Loan Request Evaluation Essay Example For Students

Loan Request Evaluation Essay This report introduces a procedure that can be used to analyze the quantifiableaspects of commercial credit requests. The procedure incorporates a systematicinterpretation of basic financial data and focuses on issues that typicallyarise when determining creditworthiness. Cash flow information is equallyimportant when evaluating a firms prospects. Reported earnings and EPS can bemanipulated by management debts, are repaid out of cash flow not earnings. Thebasic objective of credit analysis is to assess the risk involved in creditextension to banks customers. Risk refers to the volatility in earnings. Lenders are concerned with net income or the cash flow that hinders a borrowerability to service a loan. Credit analysis assigns some probability to default. Some risks can be measured with historical and projected financial data. The keyissues include the following: 1. For what are the loan proceeds going to beused? 2. How much does the customer need to borrow? 3. What is the primarysource of repayment, and when will the loan be repaid? 4. What collateral isavailable? Fundamental credit issues: Virtually every business has a creditrelationship with a financial institution. But regardless of the type of loan,all credit request mandate a systematic analysis of the borrowers ability torepay. When evaluating a loan a bank can make two types of errors: 1. Extendingcredit to a consumer who ultimately would repay the debt. 2. Denying a loanrequest to a customer who ultimately would repay the debt. In both cases thebank loses a customer and its profit decreases. For this reason, the purpose ofcredit analysis is to identify the meaningful and probable circumstances underwhich the bank might lose. So a credit analyst should analyze the followingit ems: *Character: The foremost issue in assessing credit risk is determining aborrowers commitment and ability to repay debts in accordance with the termsof a loan agreement. An individuals honesty, integrity, and work ethictypically evidence commitment. Whenever there is deception or a lack ofcredibility, a bank should not do business with the borrower. It is oftendifficult to identify dishonest borrowers. The best indicators are theborrowers financial history and personal references. When a borrower hasmissed past debt service payments or has been involved in default or bankruptcya lender should carefully document why to see if the causes were reasonable. Similarly, borrowers with good credit history will have established personaland banking relationship that indicate whether they fully disclose meaningfulinformation and deal with subordinates and suppliers honestly. Lenders look atnegative signals of a borrower condition beyond balance sheet and incomestatement. For example: ? A borrowers name consistently appears on thelist of bank customers who have overdrawn their account. ? A borrowermakes a significant change in the structure of business. ? A borrowerappears to be consistently short of cash. ? A borrowers personalhabits have changed for the worse. A firms goals are incompatible with thoseof stockholders, employees, and customers. *Use of loan proceeds: The range ofbusiness loan needs is unlimited. The first issue facing the credit analyst iswhat the loan proceeds are going to be used for. Loan proceeds should be usedfor legitimate business operations purposes, including seasonal and permanentworking capital needs, the purchase o f depreciable asset, physical plantexpansion, acquisition of other firms. Speculative asset purchases and debtsubstitutions should be avoided. The true need and use determines the loanmaturity, the anticipated source and timing of repayment and the appropriatecollateral. A careful review of a firm financial data typically reveals why acompany deeds financing. *Loan amount: Borrowers request a loan before theyclearly understand how much external financing is actually needed and how muchis available internally. The amount of credit required depends on the use ofproceeds and the availability of internal sources of funds. The lender job is todetermine the correct amount such that a borrower has enough cash to operateeffectively but not too much to spend wastefully. Once a loan is approved theamount of credit actually extended depends on the borrower future performance. If the borrower cash flow is insufficient to meet operating expenses and thedebt service on the loan it will be called upon to lend more and possibly tolengthen the loan maturity. If cash flows are substantial, the initial loanoutstanding might decline rapidly and even be repaid early. The required loanamount is thus a function of the initial cash deficiency and the pattern offuture cash flows. *The primary source and timing of repayment: The primarysource of repayment of loans is the cash flows. The four basic sources of cashflow are the liquidation of assets, cash flow from normal operations, new debtissues, and new equity issues. Credit analysis evaluates the risk that aborrower future cash flow will not