Glossary

Unitranche debt is a type of debt that combines senior and subordinated debt into one debt instrument; it is usually used to facilitate a leveraged buyout. The borrower would pay one interest rate to one lender, and the rate would usually fall between the rate for senior debt and subordinated notes.

An Unsecured Loan is a loan that is issued and supported only by the borrower's creditworthiness, rather than by any type of collateral. An unsecured loan is one that is obtained without the use of property as collateral for the loan, and it is also called a signature loan or a personal loan.

If a borrower defaults on a Secured Note, the assets it has pledged as collateral can be sold to repay the note. With an Unsecured Note, the borrower does not pledge any assets as collateral, so it typically pays the lender a higher interest rate in order to compensate them for the increased risk. 

Also known as a commitment fee, an unused line fee is a banking term used to describe a fee charged by a lender to a borrower to compensate the lender for its commitment to lend. 

Useful Life is the estimated lifespan of a depreciable fixed asset, during which it can be expected to contribute to company operations.

Usury refers to interest rates that are significantly above current market rates. These are often higher than the rates allowed by law and are often charged by unsecured lenders. 

A variable cost is a cost that changes in relation to production volume. As production volumes increase, so will variable costs. As production volumes decrease, so will variable costs.

A voidable preference (also called an "unfair preference") is a legal term arising in bankruptcy law where a person or company transfers assets or pays a debt to a creditor shortly before going into bankruptcy.