loans
Explanation
The Joke
The comic opens with a sign reading "NO-CREDIT LOANS." A person walks up and says: "Hi, I'd like to apply for ten dollars." The loan officer asks: "For what reason?" The applicant replies: "I want this many submarines." The officer responds: "That sounds like a strong enough reason. How do you propose to pay it back?"
In the next panel, the applicant says: "That's okay, you can just give it anyway." The officer then asks: "Are we 100%% guaranteed by the local government?" The final panel shows both characters smiling, and one says: "Wow! Really? Can I get back my deposit?" and the other responds cheerfully.
The comic satirizes predatory no-credit lending by showing a transaction so absurd that both parties seem perfectly happy with an arrangement that makes no financial sense whatsoever. The applicant wants to buy submarines with ten dollars and has no plan to repay, while the lender doesn't seem to care about any of this.
The Humor
The humor lies in how the comic exaggerates the illogic of no-credit lending to its absurd extreme. In reality, no-credit loans often involve questionable terms and dubious financial reasoning on both sides. Here, the loan amount is comically tiny (ten dollars), the stated purpose is impossible (buying submarines), and neither party has any concern about repayment. The cheerful tone of the entire exchange makes it funnier -- both the lender and borrower are perfectly content with an arrangement that is transparently nonsensical. It parodies the way some financial institutions will lend to anyone regardless of creditworthiness, and how some borrowers will take money with no realistic plan to pay it back.