creditor

n.

One to whom money or its equivalent is owed.

An entity (person or institution) that extends credit by giving another entity permission to borrow money 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. Real creditors (i.e. a bank or finance company) have legal contracts with the borrower granting the lender the right to claim any of the debtor's real assets (e.g. real estate or car) if he or she fails to pay back the loan.

Investopedia Says:
When creditors are notified of bankruptcy proceedings, they have a couple of options with respect to their claim against the debtor:

1. They can share in any distribution from the bankruptcy estate according to the priority of their claim. Most unsecured, non-wage claims come low on the priority list.

2. They can take the debtor to court and challenge a debtor's discharge (the right not to pay back) due to bankruptcy protection.

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Any lendor who, in the course of business, regularly extends credit, repayable by agreement, by a second party, the Debtor. The loan may be repayable in several equal installments over a specified period, or in certain business loans, repayable in full at the option of either the borrower or the lender. A lender who takes an assignment of collateral has a claim on the borrower's assets, whereas a lender who lends on the strength of a borrower's character can look only to the borrower's future income.

One who is owed money.
Examples: Creditors include:

• bond holders

• loan companies

• mortgage lenders

n

A person to whom a debt is owed.

This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

An individual to whom an obligation is owed because he or she has given something of value in exchange. One who may legally demand and receive money, either through the fulfillment of a contract or due to injury sustained as a result of another's negligence or intentionally wrongful act. The term creditor is also used to describe an individual who is engaged in the business of lending money or selling items for which immediate payment is not demanded but an obligation of repayment exists as of a future date.

An attachment creditor is an individual who has obtained an order of attachment from a court to command a sheriff to seize the property of a debtor who has defaulted in the repayment of an outstanding obligation so that the property may be used to satisfy the creditor's claim.

A judgment creditor is a party who has gone to court and obtained a judgment against the person who owes him or her money. If that judgment creditor obtains an order of attachment, he or she becomes an attachment creditor.

A general creditor or creditor at large is an individual who has neither a lien nor a security interest in the property of the debtor.

A junior creditor is one whose right to collect money from a debtor is subordinate to that of another individual who also has a right to collect payment of a different debt from the same debtor. The person with the primary right to payment is known as a senior creditor.

A principal creditor is the party who has a claim against the debtor that is far greater than the debt owed to any other creditor, and in some instances, to all other creditors combined.

A secured creditor holds a special legal right in particular property of the debtor to assure him or her of repayment of the debt. A creditor who has the protection of a lien or mortgage is secured.

A single creditor has a lien on only one of the debtor's funds or accounts.

Petitioning creditors are those parties to whom one debtor owes money and who apply to the court of bankruptcy in order to secure the debtor's property and distribute it equitably among them.

One to whom a debt is owed.

A cynical view of the world by Ambrose Bierce

n.

One of a tribe of savages dwelling beyond the Financial Straits and dreaded for their desolating incursions.

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IN BRIEF: A person who is owed a debt.

Make sure to pay off your creditor before you buy anything for yourself.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - kreditor, kreditgiver

Nederlands (Dutch)
crediteur

Français (French)
n. - (Comm) créancier

Deutsch (German)
n. - Gläubiger

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - δανειστής, (οικον.) πιστωτής

Italiano (Italian)
creditore

Português (Portuguese)
n. - credor (m)

Русский (Russian)
кредитор

Español (Spanish)
n. - acreedor

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - kreditor, borgenär

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
债权人

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 債權人

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 채권자, 대변

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 融資者, 貸主, 債権者, 貸方

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) دائن, صاحب الدين‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮מלווה, נושה‬

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