Interest Cost (Financial)
Introduction
In economics, the interest rate or interest rate is the percentage that expresses the cost of money or the return on financial capital during a given period. It represents the amount paid or received for the use of a monetary unit in a unit of time, generally a year.[1][2].
From a financial point of view, the interest rate reflects the price paid to obtain credit or, conversely, the profitability obtained by those who lend or invest capital. In macroeconomic terms, it constitutes a fundamental tool of monetary policy, since it influences the level of investment, consumption, inflation and economic growth.[3].
Historical aspects of interest collection
Contenido
Históricamente el cobro de intereses estaba considerado ilícito") o injusto y pecaminoso. Sin embargo este punto de vista ha ido cambiando hasta llegar a considerarse habitual e incluso virtuoso en la actualidad.
Debt and interest in Abrahamic religions
In the tradition of the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam[4]), charging interest on a debt is a sin whose culprit is the banker who lends with interest and usury, not the debtor who has needed to ask for a loan. As González Faus (2012) develops from Walter Benjamin's notes, the rich man would have already covered his needs, the rest of his money is no longer his and he is the one who is under the obligation (debt) to return it. The Judeo-Christian tradition clearly includes the biblical measures on the interest and expiration of debts. From this point of view, capitalism is a guilt-ridden religion based on debt, whose culprit is the debtor.[5] González Faus suggests that the most reasonable explanation for the crisis of Christianity in the rich world is the idolatry of capitalism, and not the secularism that ecclesiastical leaders are so concerned about.[6][7].