It stands for interbank call loan; a type of interbank loan that extended by a bank to another in the same banking system (in the so-called interbank market), for repayment at request (at call). Interbank markets are typically perceived to be dominated by overnight deposits and repos. These consist of short-term instruments traded in rather risk-avert set-ups. These loans represents certain means by which banks can co-insure short-term liquidity risks.

The maturity of an interbank call loan (IBCL) depends on the period it takes the lending bank to call the loan. Therefore, maturity may range between intraday (a few hours) and short term (days or weeks).