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

I have found this book very disappointing - especially for the price offered. The book is repititive (not sure who the addressed reader were) and missing qualitative aspects of credit analysis. It gets here and there more technical with satisfying examples, however, again do not expect this to be very detailed. It should be understood that leveraged finance and its credit decisions are not only based on the firm's financials and ratios but equally depend upon qualitative aspects, e.g. sustainability of cash flows, market trend, competitiveness and so on - which is covered at no depth. This book might be good for readers who don't have basic knowledge of corporate finance/debt and the questions at the end of each topic are good to test your understanding. However, this book will not be sufficient if you want to understand credit analysis and I highly recommend you get the S&P credit analysis book for this: "Fundamentals of Corporate Credit Analysis" which covers also qualitative aspects e.g. macro, micro, business risk and the result in the business' financial risk.

The book does not discuss advanced analytics etc., but is based on ratio analysis and subjective analysis. Some caveats are there which can be useful for people in market. Overall a simple book to read, but one would need some other text on analytics and similar modern techniques to complement this book.

A very worthwhile helpful quick book about leverage finance and what are the most important factora to take into account when analysing leverage transactions, non only from a financial perspective but also from covenants, structure, debt seniority, with exercises at the end of each paragraph, basically. Fully suggested!

I think the title sums up the book perfectly. As someone who works in the credit world but is also working to develop a credit research skill set, I can say that this book connects the dots between theoretical studies and real world application. The book walks the reader through the process of taking financial statements as they are provided by a company and then extrapolating the data necessary to derive key metrics that are used in the marketplace today to value debt securities. The author combines fundamental research with real world scenarios to give the reader an excellent insight into how and why deals are being done. All in all a very enjoyable and informational read.

Book arrived in good condition. This was recommended to me by a professional who works in high yield investing. I would recommend. Not too overwhelming, I think it’s good for people who want to learn the basics!

If you have to read only one book on the subject , this is the one.