Module 4 Flashcards
what is credit analysis
the process of evaluating the ability and willingness of a borrower (corporation, government, or individual) to meet their financial obligations, typically in the form of loans or bonds
what does credit analysis involve
detailed assessment of the credit risk associated with lending money or extending credit to a borrower
what is the primary purpose of credit analysis
to determine the likelihood a borrower will repay their debt on time and in full
what is credit risk
risk that a borrower will fail to meet their financial obligation as they come due, leading to a loss for the lender or investors
who are demanders of credit
- banks
- bond investors
- corporates
- individuals
why do bond investors demand credit rating
- they’re investing their money for a long time (fixed income)
- or they might not be that knowledgeable in investments but they have money
who are corporate demanders of credit analysis
- suppliers
- customers
what are suppliers looking for in credit analysis
- how reliable and stable a company is
- they want to make sure the company wont go bankrupt soon since its expensive to find new suppliers
what are customers looking for in credit analysis
determine the credit score of companies
who are suppliers of credit analysis
- banks’ in-house credit analysis teams
- internal corporate credit teams
- credit rating agencies
- fixed income research firms
- consulting firms
what are the 3 major credit rating agencies in north america
- S&P
- moody’s
- fitch
why would companies demand credit for their operating activities
- they have cyclical operating cash needs
- manufacturers need cash for materials or labour (they need it to produce the products/services before they sell it, and need money)
- advanced seasonal purchases (buying a bunch of inventory before the holiday season, and need a lot of cash to purchase)
what is the risk level for cyclical operating cash needs and why
- low risk
- because its a recurring need
why is credit needed for operating activities not always “low risk”
- cash needed to cover operating losses that might not be temporary (consistently use the cash to cover operating losses) is risky
- unless the company is able to quickly to get profit
what could a willing lender do for operating activities
make the difference between bankruptcy and continued operations for a company
how much credit is needed for investing activities
large amounts
what investing activities is credit needed for
- new PP&E (CAPEX)
- intangible assets
- mergers & acquisitions
- Leverage buy out (LBO)
what is an LBO
- leverage buy out
- type of acquisition that uses high amount of leverage to do
- the entire company is usually bought then made private
what is LBO also considered
- managers buy out (MBO)
- where managers do it so they can own the company (high incentive to do it)
- they can significantly increase their return with leverage
what financing activities is credit needed for
- getting bank loans
- getting more debt to pay off maturing debt
- funds to repurchase stock
what is trade (supplier) credit like
- routine
- non-interest bearing
- have credit terms
what does the credit terms suppliers give specify
- amount and timing of any early payment discounts
- maximum credit limit
- payment terms
- other restrictions or specifications
what does 2/10 net 30 mean
2% discount if paid within 10 days, otherwise have 30 days to pay
how do banks structure financing
to meet client needs
what are the different types of credit banks provide
- revolving credit line (revolvers)
- lines of credit (back up credit facilities)
- term loans (bank loans)
- mortgages
what are revolving credit line (revolvers)
- cash available for seasonal shortfalls when you need cash before selling goods
- they provide a credit line maximum (maximum amount of cash they will give) and the amount MUST be repaid in full later in the year
- there is low fees on unused balance and high fees on used balance
what are lines of credit (back up credit facilities)
- a guaranty that funds will be available when needed
- used to protect companies that have commercial paper
what are term loans (bank loans) usually for
- to fund PP&E, which serves as a collateral for the loan
- the loan duration matches the useful life of the PP&E
what are mortgages usually for
- longer term loans
- usually for real estate transactions (building and land)
- the lender takes the property as security if they fail to repay
- they can take the property and sell ig
what are other forms of financing
- lease financing
- publicly traded debt
what is lease financing firms like
- leasing firms finance CAPEX
- leasing companies are often publicly traded
- they aren’t limited by bank regulations
- can tailor leases to meet borrower’s needs
what is public traded debt
- cost efficient way to raise large amounts of funding
- regulated by the SEC (even if a company isnt trading publicly)
- rated for credit quality
what are examples of publicly traded debt
- commercial paper
- bonds and debentures
what is commercial paper like
- for short term operating activities
- matures within 270 days
what is bonds and debentures like
- longer term
- trade on major exchanges after its issued (but most aren’t)
- the face value is paid at maturity
- investors are concerned with the company’s ability to make semiannual interest payments and repaying principal at maturity
what is the purpose of credit risk analysis
- to quantify potential credit losses so lending decisions are made with full information
- to quantify risk of loss from nonpayment
what is the formula for expected credit loss
= chance of default x loss given default
what are the two factors that affect expected credit loss
- debtor’s ability to repay debt (chance of default)
- size of loss if debtor defaults (loss given default)
what is the focus of credit risk analysis and in comparison with equity analysis
- credit risk analysis is to quantify a downside risk (you want the risk to go down)
- equity analysis focuses on upside potential (you want the rate to go up to earn more returns)
what does the chance of default depend on
- company’s ability to repay its obligations
- ^ depends on future cash flow and profitability
what are the steps to determine the chance of default
- evaluate the nature and purpose of the loan
- assess macroeconomic environment and industry conditions
- perform financial analysis (financial ratios)
- perform prospective analysis
what is the first step of determining the chance of default
- evaluate the nature and purpose of the loan
- determine why the loan is necessary
- nature and purpose of loan affects riskiness and focus and depth of credit analysis
how can the nature and purpose of the loan affect the riskiness of it
ex. more risky to lend to a troubled company for their operations compared to one that wants to expand into new profitable markets
what are possible loan uses
- cyclical cash flow needs
- major capital expenditures or acquisitions
- fund temporary or ongoing operating losses
- reconfigure capital structure
what is the second step of determining the chance of default
- assess macroeconomic environment and industry conditions
- use porter’s 5 forces to do it
- the industry the company operates in will determine their profitability and therefore chance of defaulting
what are porter’s 5 forces
- industry competition
- bargaining power of buyers
- bargaining power of suppliers
- threat of substitution
- threat of entry
what is industry competition
competition and rivalry that raise the cost of doing business
what is bargaining power of buyers
buyers with strong bargaining power can extract price concessions
what is bargaining power of suppliers
suppliers with strong bargaining power can demand higher prices
what is threat of substitution
as the number of product substitutes increases, sellers have less power to raise prices and/or pass on costs to buyers
what is threat of entry
new market entrants increase competition and companies must develop new technologies and human capital to create barriers to entry and economies of scale
what is the third step of determining the chance of default
- analyze financial ratios
- financial ratios play a key role in credit risk analysis
- there is no best set of ratios to use to assess credit risk
- there is also no correct way to calculate specific ratios
what is the 3 classes of credit risk ratios
- profitability and coverage
- liquidity
- solvency/leverage
what is the fourth step of determining the chance of default
- perform prospective analysis
- to evaluate creditworthiness, creditors must forecast the borrower’s cash flows to estimate its ability to repay its obligations