AFP Blogs

Covenant compliance has never been more important than it is today, yet a recent survey of corporate treasury professionals found that only nine percent considered their debt-compliance process “efficient.” And nearly two-thirds (66 percent) told The Financial Executives Consulting Group, which conducted the survey of 150 corporate treasury professionals, that their debt-compliance processes were either “time consuming” or “manual.”

AFP’s webinar, The Importance of Covenant Compliance in Today’s Colder, Crueler Credit Markets, October 15, 3:30 p.m. ET, will focus on the best practices in debt compliance management.

Speakers:

Al Gever
EVP & Chief Financial Officer
Smart Balance, Inc.

Jim Cockey
SVP, Asset Based Lending
Bank of America

Jim Simpson
Co-Founder
Debt Compliance Services LLC

“With fewer financial alternatives, small- to mid-sized companies may be jeopardizing their access to additional liquidity by poorly managing their outstanding debt,” said Simpson. “In today’s environment, banks are less inclined to lend or waive covenants or issue amendments. In fact, the apparent lack of attention by many of their customers on managing their loans that could lead to some very bitter discussions at some time in the future.”

Added Bruce Lynn, managing partner with the FECG and an organizer of the webinar: “By including a corporate and a banker on this webinar we will be able to offer listeners a more well-rounded perspective on the importance of this topic, and some suggestions on how to avoid the risks associated with poor debt management such as loss of bank credit and additional costs under defaults.”

This webinar has been approved for CTP/CCM and CPE credits. For more information on obtaining CE credits by participating in AFP webinars, please view the Re-certification Requirements.

When amending existing loan documents or negotiating new credit facilities, savvy corporate borrowers are proactively requesting specific provisions addressing these issues. Borrowers recently have successfully expanded the definition of “defaulting lender,” says Robert J. Heinrich, senior counsel with Foley & Lardner LLP. And, he says, borrowers have obtained more robust remedies for handling defaulting lenders. (more…)