Wikipedia defines nonrecourse debt as follows:

"A nonrecourse debt or non-recourse debt or nonrecourse loan is a secured loan (debt) that is secured by a pledge of collateral, typically real property, but for which the borrower is not personally liable. If the borrower defaults, the lender/issuer can seize the collateral, but the lender's recovery is limited to the collateral. If the property is insufficient to cover the outstanding loan balance (for example, if real estate prices have dropped), the lender is simply out the difference. Thus, non-recourse debt is typically limited to 80% or 90% loan-to-value ratios, so that the property itself provides "overcollateralization" of the loan. A lender of non-recourse debt depends crucially on an accurate assessment of the credit of the borrower, and a sound knowledge of the underlying technical domain as well as financial modeling skills." (Click here for the full nonrecourse debt Wikipedia listing).

In the hedged portfolio stock loan business, a nonrecourse stock loan is one in which the client's liability in loan default is limited to the collateral stocks securing the loan, regardless of how low in value the portfolio may fall. The portfolio converts to ownership by the lender in default, and must act as full satisfaction of the loan term. The lender may not come after the borrower for any other of his/her assets.

In the case of HedgeLender stock loans, all transactions are nonrecourse, and none are reported to credit bureaus.