There are many financial institutions in Austria which act as providers of loans. The term loan, or ‘kredit’ is usually used to refer to a monetary debt, in which the borrower and the lender agree upon a system of redistribution in time of the financial assets. A ‘kredit’ is usually paid back in regular installments, but this is not always the case. The money received by the borrower from the lender can also be paid back in irregular installments. The ‘kredit’ naturally comes with a cost, which in economical terms is referred to as debt or interest. It is not the financial institutions alone that can provide loans, or ‘kredits’. Other institutions resort to this type of debt contracts, in order to increase their sources of funding. Such contracts are usually known as bonds.