Signing

Signing in a loan transaction

Signing is an important milestone in a loan transaction as it is the stage at which the parties execute the agreed versions of the documents and the transaction becomes binding (albeit, in most cases, subject to certain conditions precedent being satisfied).

Once signing has occurred, completion (also sometimes referred to as 'closing') is the next milestone. Completion is the point at which money moves between the parties and the transaction is 'completed'. Conditions precedent will need to be satisfied before completion can occur.

Often, there is a gap between signing and completion which allows the parties to commit to the transaction but leave themselves a bit of time to satisfy the conditions precedent. In other instances, signing and completion may take place on the same day, in which case all the conditions precedent to funding will need to be satisfied before signing and completion.

For more information on what happens during the signing and completion phase in loan transactions, see Practice