In this post, we will discuss the two main types of loan repayment structures and build sample loan schedules using the cashflower package.
List of content:
Repayment structures
There are two main types of loan repayment structures:
- equal payment loan (annuity loan),
- equal principal loan (fixed principal).
Equal payment loan (annuity loan)
The total monthly payment is fixed (the same amount every month). Initially, a larger portion of the payment goes towards interest and a smaller portion towards the principal. Over time, as the outstanding loan balance decreases, more of the payment goes towards the principal. This type of loan is commonly used in mortgages and consumer loans.
Equal principal loan (fixed principal)
The principal repayment is fixed each month, meaning the amount applied to reducing the loan stays the same. The interest payment decreases over time as the loan balance shrinks, so the total monthly payment also decreases over the life of the loan. This type of loan is less common but can be used for loans where the borrower prefers to reduce the principal at a steady rate.
We will build cash flow models for both types of loans using an example.
Loan characteristics:
- loan amount: EUR 100,000
- interest rate: 7%
- term: 20 years
We will keep this information in the model point.
input.pymain = ModelPointSet(data=pd.DataFrame({
"id": [1],
"loan": [100_000],
"interest_rate": [0.07],
"term": [20],
}))
Equal payment loan schedule
Next, let's define the model variables.
We'll start by converting the input data to months.
model.py@variable()
def term_in_months():
return main.get("term") * 12
@variable()
def monthly_interest_rate():
return main.get("interest_rate") / 12
The outstanding loan decreases each month by the value of the principal.
model.py@variable()
def outstanding_loan(t):
if t == 0:
return main.get("loan")
else:
return outstanding_loan(t-1) - principal(t)
We can use the annuity formula to calculate the fixed monthly payment.
model.py@variable()
def payment(t):
if 0 < t <= term_in_months():
i = monthly_interest_rate()
n = term_in_months()
return main.get("loan") * (i * (1 + i) ** n) / ((1 + i) ** n - 1)
else:
return 0
The interest payment is calculated by multiplying the outstanding loan by the monthly interest rate.
model.py@variable()
def interest(t):
if t == 0:
return 0
else:
return outstanding_loan(t-1) * monthly_interest_rate()
The principal is simply the difference between the payment and the interest.
model.py@variable()
def principal(t):
return payment(t) - interest(t)
Output:
t outstanding_loan payment principal interest
0 100000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
1 99808.03 775.30 191.97 583.33
2 99614.95 775.30 193.09 582.21
3 99420.74 775.30 194.21 581.09
4 99225.39 775.30 195.34 579.95
5 99028.91 775.30 196.48 578.81
6 98831.28 775.30 197.63 577.67
...
235 3809.57 775.30 748.71 26.59
236 3056.49 775.30 753.08 22.22
237 2299.02 775.30 757.47 17.83
238 1537.13 775.30 761.89 13.41
239 770.80 775.30 766.33 8.97
240 0.00 775.30 770.80 4.50
Notes:
- the payment remains constant throughout the loan term,
- the interest payment decreases over time because the outstanding loan decreases,
- the principal increases as the interest payment decreases, while the total payment stays fixed.
Equal principal loan schedule
The calculations for the term in months, monthly interest rates, interest and the outstanding loan are the same as those in the equal payment loan schedule.
model.py@variable()
def term_in_months():
return main.get("term") * 12
@variable()
def monthly_interest_rate():
return main.get("interest_rate") / 12
@variable()
def outstanding_loan(t):
if t == 0:
return main.get("loan")
else:
return outstanding_loan(t-1) - principal(t)
@variable()
def interest(t):
if t == 0:
return 0
else:
return outstanding_loan(t-1) * monthly_interest_rate()
In this type of loan, the principal payment remains constant each month.
model.py@variable()
def principal(t):
if 0 < t <= term_in_months():
return main.get("loan") / term_in_months()
else:
return 0
The total monthly payment is the sum of the fixed principal and the interest.
model.py@variable()
def payment(t):
return principal(t) + interest(t)
Output:
t outstanding_loan payment principal interest
0 100000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
1 99583.33 1000.00 416.67 583.33
2 99166.67 997.57 416.67 580.90
3 98750.00 995.14 416.67 578.47
4 98333.33 992.71 416.67 576.04
5 97916.67 990.28 416.67 573.61
6 97500.00 987.85 416.67 571.18
...
235 2083.33 431.25 416.67 14.58
236 1666.67 428.82 416.67 12.15
237 1250.00 426.39 416.67 9.72
238 833.33 423.96 416.67 7.29
239 416.67 421.53 416.67 4.86
240 -0.00 419.10 416.67 2.43
Notes:
- the principal is always the same,
- the interest payment decreases as the outstanding loan balance decreases,
- the total monthly payment decreases because the interest payment decreases, while the principal remains constant.
You've learned how to model both types of loans using cashflower. Experiment with different parameters to see how they affect the loan schedules. Feel free to share your thoughts or questions in the comments!