what does floor mean in finance 
in general a floor in finance refers to a minimum that a certain set of criteria can not drop below an interest rate floor means regardless of other contingent interest rates a loan may be subject to a price floor means regardless of other market conditions the price of an item can not contractually fall below a specific limit a floor in finance is often set in protection of one party for example a lender will implement an interest rate floor to ensure their risk exposure to low rates is minimized even in the most unfavorable conditions the lender can still expect minimum contract conditions 