Bank set up under CBRC initiative to allow local small organizations to set up a financial institution permitted to take deposits if the founding structure features a minimum 20 percent holding of shares by an existing financial institution.
Voluntary deposit/savings － 自愿存款
Willing deposits by the client for her own purposes. The difference between voluntary savings and compulsory or up-front savings is that the latter two are directly related to the loan, and are deposited as part of the loan agreement.
Weekly payment － 每周还款
A type of repayment arrangement commonly associated with microcredit. Frequent repayments on loans can strengthen the loan recipient's habits of repayment, and at the same time can help the lender more quickly regain his funds. However, this arrangement can also raise opportunity costs for both lender and recipient, since frequent repayments can be a waste of time and effort.
Wholesale banking － 批发银行（业务）
Banking services between merchant banks and other financial institutions. Wholesale banking deals with larger institutions, where as retail banking would focus more on the individual or smallerbusiness.
Wholesale fund － 批发资金
Funds given to a microfinance organisation from donations and / or the financial market, by means of apex or retail suppliers.
Wholly-foreign-owned enterprise (WOFE) － 外商独资企业
A registered limited liability company whose shareholders are all non- Chinese entities or individuals.
Working capital － 流动资本
A measure of both a company's efficiency and its short-term financial health. Working capital=current assets+current debts.
Working capital loan － 流动资本贷款
A loan whose purpose is to finance everyday operations of a company.
Yield to maturity － 到期收益
Yield that would be realized on a bond or other fixed income security if the bond was held until the maturity date.