Defeasance

A form of Prepayment Penalty on commercial mortgage loans. Defeasance is technically not a prepayment but is a substitution of collateral. Generally, Treasury bonds are purchased and used as substituted collateral with maturity dates geared to provide the same return to the mortgagee. If treasury returns are low the cost to the borrower can be quite high. If treasury rates are high the borrower could potentially get a discount on prepayment.