There is another positive commandment one is likely to violate by not extending a loan. If the person requesting the loan is on the verge of financial collapse, and by extending a loan to that person it is possible to support him enough that he will not need charity, then one who withholds a loan transgresses a positive commandment, as it is written: When your brother becomes impoverished and loses the ability to support himself in the community, you must come to his aid (Vayikra 25:35). This mitzvah is fulfilled by giving him a gift, extending a loan, forming a partnership with him, or giving him a job so that he will not need charity.