Definition
Syndicated loan
A syndicated loan is a substantial loan provided to a large borrower ($1 million or more) by several lenders together. Each lender in the lending group (syndicate) provides part of the total amount and shares part of the lending risk. Usually, one lender will act as “agent”—lending more of the overall amount than the other participants and administering the loan on behalf of the syndicate.
A syndicated loan may combine multiple loan types (fixed-rate, floating-rate, operating, demand), with different repayment terms. The full amount could also be offered in several pieces known as tranches.