Nonperforming Loan - NPL

A sum of borrowed money upon which the debtor has not made his or her scheduled payments for at least 90 days. A nonperforming loan is either in default or close to being in default. Once a loan is nonperforming, the odds that it will be repaid in full are considered to be substantially lower. If the debtor starts making payments again on a nonperforming loan, it becomes a reperforming loan, even if the debtor has not caught up on all the missed payments.

Institutions holding nonperforming loans in their portfolios may choose to sell them to other investors in order to get rid of risky assets and clean up their balance sheets. Sales of nonperforming loans must be carefully considered since they can have numerous financial implications, including affecting the company's profit and loss, and tax situations.