Liens are automatic reservations of funds in a savings account created when the account is used as collateral for a loan. They prevent withdrawal of the reserved amount until the loan is repaid.

What are liens?

Liens (also called "guarantee holds" or "collateral holds") are created automatically by the system when:

• A savings account is used as a guarantor for a loan
• The loan is disbursed to the borrower
• A specific guarantee amount is reserved from the savings account

How liens work

When a loan with a savings account guarantor is disbursed:

• A hold transaction is created automatically in the savings account
• The guarantee amount is immediately reserved from the available balance
• The account balance remains unchanged, but the available balance decreases
• The account holder cannot withdraw the held amount

As the loan is repaid:

• Release transactions are created automatically
• The held amount is gradually freed as payments are made
• The available balance increases with each release
• When the loan is fully repaid, all held funds are released

Liens vs manual holds

Unlike manual holds which are created by users:

• Liens are automatic - Created when loans are disbursed
• Liens are tied to loans - The loan system manages holds and releases
• Liens release automatically - As loan payments are received
• Liens can aggregate - Multiple loans can have holds on the same savings account

Both liens and manual holds appear in the Liens tab and affect the available balance identically.

Viewing liens

View all holds and releases (liens) on a savings account to see which loans are using the account as a guarantee.

The Liens tab shows both:

• Automatic liens - Created automatically when the account is used as collateral for loans
• Manual holds - Created directly by users through "Create Hold"

Prerequisites

Log in to Symba Microbanking with a user account that has permission to view savings accounts.

Steps

• Open the savings account you want to view
• Click the "Liens" tab

The tab provides:

• An overview of liens by loan account
• A transaction history of holds and releases

Understanding holds and releases

Hold transactions: reserve funds and reduce the available balance.

Release transactions: free previously held funds and increase the available balance.

Holds and releases can be created automatically by the loan guarantee process or manually through the holds actions.

Related Topics

• Guarantors - How to set up savings accounts as loan collateral
• Manual holds - User-created reservations
• Creating holds
• Releasing holds
• Blocking savings accounts