This publication posits that voluntary debt repayment is the paramount test of corporate integrity and the fundamental mechanism for building financial credibility. Moving beyond a purely transactional view, we frame debt as a tripartite covenant – legal, moral, and social – the adherence to which determines the stability and prosperity of business ecosystems. Synthesising economic theory, ethical philosophy, and empirical data, we argue that the systemic erosion of trust in credit markets poses a grave threat to sustainable growth. The conclusion offers a multi-stakeholder framework for restoring creditworthiness as a core corporate virtue.