A Pragmatist's Guide to Leveraged Finance : Credit Analysis for Bonds and Bank Debt

The First Practical Guide to Credit Analysis for Today's $3,500,000,000,000+ High-Yield Leveraged Bond and Loan Markets

The author applies his vast market experience to detail the underlying tenets of credit analysis in a user-friendly fashion. This is certain to become the 'go to' book for all participants in the leveraged finance market!

Pat Dyson, Managing Director, UBS O'Connor

Bob Kricheff's extensive experience in leveraged finance makes him the perfect person to write what is a very helpful and easy-to-use book on credit analysis. He blends the technical aspects, along with the practical, to provide the reader with a thorough understanding of how analysts do their jobs.

Terrence J. Mullen, CFA, Group Head of Public Research, Allstate Investments, LLC

This book belongs on the bookshelf of anyone engaged in or considering investing in leveraged finance. It is a must-read for new analysts on the buy side and the sell side of the high yield marketplace. I cannot think of anyone, other than Bob, who is better positioned with deep knowledge and professional experience to pen this book.

Linda Carter, Portfolio Manager and Vice President, Eaton Vance Investment Managers

Bob has been involved in a variety of roles in the high yield market since the market's infancy in the 1980s. This book is an excellent resource for beginners who are trying to learn the intricacies of the high yield market as well as for experienced professionals looking to refine their credit skills. I found the book well written and I highly recommend it.

Richard J. Lindquist, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley Investment Management

The high-yield, leveraged bond and loan market now exceeds $2.3 trillion in North America, ¬650 billion in Europe, and another $600 billion in emerging marketsand it's growing fast. This market combines aspects of conventional fixed income markets, the event-driven volatility typically associated with equities, and structural features present nowhere else. To succeed in this market, you need credit analysis skills and insights specifically designed for it. Now, for the first time, there's a complete practical guide to performing this analysis.

Credit Suisse high-yield specialist Robert S. Kricheff focuses on how financial professionals actually prepare and use leveraged finance credit analysis, offering examples addressing diverse scenarios and a wide spectrum of credit risks, from companies near-investment-grade to firms in bankruptcy. He illuminates credit analysis as a dynamic process, shows how to evaluate both financial liquidity and asset protection, demonstrates how to use the field's key tools, and explains how to apply the insights that make analysis an art, not just a science.

" Projecting liquidity

Will sufficient cash be generated to pay interest and principal?

" Evaluating assets

Can the investor be protected by the value of underlying assets?

" Applying financial ratios and metrics

How can credit quality be analyzed and investment options compared?

" Evaluating management and ownership

Can the company leaders deliver what they promise?