crediteur

A creditor is a person or institution that is owed money by another party under a loan, credit agreement, or the delivery of goods or services on credit. The creditor holds a claim that becomes enforceable if the debtor fails to repay or meet obligations. In many legal systems, the term contrasts with debtor, the party that owes money. In French, the equivalent term is créancier.

Creditors can be classified in several ways. Secured creditors have a right to specific collateral, such as a mortgage or lien, which can be seized if the debt is not repaid. Unsecured creditors have no collateral and rely on the debtor’s general assets. Creditors also differ by context, including trade creditors (suppliers), financial creditors (banks, bondholders), or government creditors (tax authorities) in some settings. Internationally, the same distinction may apply to individuals, corporations, or institutions.

Rights and remedies of creditors typically include the right to repayment of principal and any agreed interest, as well as enforcement remedies if necessary. These can include pursuing legal action, obtaining judgments, garnishing income, or seizing collateral. In some jurisdictions, creditors may also have set-off or netting rights under specific contracts.

In insolvency or bankruptcy, creditors’ claims are recognized and prioritized. Secured creditors generally have priority over unsecured ones, because they have a claim tied to specific assets. Among unsecured creditors, there is often a statutory order of priority for certain claims (such as employee wages or tax obligations). The distribution of a debtor’s remaining assets follows these priorities, which may result in partial or no recovery for some creditors.

In accounting, creditors are often represented by accounts payable—the amounts a company owes to suppliers for goods or services received but not yet paid. The creditor concept also appears with holders of debt instruments, who are creditors of the issuer.