24 pages carry this tag.
On 7 October 2026, the RBI raised its policy rate by 25 basis points. For most companies that is a rounding error. For a heavily indebted one, it is the start of a much bigger story.
The usual valuation toolkit of enterprise value, EBITDA and free cash flow stops working for a bank. Here is why, and what analysts use instead.
Of the three letters in ESG, governance has the clearest link to investor losses. Most large Indian corporate failures began as governance problems before they became financial ones.
A AAA rating is not a stamp of quality on a company. It is an opinion on one narrow question: will this debt be repaid on time? Knowing the limits of that question is what makes a rating useful.
How lenders judge the risk of not being repaid: the five Cs of credit, PD, LGD and EAD, expected loss, and metrics to monitor.
How to read an Indian credit rating report: the rating scale, outlooks and watches, rationale, key drivers, sensitivities and group support.
How the Altman Z-score combines five ratios to flag financial distress, its Z' and Z'' variants, and its limits for Indian companies.
Why bond prices and yields move in opposite directions: pricing a bond, current yield, YTM, spreads, premiums and discounts, duration and convexity.
The conditions lenders attach to loans: financial, affirmative and negative covenants, what happens on a breach, cov-lite deals and MAC clauses.
How credit scores predict default: CIBIL and other bureau scores, internal scorecards, alternative data for thin-file borrowers, and the risks it brings.
The single discount rate at which a bond's future coupons and principal repayment equal its current market price. It is the total annualised return from holding the bond to maturity.
The extra yield a corporate bond pays over a government bond of the same maturity, compensating for default risk and lower liquidity.
An agency's opinion of a borrower's ability to repay, expressed on a letter scale from AAA (highest safety) down to D (default). In India the main agencies include CRISIL, ICRA, CARE Ratings and India Ratings.
Cash available for debt service divided by scheduled principal and interest payments. It measures whether operations generate enough cash to meet debt obligations as they fall due.
The fixed annual interest a bond pays as a percentage of its face value. It is set at issue and does not change with the market price.
A measure of a bond's price sensitivity to interest-rate changes, expressed in years. Longer duration means bigger price swings when yields move.
A loan on which interest or principal has remained overdue for more than 90 days. Banks must classify such loans separately and provide against expected losses.
A condition attached to a loan or bond that the borrower must maintain, such as a maximum leverage ratio or minimum coverage ratio. Breaching one can trigger penalties or immediate repayment.
The number of days cash stays locked in operations: inventory days plus receivable days minus payable days.
The share of a bank's total deposits held in current and savings accounts. Current accounts pay no interest and savings accounts pay roughly 3 to 4 percent, so a high CASA ratio means the bank funds its loans with cheap money.
The blended average interest a bank pays across all its deposits and borrowings: current accounts at 0 percent, savings at about 3 percent, fixed deposits at about 6.5 percent, and other funding.
Interest a bank earns on its loans and investments minus the interest it pays on deposits and borrowings, expressed as a percentage of its interest-earning assets. It accounts for funds the bank could not lend out.
A bank's capital measured against its risk-weighted assets. It shows how much cushion the bank has to absorb loan losses and how much further lending it can support.
Money a bank sets aside from its income against loans it doubts will be repaid. Provisions are charged to the profit and loss statement before profit is struck.
Related topics: Valuation, DCF, Relative valuation, Cost of capital, Financial statements, Cash flow, Earnings quality, Red flags
