Refinancing risk

Many types of commercial lending incorporate balloon payments at the point of final maturity.

A borrower that cannot refinance their existing debt and needs more funds on hand to pay its lenders may have a liquidity problem.

Most large corporations and banks face this risk to some degree, as they may constantly borrow and repay loans.

Most commercial banks provide long-term loans and fund this operation by taking shorter-term deposits.

In general, refinancing risk is considered to be substantial for banks only during a financial crisis, when borrowing funds, such as interbank deposits, may be extremely difficult.