Line of Credit

The Line of Credit (LOC) lets a player borrow against their credit score directly from the central bank. It is a revolving facility: draw when you need cash, repay when you can, and the interest accrues every turn on the outstanding balance. If you miss an automatic payment, the system garnishes your income at the source until the obligation is cleared.

Feature Flag

isLineOfCreditEnabled() → boolean
``

The flag **defaults to enabled**. Only an explicit `false` disables the facility — absence of the flag means it is on.

## Credit Composite (0–100)

Borrowing power is governed by a composite credit score from 0 to 100. The score blends two sub-scores depending on whether a corporate snapshot is available:

with corporation snapshot: composite = 0.75 × corpScore + 0.25 × incomeScore

without corporation snapshot: composite = 0.50 × incomeScore + 0.50 × netWorthScore ``

Blend	Weighting
With corp snapshot	75% corporate + 25% income
Without corp snapshot	50% income + 50% net worth

Income Score

Annualises per-turn income and maps it through a saturating exponential so that very high income asymptotically approaches 100:

annualIncome   = perTurnIncome × TURNS_PER_YEAR
incomeScore    = 100 × (1 − exp(−k_income × annualIncome))
// saturates near 100 at ~2.5M annual income
``

### Net Worth Score

Same saturating shape, keyed to internal net-worth units:

netWorthScore = 100 × (1 − exp(−k_nw × netWorth)) // saturates near 100 at ~4M internal units ``

Spread (Interest Rate)

The composite score maps to an interest-rate spread in percentage points versus the prime rate. A perfect 100 earns a 1pp discount; a zero score costs +5pp over prime.

spread = 5 − (composite / 100) × 6
// composite 0   → +5.0pp over prime
// composite 50  → +2.0pp over prime
// composite 100 → −1.0pp (below prime)
``

| Composite | Spread vs prime | Effective rate at prime 3% |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 0 | +5.0pp | 8.0% |
| 25 | +3.5pp | 6.5% |
| 50 | +2.0pp | 5.0% |
| 75 | +0.5pp | 3.5% |
| 100 | −1.0pp | 2.0% |

## Funding Sources

The central bank funds LOC draws from one of three configured sources:

| Source | Mix |
| --- | --- |
| `deposits` | 100% from bank deposits |
| `reserves` | 100% from bank reserves |
| `both` | 50% deposits + 50% reserves |

The choice affects which balance sheet line is depleted when you draw, but from the player's perspective the rate and mechanics are identical.

## Repayment and Garnishment

Each turn the system attempts an **automatic payment** covering interest plus a principal amortization slice. If the payment succeeds, the balance shrinks normally.

If the automatic payment fails (insufficient liquid cash), `drawFrozen` is set to `true` and **garnishment** kicks in. Garnishment intercepts the player's income at the source:

garnishOrder = [arrears (missed interest) → principal → (cross-currency if needed)] sources intercepted: CEO salary, dividends, bond coupons ``

Garnishment rule	Detail
Trigger	`drawFrozen = true` (missed auto-payment)
Sources	CEO salary, dividend income, bond coupon income
Order	Arrears first, then principal
Currency	Cross-currency — garnished income converts to the LOC's currency as needed

Garnishment continues every turn until the frozen state is cleared, meaning a single missed payment can cascade into a long income drain if the underlying cash shortage is not addressed.

Ledger

Every LOC transaction is recorded in a per-account ledger with split interest and principal portions:

ledgerEntry = {
  turn,
  amount,
  interestPortion,
  principalPortion,
  runningBalance,
}
``

This ledger is the source of truth for arrears tracking, garnishment order, and balance history. Review it when debugging why a garnishment is larger or smaller than expected — the interest/principal split explains how much of each payment is actually reducing debt versus servicing it.

## Practical Use

- **Bridge financing:** Draw on the LOC to cover a short-term cash gap (e.g. before a dividend lands) rather than selling assets at a bad price.
- **Credit building:** A high composite lowers your spread dramatically — improving your income and net worth before drawing saves real money over the life of the loan.
- **Avoid the freeze:** The garnishment regime is punitive. Keep enough liquidity to cover the auto-payment, or the system will claw back income at source across currencies.

See also: [Central Banks](/wiki/central-banks), [Corporate Bonds](/wiki/corporate-bonds), [Sovereign Bonds](/wiki/sovereign-bonds), [Savings & Interest](/wiki/savings-interest)