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Loans meaning

What does Loans mean?
Loans are agreements to advance money on terms of repayment, usually with interest. In pensions practice, this covers any arrangement where occupational pension scheme assets are lent. In Great Britain, legislation defines “employer-related investments” and strictly restricts them: section 40 of the Pensions Act 1995 (mirrored in Northern Ireland legislation) and the Occupational Pension Schemes (Investment) Regulations 2005 prohibit loans to the sponsoring employer or to persons connected with, or associated with, the employer, and ban giving guarantees or security for the employer’s obligations. Other employer-related investments (such as employer shares or securities) are subject to a 5% cap of scheme assets. An exemption applies for “small schemes” that meet prescribed conditions (commonly SSASs). SIPPs are personal pension arrangements and fall outside section 40, though separate tax and regulatory rules apply. In Ireland, the Pensions Act 1990 (as amended) and IORP II-based regulations apply the prudent person rule and impose strict limits on self-investment, with employer-related loans generally not permitted and quantitative caps (typically 5%) enforced by the Pensions Authority. Practically, trustees should diligence borrower status against “connected/associated” tests before any lending. Breaches are serious and may attract regulatory enforcement and breach reporting obligations.
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View the related Checklists about Loans

CHECKLISTS
Non-performing loans (NPLs): EU and UK supervisory, insolvency and secondary market developments timeline (2016–2023)

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived and is no longer maintained. A bank loan is treated as a non-performing loan (NPL) if more than 90 days pass without the borrower making the agreed instalments or interest payments. Banks experienced an accumulation of NPLs in their books when borrowers' inability to repay was intensified by the financial crisis and subsequent recessions. When NPLs are proportionately high, banks' capacity to manage the riskiness of their lending is diminished. NPLs are a supervisory priority for the European Central Bank (ECB), which monitors the overall level of NPLs across euro area banks. Under the supervisory review and evaluation process (SREP), the ECB assesses whether individual banks adequately manage loan risk and whether they have suitable strategies, governance arrangements and processes in place. The ECB also regularly undertakes co-ordinated exercises to review the asset quality of the banks it directly supervises—it works with national supervisors to establish a consistent and effective approach to tackling and reducing bad loans, drawing on best practices as set...

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CHECKLISTS
UK securitisation regime timeline (2024–2026): from assimilated EU Securitisation Regulation to FCA/PRA rules, key regulations and policy statements, STS capital treatment extension, and FSB reforms evaluation.

This timeline shows key developments relating to the UK securitisation regime from January 2024 onwards For earlier milestones, see EU and UK Securitisation Regulations—timeline [Archived]. On 1 November 2024, Assimilated Regulation (EU) 2017/2402 (the UK Securitisation Regulation) no longer applied in the UK, and new securitisation rules issued by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) came into effect. For insight into the revised UK framework, see Practice Note: The UK securitisation regime. 2026 17 February 2026 — PRA/FCA CP2/26 – Reforms to securitisation requirements; CP26/6: Rules for reforming the UK Securitisation Framework; Applying the FSMA 2000 model of regulation to the Capital Requirements Regulation The PRA and FCA have opened consultations on changes to the UK securitisation framework. The FCA suggests simplifying reporting, disclosure and due diligence obligations. The PRA intends to lessen firms’ compliance load by making the regime less prescriptive and adjusting the capital treatment of loans under the Mortgage Guarantee...

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CHECKLISTS
UK corporate loans: direct and indirect tax checklist for bilateral and syndicated borrowing (interest relief, CIR, transfer pricing, hybrids, withholding tax, VAT, stamp duty, SDRT, FATCA and CRS)

Checklist This Checklist sets out the principal direct and indirect tax considerations that a corporate borrower within the scope of UK corporation tax (a UK corporate borrower) ought to assess both prior to entering into a loan and over the life of that loan... It is designed to be used as a Checklist by the tax adviser to a UK corporate borrower, offering a concise outline of the relevant tax matters and providing space for the adviser to record notes... This Checklist proceeds on the basis that: the borrower is a company within the charge to UK corporation tax in relation to the loan, that is, either a UK tax resident company or a non‑UK tax resident company for which the loan is attributable to its UK permanent establishment (a UK PE), or attributable to the non‑UK resident company’s trade of dealing in or developing UK land; and the borrower and the lender are unconnected parties dealing at arm’s length ...

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View the related News about Loans

NEWS
Purkiss v Kennedy: Court of Appeal (England and Wales) holds IA 1986 s423 does not catch EBT tax mitigation; no ‘prohibited purpose’; liquidator’s clawback claim over disguised remuneration fails

Christopher Purkiss (as liquidator of Ethos Solutions Limited) v Tim Kennedy and others [2025] EWCA Civ 268 Ethos Solutions Limited (the Company) ran a disguised remuneration arrangement under which sums were channelled to an employee benefit trust (EBT) without withholding income tax or NICs. The EBT’s trustee allocated funds into sub-trusts for the respondents and, when asked, advanced the amounts to them as discretionary loans. On 4 December 2012, HMRC issued determinations, holding the Company liable for income tax and NICs of c.£2m arising from payments made to the EBT in the 2008‑09 and 2009‑10 tax years. On 18 December 2012, the Company entered creditors’ voluntary liquidation, making no remittances to HMRC and taking no steps to appeal. On 9 January 2013, HMRC lodged a proof of debt totalling c.£2m with respect to those same EBT payments, as claimed therein...

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NEWS
Banking and finance weekly: ECCTA measures, Takeover Code changes, Supreme Court shipping ruling, FCA transparency and consolidated tape, ring-fencing reforms, green loans and ESG disclosures, sanctions (14 November 2024)

In this issue: Sustainable finance and ESG weekly round-up Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 Lending Acquisition finance Shipping finance Real estate finance Sustainable finance Debt capital markets Derivatives Regulation for banking lawyers Sanctions Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Useful information Sustainable finance and ESG weekly round-up For a summary of this week’s Sustainable finance and ESG developments, see Sustainable finance and ESG weekly round-up—14 November 2024. Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (Commencement No 3) Regulations 2024 (SI 2024/1108): Provisions in ECCTA 2023 on civil recovery of cryptoassets in Scotland took effect on 7 November 2024, and measures introducing the UK-wide offence of failure to prevent fraud will commence on 1 September 2025. See: LNB News 07/11/2024 12. Unique Identifiers (Application of Company Law) Regulations 2024 (SI 2024/Draft): These draft Regulations would widen...

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NEWS
UK COVID-19 loan schemes: £1.79bn BBLS and £5m CBILS flagged as suspected fraud; none under CLBILS; lender flags not proof, DBT says (Dec 2023)

The government supported £77bn in total of loans across three relief programmes during 2020 and 2021. Around £47bn went out through the bounce-back loans scheme, with £1.79bn thought to be fraudulent, according to the department’s most recent figures. Lenders marked £5m of the £25.8bn issued under the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme as suspected fraud. No loans made via the third programme—the coronavirus large business interruption loan scheme—have been flagged as potentially fraudulent, the DBT stated. The DBT did not provide an immediate response to a request for additional comment...

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View the related Practice Notes about Loans

PRACTICE NOTES
UK Enterprise Investment Scheme: Individual investor eligibility—subscription and nominees, no connection or prior shares, no linked loans or pre-arranged exits, anti-avoidance and associates

The enterprise investment scheme (EIS) It is primarily intended to boost investment in smaller, higher‑risk trading companies by granting a range of tax reliefs to individual investors who acquire newly issued shares in such companies. The EIS rules are prescriptive and contain numerous conditions that must be satisfied, including those relating to: the individual investors the issued shares the issuing company This Practice Note centres on the conditions that apply to the individual investor. Those conditions are outlined in the context of the income tax relief afforded by Part 5 of the Income Tax Act 2007 (ITA 2007). References to the equivalent capital gains tax (CGT) provisions are included where appropriate. For information on the remaining conditions, see the following Practice Notes: EIS—conditions for relief: issued shares, the funds raised and the arrangements in general EIS—conditions for relief: issuing company EIS—conditions for relief: qualifying trades For a summary of tax reliefs available...

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PRACTICE NOTES
UK employment tax on loans to employees and directors: disguised remuneration, beneficial loan valuation (normal/alternative), OpRA, exemptions, write-offs, anti-avoidance, NICs and P11D reporting

Firms sometimes extend low-interest (or interest-free) borrowing to directors or staff as part of a remuneration package, or on particular occasions, to assist the individual with major financial outlays. As with any other form of employment reward, where a loan is made by a third party rather than by the employer, the disguised remuneration rules in Part 7A of Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (ITEPA 2003) must be considered first, since those provisions take precedence over most mechanisms for charging employment income to tax (including the benefits code). For further information, see: Disguised remuneration and EBTs—overview and, also, regarding the loan charge within the disguised remuneration rules, refer to Practice Note: Disguised remuneration—history of the loan charge. If no third party is involved (eg where the employer itself advances the loan), or an exemption from the disguised remuneration regime applies, the provisions in the benefits code for employment-related loans outlined below may instead govern the position for the particular loan in question...

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PRACTICE NOTES
UK worldwide debt cap (repealed 2017): corporation tax disallowance of financing expenses and exemption of finance income, gateway test and allocation/compliance statements—archived

ARCHIVED : This Practice Note is archived and is no longer maintained. From 1 April 2017, the worldwide debt cap rules were repealed and superseded by the corporate interest restriction (CIR) rules. Accordingly, the worldwide debt cap described here should be treated as relevant only for periods before 1 April 2017, being the date the CIR took effect. For any period straddling that date, the debt cap should be applied to a notional period ending on 31 March 2017. For more on the CIR, which replaces and repeals the debt cap, see Practice Note: Corporate interest restriction. Relief for finance costs of UK-resident companies that are members of large groups may be restricted (ie disallowed) where, broadly, the group’s UK-based net debt exceeds 75% of the group’s gross debt (the gateway test). The debt cap applies to periods of account beginning on or after 1 January 2010. The provisions that bring about the restriction are often termed the worldwide debt cap regime (although it is possible that the regime...

