Question

I’ve come across the following sentence several times in later authorities, and I tried to figure out what it means, but honestly I didn’t understand:
 
“Behold, it is explained in several places in the Talmud that damages are considered a loan written in the Torah, unlike a regular loan, which is not called written in the Torah.”a0
 
What is “a loan written in the Torah”? Is it a debt that without the Torah I wouldn’t have been able to know about? If so, why are damages considered this, since even without the Torah I would certainly obligate the one who caused the damage? What does it mean that a loan is not written in the Torah? That even were it not for the Torah, repayment of a debt would still be a legal obligation?