Credit Analysis for Corporate Issuers

Free CFA Level I lesson in Fixed Income. 10 min read, ~1,441 words.

Four Cs: Capacity (cash flow), Collateral (asset value), Covenants (legal protections), Character (management/policy). Three ratio families: leverage (Debt/EBITDA, Debt/Capital), coverage (EBITDA/Interest, EBIT/Interest), cash flow (FFO/Debt, FCF/Debt). Bankruptcy priority: secured (first lien, then second lien) → senior unsecured → senior subordinated → subordinated → preferred → common. Pari passu within a...

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