A margin amount is the amount that the applicant pays through his/her pocket. A bank can either pay 100 per cent of the cost of studies or a certain percentage of the total cost. The margin is usually the amount not covered by the bank for the payment of the essential and necessary fees to the college/institution. Consider an example: Bank XYZ offers a loan for an M.B.A. course, and the margin is 10 per cent. Here, 90 per cent of the cost of the course will be borne by the bank and the balance 10 per cent has to be borne by the student/applicant.