Business and Personal Finance Dictionary

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• DEFAULT
  
  A corporation or government is in default if it fails to meet the interest payments on debt securities it has issued or does not repay the principal at maturity. When the issuer defaults, the bondholders may try to recover what they're owed by making claims against the issuer's assets. There's an elaborate hierarchy for determining the order in which the claimants are paid. Similarly, if you fail to pay principal and interest that you owe on a loan, you are in default. The lender may attempt to recover the loss by claiming any property of yours that was offered as collateral, or security for the loan, or by taking other legal measures.
  
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