Definition of real and personal guarantee

When a loan is requested from an entity financial For some purpose, it requires some type of guarantee, that is, some support to be able to satisfy the return of the money. Thus, the borrower (the person who receives the money) has to offer some proof that serves as collateral for the person granting the loan (for example, a payroll of his salary monthly or the mortgage of the house, among others). These types of requirements act as a guarantee of payment. In most financial operations to obtain a loan, a real guarantee or a personal guarantee is used and both are part of a general concept, the credit guarantee.

Real guarantee

It is one in which the debtor offers as collateral an asset of his own or of another person to obtain a loan. There are several types of real guarantees, the pledge and the mortgage being the most common. The pledge is a type of contract by which a debtor offers his creditor a movable property to transmit safety in the credit and said asset must be restored when the

obligation contracted. The mortgage is applied to some asset of the debtor or of a third person, in such a way that the creditor is the beneficiary of said asset. Both security interests are developed in a law mortgage. The collateral is objective, as it is based on a tangible and concrete asset.

The origin of the collateral comes from Roman Law, in which a legal procedure was already contemplated to comply with the obligations contracted (for example, the trust or the pignus).

Personal guarantee

It is called a personal guarantee because it does not take into account any specific asset that works as a guarantee of payment. What is relevant in this type of guarantee is the person who, in a private capacity, offers a guarantee that he will comply with a responsibility (for example, the repayment of a loan).

The personal guarantee is subjective, since it is not associated with anything concrete but the commitment of a person with another person or entity (for example, the commitment to pay the mortgage payments). However, in some cases the personal guarantee is reinforced by a guarantor, so that if the debtor does not comply with his obligations, the guarantor will have to assume with his assets the commitment of the debtor.

Loans based on personal guarantees are based on the debtor's own solvency, so this type of loan is not associated with a mortgage or any other type of guarantee. The holder of a loan with personal guarantee can be a natural person or a legal person (for example, a limited society). On the other hand, there may also be the circumstance of being two holders and in this case the personal guarantee could be two types: solidarity (the one who lends the money can claim it from any of the holders) or joint (each holder would respond for a part).

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