In finance, securities lending or "stock lending" refers to the lending of securities by one party to another. The terms of the loan will be governed by a "Securities Lending Agreement", which, under U.S. law, require that the borrower provide the lender with collateral, in the form of cash, government securities, or a Letter of Credit of value equal to or greater than the loaned securities. As payment for the loan, the parties negotiate a fee, quoted as an annualized percentage of the value of the loaned securities.