be sufficient to meet expenditures foroperations and interest and principal payments on the loan. Specific sources ofcash are typically associated with certain types of loans. Short-term, seasonalworking capital loans are normally repaid from the liquidation of receivables orreduc tion in inventory. Term loans are normally repaid out of cash flows fromoperations. A comparison of projected cash flows with interest and principalpayments on prospective loans indicates how much debt can be serviced and theappropriate maturity. *Collateral: Banks can lower the risk of loss on a loan byrequiring back up support beyond normal cash flow. Collateral is the security abank has in assets owned and pledged by the borrower against a debt in the eventof default. Banks look to collateral as a secondary source of repayment whenprimary cash flows are insufficient to meet debt service requirements. Having anasset that the bank seize and liquidate when a borrower defaults reduce loss,but it does not justify lending proceeds when the credit decision is originallymade. From a lender perspective, collateral must exhibit three features: -First,its value should always exceed the outstanding principle on a loan. -Second, alender should be able to easily take possession of collateral a nd have a readymarket for sale. Highly illiquid assets are worth far less because they are notportable and often are of real value only to the original borrower. -Third, alender must be able to clearly mark collateral as its own. When physicalcollateral is not readily available, banks often ask for personal guarantees. Onthe other hand, liquidating collateral is a second-best source of repayment forthree reasons: 1- there are significant transaction costs associated withforeclosure. 2- bankruptcy laws allow borrowers to retain possession of thecollateral long after they have defaulted. 3- when the bank takes possession ofthe collateral, it deprives the borrower of the opportunity to salvage thecompany. At last, a loan should not be approved on the basis of collateralalone. Unless the loan is secured by collateral held by the bank, such as bankCDs, there is risk involved in collection. A PROCEDURE FOR FINANCIAL ANALYSISThe purpose of credit analysis is to identify and define the lend ers risk inmaking a loan. There is four stages process for evaluating the financial aspectsof commercial loans: 1. Overview of management and operations. 2. Financialratio analysis. 3. Cash flow analysis. 4. Financial projections. During allphases the analysts should examine facts that are relevant to the creditdecision and recognize information that is important but unavailable. 1. Euclid Essay? Credit cards and other revolving credit: Credit cards are utilized topurchase goods and services on credit in contrast to debit cards, which are usedto withdraw cash from ATM (Automated Teller Machine). Revolving credit: anarrangement by which the borrower and repay as needed during a specific timeperiod, subject to maximum borrowing level. Credit cards and overlines tied tochecking accounts are the two most popular forms of revolving creditarrangements. Banks offer a variety of credit cards. While some banks issuecards with there own logo and supported by their own marketing effort, mostoperate as franchises of Master Card or Visa. All cards display the Master Cardand Visa logos along with the issuing bank name. The primary advantage ofmembership is that an individual bank card is accepted nationally andinternationally at most retail stores without the bank negotiating a separateagreement with every retailer. Some alternatives to the credit cards exist:-Debit cards: they are widely available but not attractive to customers. As thename suggests when an individual uses this card his or her balance at a bank isimmediately debited funds are transferred from the card user account to theaccount of the retailer. But there is a disadvantage in using it, the loss offloat, which explains why debit cards are not popular. -Smart cards: is anextension of the debit card and contains a computer memory chip that stores andmanipulates information. These cards can handle all purchasing that consumerprefers. -Prepaid cards: are a hybrid debit card in which consumers repay forservices to be rendered and receive a card again which purchases are charged. The advantage of this card is that the processing costs are low and there islittle risk. Credit cards are attractive because they provide higherrisk-adjusted returns than do other types of loans. Card issuers earn incomefrom three sources: -charging card holders annual fees, charging interest onoutstanding loan balances, and discounting the charges that merchants accept onpurchases. Consequently as banks have increased their competitive focus theyhave begun to lower loan rates and annual fees such that many customers canavoid fees entirely and pay interest at rates slightly above NY quoted prime. Credit card lending involves issuing plastic cards to qualifying customers. Thecards have pre-authorized credit limits that restrict the maximum of debtoutstanding