A for-profit company that collects information about individuals' and businesses' debts, and assigns a numerical value called a credit score that indicates the borrower's creditworthiness. Creditors and lenders, such as credit card companies and banks, report their customers' borrowing activity and history to credit agencies. Individuals and businesses can obtain copies of the information reported about them by contacting the credit agency or a related third-party company, and paying a nominal fee. |||The information provided to credit agencies includes how much credit is available to that borrower, how much of the available credit they have used, and what their repayment activity looks like. Credit agencies help potential lenders and creditors determine whether to lend or extend credit to an individual or business, by predicting the likelihood that the borrower will repay the debt in a timely manner.
1. A situation in which venture capitalists refuse to invest in a new project unless the preceding investors of the company lower the value of their original investment. 2. A bankruptcy procedure that allows a bankruptcy court to initiate a reorganization plan for a company despite objections from creditors. The creditors will still maintain collateral on the company as long as the firm offers repayment of the "secured portion" or fair market value of the collateral in their repayment plan. |||1. If the earlier investors of the company don't pony up new cash for the next round of financing, then their interest in the company is "crammed down." 2. Creditors usually don't like this because they would rather liquidate the company's assets and get back some of the money owed to them.
The use of a financial agreement - usually a credit derivative such as a credit default swap, total return swap, or credit linked note - to mitigate the risk of loss from default by a borrower or bond issuer. |||Credit default insurance allows for the transfer of credit risk without the transfer of an underlying asset. The most widely used type of credit default insurance is a credit default swap. Credit default swaps transfer credit risk only; they do not transfer interest rate risk. Total return swaps transfer both credit and interest rate risk.
Security with a risk level and pricing based on the risk of credit default by one or more underlying security issuers. Credit default contracts include credit default swaps (CDSs), credit default index contracts, credit default options and credit default basket options. Credit default contracts are also used as part of the mechanism behind many collateralized debt obligations (CDOs); in these cases, the contracts may have unique covenants that exclude company events, such as a debt restructuring as a "credit event". |||The main goal of credit default contracts is to establish a price for a given default risk, where it can then be traded to another party who wishes to accept it. Growth of credit default contracts has exploded in recent years, as liquidity has grown along with institutional investor interest. They are a versatile tool for transferring risk away from a lender's balance sheet (such as in CDS) or for pure speculation by hedge funds and other investment vehicles. The biggest risk in credit default contracts is their extreme sensitivity to individual company and market fluctuations. If fear of default starts to creep into the credit default markets, spreads will rise across the board, making the cost of protection that much more expensive, and slowing down activity in the debt markets as a whole.
The ratio of current credit-related losses to the current par value of a mortgage-backed security (MBS), or the ratio of total credit-related losses to the original par value of an MBS. Different MBSs and different sections within an MBS have different credit-risk profiles, and are therefore likely to have different credit loss ratios. |||Average investors do not need to significantly worry about an agency bond's credit loss ratio. Agency MBSs - for example, bonds issued by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, and government MBSs issued by Ginnie Mae - do not have credit risk, or are perceived by the market to not have credit risk. This is because these agencies guarantee the payment of principal and interest to the bond holder in the event of default by the underlying borrower. However, from an internal point of view, the agency MBS issuers do need to consider their credit loss ratios, because doing so will allows them to analyze whether their holdings are overexposed in certain types of riskier properties.
A security with an embedded credit default swap allowing the issuer to transfer a specific credit risk to credit investors. CLNs are created through a Special Purpose Company (SPC), or trust, which is collateralized with AAA-rated securities. Investors buy securities from a trust that pays a fixed or floating coupon during the life of the note. At maturity, the investors receive par unless the referenced credit defaults or declares bankruptcy, in which case they receive an amount equal to the recovery rate. The trust enters into a default swap with a deal arranger. In case of default, the trust pays the dealer par minus the recovery rate in exchange for an annual fee which is passed on to the investors in the form of a higher yield on the notes. |||Under this structure, the coupon or price of the note is linked to the performance of a reference asset. It offers borrowers a hedge against credit risk, and gives investors a higher yield on the note for accepting exposure to a specified credit event.
The total amount of credit extended to a borrower by a lender. The magnitude of credit exposure indicates the extent to which the lender is exposed to the risk of loss in the event of the borrower's default. Credit exposure can be minimized through purchasing credit default swaps or other types of financial instruments. |||For example, if a bank has made short-term and long-term loans totaling $100 million to company A, its credit exposure to company A is $100 million. In general, a bank will seek to have greater credit exposure to its customers with the highest credit rating, and less exposure to clients with a lower credit rating. If a customer encounters unexpected financial problems, the bank may seek to reduce its credit exposure in order to mitigate the risk of loss arising from a potential default.
A method whereby a company attempts to improve its debt or credit worthiness. Through credit enhancement, the lender is provided with reassurance that the borrower will honor the obligation through additional collateral, insurance, or a third party guarantee. Credit enhancement reduces credit/default risk of a debt, thereby increasing the overall credit rating and lowering interest rates. |||Credit enhancement is used to obtain better terms for an outstanding debt. Securitization, posting collateral and obtaining external credit enhancement such as a letter of credit are some basic forms of credit enhancement. Firms may also increase cash reserves or take other internal measures to uphold superior solvency ratios.