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PRECEDENTS
Restructuring Support (Lock-Up and Standstill) Agreement with Interim Finance, Chief Restructuring Officer Appointment and Creditor/Director Releases

This Agreement is dated [ insert day and month ] 20[ insert year ] Parties The Consenting Lenders (as set out in Schedule 1); [ The Consenting Bondholders (as set out in Schedule 2); ] [ insert name of debtor company ], a company registered in [ insert country eg England and Wales ] with company number [ insert registered number ], whose registered office is at [ insert address ]; [ The Material Companies (as set out in Schedule 3); ] Recitals On [ insert date ], the directors of the Company announced a proposal to restructure the claims of certain creditors of the [ Company OR Group ] following a period of financial distress. On [ insert date ], the Company and certain creditors entered into a Standstill Agreement in connection with the proposed restructuring. [ On [ insert date ], the Company and certain creditors agreed non-binding heads of terms for the...

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PRECEDENTS
Board minutes: JV company approving corporate real estate joint venture documentation, shareholder loans and property sale at exchange (UK Companies Act 2006)

Company number: [ insert company number ] [ Insert company name ] Limited Record of the board of directors’ meeting (the Meeting) of [ insert full name of company ] Limited (the Company). Venue: [ insert place of meeting ] | Date: [ insert day, month and year of meeting ] | Time: [ insert time of meeting ] [ am OR pm ] Present [ Insert names of the director(s) physically present ] [ [ Insert names of any directors present by telephone as permitted by the Company’s articles of association ] (by telephone) ] [ [ Insert names of any directors present by other means permitted by the Company’s articles of association ] (by [ insert other means ]) ] In attendance [ [ Insert name of anyone in attendance, who does not count towards the quorum for the Meeting (eg the company secretary, any legal advisers) ] ] Apologies [ [ Insert...

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PRECEDENTS
Members' ordinary resolution approving loans to directors or connected persons, guarantees or security, and related arrangements under the Companies Act 2006 (ss.197, 203)

Ordinary resolution That approval be granted, under section 197 of the Companies Act 2006, for the Company to make a loan of [ insert amount of loan ] to [ insert name of director ], a director of the Company. OR That, in accordance with section 197 of the Companies Act 2006, the Company’s proposed provision of [ guarantee OR security ] in relation to a loan of [ insert amount of loan ] by [ insert name of person who has given or is giving the loan ] to [ insert name of director ], a director of the Company, be approved. OR That the [ insert details of arrangement falling within the definition of ‘related arrangement’ in section 203(1) CA 2006 ] be approved pursuant to section 203 of the Companies Act 2006...

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View the related Q&As about Loans

Q&As
LLP insolvency: ranking of members’ capital and current accounts vs unsecured creditors; can this be altered by agreement?

In partnership with Alexander Stewart of Hogarth Chambers If a limited liability partnership (LLP) becomes insolvent, the preferred view is that members’ entitlements to amounts due under their capital and current accounts are subordinated to the claims of external unsecured creditors. That said, it can be contended that members’ claims for advances or loans made to the LLP—despite being entered in their current accounts—stand on the same footing as those of external unsecured creditors. LLPs are established by the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2000 (LLPA 2000). In several respects, including insolvency, LLPs are akin to limited companies rather than partnerships; see: Limited liability partnerships (LLPs) and insolvency—overview. Where an LLP is insolvent, it is terminated by voluntary or compulsory winding-up. The winding-up regime under the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986) operates alongside LLPA 2000, s 14 and the Limited Liability Partnerships Regulations 2001 (LLPR 2001), SI 2001/1090, reg 5 and LLPR 2001, SI 2001/1090, Sch 3 (as amended)...

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Q&As
Consumer credit regime: family, friends & trust loans caught?

The regulation of consumer credit Under section 19 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA 2000), no one may perform a regulated activity, or even hold themselves out as doing so, within the UK unless they are an authorised person—authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and/or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)—or an exempt person, for example as an appointed representative. For a high-level outline of the UK regulated activities regime, see Practice Note: What are regulated activities? An activity is regulated where it is of a ‘specified kind’—that is, specified in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001 (RAO), SI 2001/544—and is carried on by way of business...

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Q&As
CCA 1974 NOSIA on secured loans: still required post-bankruptcy?

The provisions relating to notices of sums in arrear (NOSIAs) Sections 86B–86D of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA 1974) set out the rules on notices of sums in arrear (NOSIAs). CCA 1974, s 86B deals with NOSIAs for fixed-sum credit agreements, etc, and CCA 1974, s 86C deals with NOSIAs for running-account credit agreements...

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