Bank collateral requirements

It's not likely that you can get a bank loan without securing it in some way. The most typical is a hard asset, such as the underlying asset being acquired with the loan proceeds.

However, a loan may also be secured by something other than a fixed asset, such as the financial strength of the borrower, which may be the individual or the company, or by the guarantee of someone else. In each case, the guarantor (either a person or company) pledges their financial assets as security.

Even loans that are guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration will still require some form of collateral.