This ranking can be arrived at in many ways. Credit bureaus develop their own statistical ranking systems. In addition, some lenders, working with the bureaus, have their own rating methods. There are two major credit bureaus in Canada, and you can get your credit rating from each, for free. Click here for instructions.
All loans are either secured or unsecured.
This refers to whether you are putting up assets, often referred to as collateral, to guarantee your loan. If you have a secured loan, it means you have guaranteed your lender they'll get their money back one way or another by giving them a claim on something you own. If you default on your loan, the lender can make a claim against the asset to get their money back. Because of this guarantee, financial institutions charge lower rates on a secured loan than they do if the loan is unsecured. A line of credit means you have an established amount of money at your financial institution that you can tap.