Forms of credit are various types of loans, the classification of which is carried out according to several basic criteria. One of the evaluation criteria is the loan value, according to which loans can be divided into three varieties: cash, commodity, mixed. Since the first creditors in history were entities with significant surpluses of consumer goods, loans were initially issued in the form of specific products in kind. With a commodity loan, the debtor gradually repaid the cost of the borrowed products in cash, and only after full repayment did they become his property.
In developing countries, mixed forms of credit are often used now, while a loan is usually issued in cash and paid by providing goods for this amount, taking into account the accrued interest on borrowed funds. However, in developed economies, these types of loans have long been a thing of the past, and monetary relations have replaced them. Considering the main forms of credit, we can distinguish classic loans that are not barter and commodity relations. With such loans, the borrower is provided only with free cash, for which he acquires the necessary products, real estate, fixed assets, transport, equipment.
Commercial loan
Modern forms of credit and their characteristics are largely associated with the purpose of obtaining a loan, as well as with the entity that provides the loan. If such transactions involve not banks and financial institutions, but commercial organizations, bills of exchange are most often used to complete a transaction. It is customary to call such a loan commercial or commercial, and the main goal of implementing this type of loan is the desire of the parties to the transaction to speed up the process of product sales and quickly make a profit. Currently, in developed countries, instead of a bill of exchange, a standard contract is often used between the consumer and the supplier, where the procedure for paying for the goods sold is clearly regulated.
State loan
Such forms of credit as a state loan provide for the participation of representatives of the authorities in the transaction, and instead of personal savings of citizens or legal entities, funds from the budget are provided on credit. As a rule, money is transferred through the Central Bank, or through commercial financial institutions, if the country's leadership attracts funds from other institutions for financing.
International loan
If the borrower and the lender are residents of various countries, then the credit relations arising between them take the form of international loans. In situations where the parties to the transaction are the IMF and government representatives of a borrowing country, a loan is issued only in cash, and in one of the generally recognized world currencies. When conducting transactions between residents of different countries whose purpose is to conduct foreign trade, the loan is often provided in commodity form, and is a type of commercial loan for the importer.
Civil loan
Now civil forms of credit are used most often, they are usurious and are divided into production and consumer loans. In the first type of loan, the subjects of the transaction are banks and legal entities, and the money received by the debtor is spent on replenishment of fixed assets and working capital. Consumer loans were designed for citizens who want to purchase a specific product or solve their temporary financial difficulties. As a rule, such loans can be issued in cash or the bank independently transfers the funds to a trading organization where the borrower purchases consumer goods.