Creditor
A
creditor is a
party (e.g. person, organization, company, or government) that claims that a second party owes the first party some properties or services. The first party, in general, has provided some
property or
service to the second party under the assumption (usually enforced by
contract) that the second party will return an equivalent property or service. The first party is frequently called a
lender, and the second party is frequently called a
debtor or
borrower.
In other words, your creditors are people to whom you owe money.
The term creditor is frequently used in the financial world, especially in reference to short term
loans, long term
bonds, and
mortgages.
The term creditor derives from the notion of
credit. In modern America, credit refers to a rating which indicates the ability of a borrower and likelihood to pay back his or her loan. In earlier times, credit also referred to reputation or
trustworthiness.
