> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.amply.finance/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.amply.finance/liquidations.md).

# Liquidations

Liquidation is a critical mechanism in maintaining the health of Amply Finance. When a borrower's position becomes undercollateralized—meaning their health factor drops below 1—their loan is at risk of liquidation.

## How Liquidation Works:

* Undercollateralization: If a borrower's health factor falls below 1, their loan is flagged for liquidation.
* Liquidation Call: Anyone can initiate a liquidation by making a liquidation call() to the Pool contract and repaying a portion or the entire loan in exchange for the borrower's collateral.
* Liquidation Penalty: To incentivize liquidations and protect the protocol, liquidators receive a portion of the seized collateral as a liquidation bonus. By incentivizing liquidations, Amply Finance minimizes bad debt and maintains system stability.

## Liquidation Penalty

A liquidation penalty is imposed on borrowers when their position is liquidated. This fee is a percentage of the liquidated collateral and serves two primary purposes:

1. Incentivizing Liquidators: The majority of the penalty is distributed to the liquidator as a reward for their role in maintaining protocol health.
2. Protocol Revenue: A portion of the penalty is allocated to the protocol's treasury.

*Example:*

If Ally borrows 80 vUSD against 100 vETH collateral (assuming both assets are valued at $1) and her position is liquidated, a liquidator who repays 40 vUSD of her debt would receive:

* 40 zkUSD: The repaid debt amount.
* A liquidation penalty (e.g., 5%) on the seized collateral (40 zkUSD \* 0.05 = 2 zkUSD).

In total, the liquidator would receive 42 zkUSD.

Important Note:

The specific liquidation penalty percentage can vary based on the collateral asset and other protocol parameters.

## Variable Close Factor

Close factor is defined as the maximum amount of debt a liquidator can repay per transaction. For example, a close factor of 50% means that a liquidator can pay off up to half a borrower’s loan at one go. 

On Amply, this close factor is variable depending on a user’s Health Factor. Typically, a liquidator can repay up to 50% of a borrower's debt (close factor of 50%). However, a close factor of 100% will be applicable if HF < 0.95. This means that up to 100% of a borrower's debt can be liquidated if his health factor drops below 0.95.&#x20;

## Reserve Factor

Amply sets aside a Reserve Factor - a percentage of interest that is to be allocated to the ecosystem treasury. A riskier asset typically has a higher reserve factor