When a borrower appears to be heading toward defaulting on its debt. An incipient default is the foreshadowing of a person or company's inability to service a debt obligation. 

|||Within the loan arrangement, the lender can make specific provisions regarding an incipient default. Such provisions may place covenants on the borrower or impair a contractual right. Incipient defaults may be determined based on current business problems, such as an illiquid balance sheet or a low quick ratio.