An asset that constitutes an amount of money lent by a bank to its customers (a bank loan). Non-marketable assets include an entity’s deposits with another (fixed-term deposits), credit claims, non-marketable retail mortgage-backed debt instruments (RMBDs).

The main characteristic of such assets is that they are not marketable- i.e., cannot be resold once created. In essence, bank loans cannot be sold without explicit guarantee or recourse, as such a practice defies the very reasons for financial intermediation in an economy. However, in practice, non-marketable assets can be sold under specific circumstances. The ability to reduce information asymmetries between loan buyers and loan sellers is a key factor towards such a possibility.