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finance company

finance company

5 3.5
A business that lends money to people or small businesses
  • noun
  • /ˈfaɪnæns ˈkʌmpəni/
translation icon : compañía financiera
  • So yes, I do know what that feels like, but I also know that there are finance companies that charge a very high interest rate to lend to people in a similar situation (my husband had a steady job at the time).
  • consumer finance company
  • mortgage finance company
  • auto finance companies

Examples

  • There is nothing wrong with that, but if you borrow from a finance company or a bank, they will naturally want you to pay back more than they gave you.

    Blog text (12)
  • She secured a loan from a local finance company to start her own business.

  • Maybe finance companies are becoming the place to be.

  • It's from a finance company.

  • The finance company just called.

  • In late 2008, he began pushing lots of private deals with banks and finance companies.

    Blog text (17)
  • Michael's got this interview for a really big finance company.

  • You're working for the finance company.

  • Like many finance companies, they now finance exclusively online; their overheads are very low.

    Blog text (12)
  • She had arrived with two suitcases and within hours had bought a secondhand Honda Civic that had been repossessed by a finance company.

    Fiction book (1991)

Synonyms

lender
vsfinance company
118 2.5

A person or company that gives money to someone and asks for it back later

is limited to a business type that usually does not accept deposits
lending institution
vsfinance company
  • Specialized
4 3.7

A bank or company that gives money to people and businesses to pay back

usually does not accept deposits and is often part of a manufacturer group

How Big

investment company
  • Specialized
6 3.0
commercial bank
  • Specialized
12 3.0
finance company
5 3.5
consumer finance company
  • Specialized
1 3.7

Surface Forms

Morphology

finance + company

The meaning 'a company providing loans or financial services' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'finance' (provision of funds) with 'company' (an organization). This is a straightforward compositional noun–noun compound following common cross-linguistic patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Finance company comes from firms that did the finance — they gave money or credit so people could buy things when banks would not. Imagine a car maker letting a buyer take a car now and pay later; that's why a finance company today means a company that provides 'loans' rather than taking 'deposits'.