Credit Analysis
Credit Analysis
Bookkeeping
SERVICING Collection of loan payments
LENDING
Organizational design
Reporting arrangements
CREDIT CULTURE Communication practices
Incentive schemes for credit officers
Structure of Loan Agreement
• A loan agreement
(1) specifies the obligations of borrower and lender
(2) makes certain warranties
(3) usually places certain controls and restrictions on the borrower
• Details:
– Principal: amount to be borrowed
– Maturity: short- (below 1 year), intermediate- (1 to 5 years), long-
term (more than 5 years)
– Pricing formula (fixed/floating rate, transaction rate, closing fee,
etc.)
– Provisions (conditions precedent, warranties, covenants and events
of default)
Standard provisions
• Conditions precedent
– Requirements the borrower must satisfy before the bank is legally obliged to
fund the loan
– Examples: business transactions that must be completed or events that must
have occurred, certificate of no defaults
• Warranties
– Information and assumptions about the borrower’s legal status and
creditworthiness
– Examples: warranties that all financial statements submitted are genuine and
fairly represent the borrower’s financial position, that borrower has a valid
title of all assets, etc.
• Loan Covenants
– Clauses in loan contracts that are designed to protect the bank and prohibit
borrower from taking actions that could adversely affect the likelihood of
repayment.
– Reduce moral hazard
– Violation of covenants creates an event of default and gives the bank the right
to accelerate the required payment
Types of loans covenants
• Affirmative covenants
– Obligations imposed on the borrower
– Examples: provision of periodic financial statements, maintenance of minimum working
capital, management acceptable to the bank
• Restrictive clauses
– Limits on the borrower’s actions
– Examples: restrictions on dividends, salaries, bonuses, investments
• Negative covenants
– Prohibitions on the borrower
– Examples: prohibitions on mergers, consolidations, and sales of assets
• Default provisions
– Conditions under which the entire loan is made immediately due and payable
– Acceleration clause that specifies events of default
Credit analysis
• To determine the ability and willingness of the borrower to repay the loan.
• Must remember:
– Getting unwilling borrower to repay the loan is costly
Credit analysis: The five “Cs”
Capacity:
Ensures that borrower has legal and economic capacity to
borrow.
Character:
Refers to borrower’s reputation and desire to settle debt
obligations.
Capital: Likelihood
Resolves private information and moral hazard problems. Repayment
Collateral:
These resolve private information and moral hazard problem.
Also directly reduces bank’s risk. Moreover, collateral can
eliminate underinvestment problem.
Conditions:
These are economic conditions that affect borrower’s ability to
repay the loan.
Capacity
• Legal capacity to borrow:
– In the case of partnerships, whether all the signing partners have the
legal authority to borrow
– In the case of corporation, need to check the corporate charter and
bylaws to determine who has the authority to borrow
• Signals the profitability of the borrower’s project and the confidence in the
firm’s future prospects.
• Inside collateral: assets owned by the firm to which the loan is extended,
e.g., accounts receivables, equipment, machinery, real estate, and
inventory
• Outside collateral: assets that the bank would never have a claim to
unless they were specifically designated as collateral, e.g., personal assets
of the owner with limited liability
• Signaling instrument
– Collateral can convey valuable information to the bank
• Moral hazard
– Using collateral can help resolve a variety of moral hazard problems:
• Asset substitution
• Underinvestment
• Inadequate effort supply
Conditions
• Economic conditions that affect the borrower’s ability to repay the loan:
– Industry outlook
– Company conditions: competition, customer relationships, supply risks
– Debts are repaid from four sources:
• Income (Selling prices of its goods, Costs of inputs, Competition,
Quality of goods and services, Advertising effectiveness, Quality of
management, etc.)
• Sale of assets
• Sale of stocks
• Borrowing from other sources
• Profitability
• Return on assets (ROA)
• Return on equity (ROE)
• Leverage
• Total debt / total assets
• Activity
• Inventory turnover = sales / inventory
• Total assets turnover = sales / total assets
Financial Analysis: Altman
• Formula for firm default: