What is the ruling on paying a sum of money to someone who pays off a bank loan on my behalf and helps me obtain another loan?

It is not permissible to take this amount, as it is pure usury (riba). Every loan that draws a benefit is usury, which is forbidden for the lender to take and for the borrower to pay. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Allah has cursed the one who consumes riba, the one who feeds it, its two scribes, and its two witnesses," and he added, "they are all equal."

What scholars have permitted is for the lender to take compensation for the actual costs incurred in providing the loan, such as measuring, weighing, or administrative procedures, provided that the deducted amount is equivalent to the actual service rendered; otherwise, it would be usury. The amount mentioned in the question is pure usurious interest, and it is not permissible to engage in it.