Debt (Dette) - from the issuer's perspective, any liability for borrowed money issued by a borrower, repayment of which at maturity is guaranteed in the sense that ultimately a default permits the lender to sue and (at least in the case of private issuers) put the borrower into bankruptcy. See the section Debt - General. from the investor's perspective, debt is an asset (if reference is being made to the acquisition of a debt security) or a liability if the investor is the issuer of  the debt.We also sometimes use the term fixed income to mean debt although it is a broader term and includes preferred shares.