As the value of Enron stock plummeted last year, he said, Mr. Lay anticipated that lenders would demand additional collateral.

Some lenders demand collateral - factory equipment, the company's headquarters, the corporate jet - as a condition of their loan; these are secured creditors.

He acknowledged that the banks were demanding collateral in the event of substantial borrowings because of the worsening business environment.

It also demands collateral, in case it's not.

The banks are likely to demand collateral in return for making a loan to the company, lenders and analysts said.

(Banks demanded collateral that ABE did not have.)

As an energy trading company's credit ratings erode, it becomes more expensive to trade electricity, because counterparties demand cash or collateral up front.

Bank loans are hard to come by, she said, because lenders demand collateral, of which she has none.

The message to companies that traded with Enron was clear: even its rescuer is demanding collateral, and is having trouble finding it.

Bankers Trust informed Tompane that no more money would be forthcoming and demanded additional collateral for existing loans.