Financial Analysis : Credit Rating Agencies

In this essay I shall be discussing the factors which influence the level of and access to unsecured debt held by households.

Creditors normally focus on the liquidity or solvency of the borrower in terms of current ratio and quick ratio, which indicate whether the company has enough working capital to cover the short-term debts. Myer will enter into a syndicated facility agreement to refinance the existing borrowings of the Myer Group. Besides, creditors are interested in the business risks the company might undertake, which indicate the possibility that the company might be unable to pay back the long-term liability in the future. From this point, the expectation on high return on investment and high profitability in the long run make the creditor’s interest aligned with shareholders’ value.

This problem can be explained more on the basis of the “Iceberg Theory”, according to which we only see a part of something on the surface but the reality remains that much more exists beneath the surface which we are oblivious of. This menace of loan debt has a similar nature in terms of our understanding and awareness of its enormity; that its diagnosis was much delayed than its conception.

In the time between the end of World War II and the early 2000s, the ways consumers used debt changed significantly. However, one thing remained clear, borrowing became the new lifestyle that most Americans adopted. Borrowing allowed the average working and middle class person to purchase homes and the items that filled their interiors. It also became the fuel to a resurrecting economy. The trust between borrowers and lenders has encouraged the stimulation of the economy. Because of this, debt has played a crucial role in American history.

“Individuals and businesses lend their savings to borrowers. In exchange, borrowers give lenders a debt instrument, which is called bonds, representing a promise by borrowers to pay interest income to lenders on the principal (the amount of money borrowed) until the principal is repaid to the lenders” (Feldstein & Fabozzi, 2011).

In 2008, one of the worst financial crises since the Great Depression occurred. The severity of this collapse cannot be understated as demonstrated by the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, the fourth largest investment bank in the US, and with many other financial institutions such as Merrill Lynch and the Royal Bank of Scotland having to be bailed out. In addition, the Global Banking System was within a whisker of collapsing and if it where not for the trillions of dollars invested in the system by national banks then this banking collapse would have lead to economic catastrophe. Therefore, in order to avoid such a calamity from occurring again, it is important to ask the question why did this financial recession occur and what factors contributed towards this downfall? Although there are many reasons as to why this recession occurred it could be argued that securitized lending and shadow banking played the largest role in this economic crisis. It is therefore important to understand what securitized lending and shadow banking means. Securitized lending is the process by which a financial institution such as a bank pools illiquid assets, such as residential and commercial mortgages and auto loans (by which the bank receives from the public through house mortgages and loans), and loans these newly formed short-term bonds to third party investors in exchange for cash or collateral. Since its creation in the 18th century, securitized lending was increasingly popular and very much

One of the biggest influences of the economic crash was the faulty rating given from various rating agencies such as “Standard and Poor” and “Moody’s.” The point of a credit agency is to give an accurate evaluation of a bond

The unsecured debt can be part of using a credit card, overdraft and any types of personal loans and catalogues, the level of personal debt has adapted over a period of time growing at a rate in the 1980s and then slowly in the early stages of 1990 this impact was a result, in

One of the major causes of poverty throughout the world is National Debt. Also known as public debt, national debt is defined as “the total financial obligations of the central government of a nation usually in the form of interest-bearing government bonds” (National debt 2015). International debt is complex challenge in magnitude with poverty affecting the welfare of millions of people, in many countries all over the world. However at the same time international debt does not only affect those in the country but rather affects many international and private sources of financial institutions. National debt presents many moral challenge

When someone has their background checked by horrible credit, chances are they will pay a much higher interest rate for an auto, contracts, et cetera. Exactly when applying for charge cards with poor credit you will probability be declined make your shots of getting approved impressively more troublesome. At any rate, what you have is the capacity to rebuild your FICO score?

Jules Kroll is planning to enter into the ratings industry. To determine whether it is a good idea and a good time for him to enter into the new business, we project the 5-year NPV for KBRA and apply SWOT analysis to KBRA. The 5-year projected NPV is $341.1 million, a positive number. It is a good time and a good idea for KBRA to enter the business. However, through our SWOT analysis, it would be difficult for KBRA to become competitive in a short time. Thus we suggest it add a credit rating division into the company to make attempts to it but not start up a

I propose an Investment Risk rating system by which investment firms, banks, and financial products are measured according to the amount of risk, including factors such as potentially toxic assets. This could be part of the existing annual audit process and provide consumers with easily understandable metrics by which all investments could be judged. This would

So it is also attractive for Jules Kroll to take this opportunity to enter the credit rating industry. In addition, the “issuer pays” model, which used by the big three rating agencies, lets companies shop around for the best ratings, putting pressure on the agencies to inflate their grades. As a result, it is very difficult to argue that they can adequately represent the users’ side. Therefore, Jules Kroll wants to use another model that can assign unbiased and reliable ratings.

Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service, and Fitch Ratings are still suffering from their role in the crisis. These credit-rating companies would mark many bad investments with “AAA” ratings even though more than 70 percent of their collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) defaulted. They would ignore the major risks and marketed the risky CDOs because they were being paid to get the deals (Krantz, 2013). To decrease the probability of inappropriate ratings from happening again, there should be more regulations and monitorizations of all the credit-rating agencies. Revenues of credit-rating agencies should also not be allowed to be based on how many investments they can rate highly. Furthermore, before the crisis, investors would rely too greatly on ratings instead of doing their own due diligence. Therefore, investors should also rely less on the

However, the issuance of debt can have signalling effects for investors. Generally, when firms issue debt it signals to investors that the firm is in a good financial situation as the firm is able to undertake repayments of future interest.