at any time. Many cards can be used in electronic banking devices,such as automatic teller machines, to make deposits or withdrawals from existingtransaction accounts at a bank. Credit cards are becoming extremely attractive. Many banks view credit cards as a vehicle to generate a nationwide customerbase. They offer extraordinary incentives to induce consumers to accept cards inthe hope that they can cross-sell mortgages, insurance products, and eventuallysecurities. Credit cards are profitable because many customers are priceinsensitive. However, credit card losses are among the highest of all loantypes. The returns to credit card lending depend on the specific roles that abank plays. A bank is called a card bank if it administers its own credit cardplan or serves as the primary regional agent of major credit card operations. Anon-card bank operates under the auspices of a regional card bank and does notissue its own card. Non-card banks do not generate significant revenues fromcredit cards. The credit card transaction process: Once a customer uses a card,the retail outlet submits the sales receipt to its local merchant bank forcredit. A retailer may physically deposit the slip electronically transfer th einformation via a card-reading terminal at the time of sale. The merchant bankdiscounts the sales receipt by 2 to 5 percent as its fee. Thus a retailer willreceive only 97$ credit for each 100$ sales receipt if the discount is 3percent. If the merchant bank did not issue the card, it sends the receipt tothe card-issuing bank then bills the customer for the purchase. Most cardrevenues come from issuing the card that a customer uses. The bank earnsinterest at rates ranging from 6 to 22 percent and normally charges eachindividual an annual fee for use of the card. Interest rates are sticky. Thus,when money market rates decline and lower a banks cost of funds, the netreturn on credit card revenues. The remaining 20 percent is merchant discount. ? Overdraft protection and open credit lines: Revolving credit also takesthe form of overdraft protection against checking accounts. The customer mustpay interest on the loan from the date of the drafts receipt and can repaythe loan either by making direct deposits or by periodic payments. These loansare functional equivalent of loan commitments to commercial customers. Themaximum credit available typically exceeds that for overdraft lines, and theinterest rate floats with the banks base rate. ? Home equity loans andcredit cards: Home equity loans meet the tax deductibility requirements becausethey are secured by equity in an individuals home. Many of these loans arestructured as open credit lines where a consumer can borrow up to 75 percent ofthe market value of the property less the principle outstanding on the firstmortgage. Individuals borrow simply by writing checks, pay interest only on theamount borrowed and can repay the principal at a rate of the outstandingbalance. In most cases, the loans carry adjustable rates tied to the banks baserate. These credit arrangements combine the risk of a second mortgage with thetemptation of credit card, a dangerous combination. Home equity loans place asecond lien on a borrowers home. If the individual defaults, the creditor canforeclose so that the borrower loses his or her home. ? Non-installmentloans: A limited number of consumer loans require a single principal andinterest payment. The individual borrowing needs are temporary. Credit isextended in anticipation of repayment from a well-defined future cash inflow. The quality of the loan depends on the certainty of the timing and the amountanticipated net cash inflow from the sale. Consumer loans: Consumer loans areextended for a variety of reasons for example, the purchase of an automobile,mobile homes, home improvements, furniture and appliances, and home equityloans. Before approving any loan, a lending officer request informationregarding the borrowers employment status, periodic income, the value ofassets owned, outstanding debt, personal references and specific terms thatgenerates the loan request. The lending officer collects information regardingthe borrowers five Cs then he interprets the information in light of thebank lending guidelines and accepts or rejects the loan. In addition, banksemploy judgmental procedures and quantitative credit scoring procedures whenevaluating consumers loans. Recent risk and return characteristics ofconsumer loans: Historically, banks viewed themselves as being either wholesaleor retail institutions, fo cusing on commercial and individual customersrespectively. Recent developments, however, have blurred the distinction, astraditional wholesale banks have aggressively entered the consumer market. Theattraction is twofold. First, competition for commercial customers narrowedcommercial loan yields so that return fell relative to potential risks. Soconsumer loans provide some of the highest met yields for banks. Second,developing loan and deposit relationships with individuals presumably representsa strategic response to deregulation.