First-loss capital

    ESG & Governance

    Money in a deal that agrees to absorb the first losses if the project performs badly, which protects the investors ranked above it.

    First-loss capital is usually provided by philanthropies, climate funds or governments in blended finance structures. By taking the riskiest slice, it can make the senior slices safe enough for banks, insurers or pension funds. Check the size of the first-loss layer against realistic loss scenarios: a thin layer offers little real protection.

    Related terms

    Blended financeViability gap funding (VGF)

    Learn the concept

    From the research

    Valuation

    A Comparative Financial Analysis of Three Listed Companies

    Three IT services leaders, five years of numbers: similar growth, very different margins and returns on capital, and their October 2026 valuations.

    Markets

    IPO Issue Price vs. Listing Price vs. Subsequent Performance

    Seven of India's most talked-about IPOs since 2021, tracked from issue price to listing to October 2026. Buying on listing day lost money in six of seven.

    Valuation

    Paytm: Valuing a Company With No Clean Comparable

    Paytm is part payments processor, part device business, part loan distributor. Why no single peer fits, and how to value it in parts and in reverse.