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Article: Credit
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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CREDIT
CREDIT.
There are two primary types of credit: producer credit and consumer credit. Producer credit is extended to businesses; consumer credit is extended to individuals. Credit can be extended long term or short term. Long-term credit generally has a maturity of one year or more.
Businesses seek credit to finance operations or to purchase long-lived assets such as machinery or real estate. A strict accounting may not precede the credit contract, yet businesses are presumed to take profit maximization concerns into account when deciding to borrow.
Individuals seek credit for parallel reasons, although the terminology differs. Businesses finance operations; individuals finance ...