Wise story about debts (9)
I believe the answer is:
sagacious
'wise' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'story about debts' is the wordplay.
'story' becomes 'saga' (a saga is a long story).
'about' becomes 'c' (abbreviation for circa).
'debts' becomes 'IOUs' (promises to pay debts).
'saga'+'c'+'ious'='SAGACIOUS'
(Other definitions for sagacious that I've seen before include "Astute" , "Wise" .)