glossary of terms
Capital
A lump sum of money. This usually refers to the amount you invest in a fund at the outset - e.g. your original capital
Capital and interest
Your monthly payments are partly to pay the interest on the amount you borrowed and partly to repay the outstanding mortgage. Also known as a repayment mortgage
Capital and Interest Mortgage
Your monthly payments are partly to pay the interest on the amount you borrowed, and partly to repay the amount you borrowed. At the end of the mortgage, the capital and the interest is all completely repaid. It is also known as a repayment mortgage.
Capped rate
Like a fixed rate, but the rate is guaranteed not to go above a certain level for a set period of time. It can, however, move downwards. Also an arrangement that caps your mortgage rate for a specified period of time. On the first day of the month following expiry of the capped rate period, the interest rate will change to the then prevailing Standard Variable Rate.
Carpet-bagger
A person who joins a mutual organisation (usually a building society or an insurance company) in the hope that the organisation may be converted to a limited company owned by shareholders and that in this event he will realise a substantial profit by receiving a cash amount or selling any shares allocated to him
Cash ISA
An Individual Savings Account that invests in Cash. The definition of cash can include Bank & Building Society accounts, Cash Unit Trusts, National Savings products (excluding National Savings certificates and Premium Bonds) and Money Market deposits. An ISA is free of all taxes
Cashback
A payment (either a fixed or a percentage of the mortgage amount) offered by some lenders as an incentive to borrow from them. Sometimes there are redemption penalties associated with these types of deals and they are typically at a higher rate than other mortgages
CAT ISA
The Treasury has drown up guidelines on Charges, Access and Terms known as CAT Standards.CAT marked ISA's are ISA's which comply with the CAT standards and have been awarded a CAT mark. The CAT marked ISA does not represent a government endorsement of that product and the CAT standards guidelines are voluntary for ISA providers
CAT Marked
CAT Marked ISAs adhere to a set of voluntary standards drawn up by the Treasury (Government). Companies can choose to adopt these for their ISAs. CAT stands for Charges, Access and Terms. An ISA that meets or betters the Standards is awarded a CAT mark
CAT standards
CAT stands for low Charges, easy Access and fair Terms. The standards were brought in by the government as an incentive to offer savers an even better deal, and to make it easier for you to spot the best value ISAs
CCJ
County Court Judgement. A decision reached in the County Court which can be for not paying debts. If you pay off the debt, the CCJ is satisfied and a note is put on your records to say this
Challenge Grant
grant that is made on the condition that other funding be secured, either on a matching basis or by some other formula, usually within a specified period of time, with the objective of encouraging expanded fundraising from additional sources
CHAPS (clearing house automatic payment system) payment
An electronic transfer of money between two bank accounts that will clear the payee's account on the same working day provided instructions are received before 3.15 pm
Charges
Companies can charge for financial services in different ways, some more straightforward than others
Clawback
1. A practice whereby a pension scheme will offset an amount equivalent to the state pension against a target pension so as to arrive at the amount payable by the scheme. 2. If commission is paid to an intermediary by a financial institution for the introduction of business, and this does not stay in force for a certain pre-determined period, a part of the commission may be repayable to the institution. This is known as 'clawback'. The practice is more prevalent among insurance companies.
CML
Council of Mortgage Lenders. Building societies and most banks and other lenders are members of this trade organisation
Collective investment
Investments such as unit trusts, investment trusts schemes and open ended investments schemes are examples of collective or pooled investments
Commission
An amount paid by a financial institution to an intermediary for the placing of business. Normally calculated as a percentage of the amount paid (i.e. of the premium for an insurance policy or of the amount invested in a fund or used to purchase securities). Commission is also payable in a number of other situations where the payment for a service is a proportion of the value of the transaction (eg the provision of foreign currency, the sale of a house, etc).
Committed Funds
A portion of a donor's budget that has already been pledged for future allocation
Community Funds
A type of foundation formed by broad-based community support from multiple sources: trusts, endowments, individual contributions, private foundations, or corporate grants. A community foundation generally makes grants only within a specified geographic area and is governed by a board representing the community it serves. Some community foundations offer donor-advised funds to contributors.
Company representative
A financial adviser who can only advise on their own company's products
Completion
When the sale and purchase of the property are finalised, and you become the owner of the house or flat
Compound interest
Compound interest is interest earned on interest and makes a huge difference to the value of long term savings. Say you've invested £100, which is earning 10% interest each year. Year 1, you earn 10% on £100 = £110 Year 2, instead of earning another 10% on your £100, you earn 10% on £110 = £121 Year 3, you earn 10% on £121 = £133.10 And so on, so longer you leave it, the more you benefit from compounding.
Conditions
Provisions in a contract that state the rights and duties of the consumer and lender
Confirmation
A court order confirming the validity of a Will and the identity of Executors. The equivalent under English law is Probate.
Consequential Loss
A financial loss occurring as the result of some other loss. Also known as an indirect loss. (eg a shop is destroyed by fire. The loss of the building, stock etc is a direct loss. The loss of ongoing profit because of the inability to continue trading is a consequential loss
Contract
A legally enforceable agreement between two parties
Contributions Committee
A corporate group organized to make grant decisions usually with the guidance of a corporate foundation or contributions administrator. Typical responsibilities include setting and interpreting policy, approving an annual budget, and reviewing grant requests
Conveyancing
The legal process involved with buying and selling of a property
Cooling Off Period
A period allowed in certain circumstances during which a person who has entered into a contract (for example, an insurance policy or a personal loan) may cancel it without incurring any penalty
Corporate Contributions
A general term referring to charitable contributions by a corporation. Usually used to describe cash contributions only, but may also include other items, such as the value of loaned executives, products, and services.permanent assets or with periodic contributions. (Also called a company-sponsored foundation
Corporation Tax
A tax payable by companies on their profits
Credit Card
A credit card gives you the power to buy goods or services now and pay for them later. It represents an approval by a bank or company to use their money. Credit card issuers are usually banks, even though the card may bear another company name or logo. The name of the issuer appears somewhere on the card. Trade names such as VISA and MasterCard are not actually card issuers. They are termed "membership associations." Banks use them for their payment processing services, policy setting and marketing assistance. Many different banks can package their own cards and different terms of credit using the logo and services of an association membership
Credit scoring
A lender's way of assessing whether you are a good risk to lend a mortgage to
Credit search
A check the lender makes with a specialist company to find out whether you have any County Court Judgements or a record of not paying loans, credit-card bills and so on
