What Is Senior Debt?

Also known as a senior note or senior loan, senior debt gives the lender or creditor the first lien claim over the company assets and cash flows in the event of nonpayment. The issuers of such debts, mostly banks and bondholders, are paid first, followed by subordinated debt, hybrid debt, and preferred stockholders.

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Key Takeaways

  • Senior debt is the loan that the company obtains from banks or the bond market and must repay first if it goes bankrupt.Due to their highest repayment priority, such debts have the lowest interest rates and risks and are often secured by collateral. If the debt is not paid, the company risks losing its collateral.A senior loan enhances the company’s financial structure, allowing it to operate more efficiently.Senior loan differs from subordinated debt in that the latter is unsecured, has a lower payback priority, and has higher interest rates and risks.

How Senior Debt Works?

Senior debt offers senior creditors leverage over other creditorsCreditorsA creditor refers to a party involving an individual, institution, or the government that extends credit or lends goods, property, services, or money to another party known as a debtor. The credit made through a legal contract guarantees repayment within a specified period as mutually agreed upon by both parties. read more when it comes to getting their money back if the company goes bankrupt. A business can obtain this debt from banks or the bond market at a fixed and lower interest rate and for a specified length of time. In addition, it can be secured (i.e., supported by collateral and given priority during liquidationLiquidationLiquidation is the process of winding up a business or a segment of the business by selling off its assets. The amount realized by this is used to pay off the creditors and all other liabilities of the business in a specific order.read more) or unsecured (i.e., not backed by collateral and given last priority during liquidation). The creditor can sell the company assets in the former type if it defaults on the loan.

A company filing for bankruptcy tries to obtain senior debt relief by liquidating its assets and bank accounts. Banks offer secured senior loans because it is easy for them to give low-interest loans with the high priority of recovering their funds. At the same time, banks use collateral to secure these loans.

Since firms make regular principal and interest payments to creditors, these debtsDebtsDebt is the practice of borrowing a tangible item, primarily money by an individual, business, or government, from another person, financial institution, or state.read more become less risky. As a result, lenders (banks and bondholders) get paid before shareholdersShareholdersA shareholder is an individual or an institution that owns one or more shares of stock in a public or a private corporation and, therefore, are the legal owners of the company. The ownership percentage depends on the number of shares they hold against the company’s total shares.read more in the event of bankruptcy or liquidation but receive smaller returns.

Features Of Senior Debt

  • Banks and bondholders provide companies with senior debt financing secured by collateral and have the lowest interest rate and highest repayment priority.A company understands a senior loan and its consequences and hence duly notes the repayment schedule and interest rate and ensures attaining senior debt relief.The senior loan is often granted in tranches and helps resolve inflation risk, and is paid before subordinated debtSubordinated DebtIn case of liquidation of a company, rankings are provided to various debts for repayment, wherein the kind of debt which is ranked after all the senior debt and other corporate Debts and loans is known as subordinated debt, and the borrowers of such kind of debt are larger corporations or business entities.read more and preferred stockPreferred StockA preferred share is a share that enjoys priority in receiving dividends compared to common stock. The dividend rate can be fixed or floating depending upon the terms of the issue. Also, preferred stockholders generally do not enjoy voting rights. However, their claims are discharged before the shares of common stockholders at the time of liquidation.read more or common stockCommon StockCommon stocks are the number of shares of a company and are found in the balance sheet. It is calculated by subtracting retained earnings from total equity.read more.Companies opting for senior loans must maintain specific financial ratiosFinancial RatiosFinancial ratios are indications of a company’s financial performance. There are several forms of financial ratios that indicate the company’s results, financial risks, and operational efficiency, such as the liquidity ratio, asset turnover ratio, operating profitability ratios, business risk ratios, financial risk ratio, stability ratios, and so on.read more and limits, such as dividendsDividendsDividends refer to the portion of business earnings paid to the shareholders as gratitude for investing in the company’s equity.read more, capital expendituresCapital ExpendituresCapex or Capital Expenditure is the expense of the company’s total purchases of assets during a given period determined by adding the net increase in factory, property, equipment, and depreciation expense during a fiscal year.read more, etc.Senior loan improves a company’s capital structureCapital StructureCapital Structure is the composition of company’s sources of funds, which is a mix of owner’s capital (equity) and loan (debt) from outsiders and is used to finance its overall operations and investment activities.read more that helps in its smooth operation.A company that takes out a senior loan must function efficiently; otherwise, it risks losing an asset for not repaying the debt.

Examples Of Senior Debt

Let us understand the senior debt meaning with the following examples –

Example #1

Natasha dreams of opening a hardware store, but she needs money. So she applies for a business loan and puts her house up as collateral. Natasha opens her hardware store once the bank authorizes her loan. However, she needed to borrow money from her friend Thomas for inventory and operations.

After six months, the store suffers a considerable loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so Natasha decides to close it down. Her top priority is to repay the bank’s senior debt financing she received. If she does not repay the loan, she will be evicted from her home. The interest rates were low in this case, but the payback schedule was strict. Natasha explains the issue to Thomas and pledges to pay him back later.

Example #2

If a firm fails to repay the senior loan, it might face legal consequences. For example, in February 2012, Reliance Communications’ chairman Anil Ambani took out more than $700 million personal guarantee loan from three Chinese banks – Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd., Exim Bank of China, and China Development Bank.

The company, which is now bankrupt, has failed to repay the loan. On May 22, 2020, a UK court ordered Ambani to disclose his worldwide assets and repay the loan right away. On the other hand, the Chinese banks plan to take legal action against him and seize his worldwide assets to recover their debts.

Senior vs Subordinated Debt

Subordinated debt, also known as junior debt, has a lower payback priority than the senior loan. When it comes to senior debt vs subordinated debt, a business will always repay the former. Let us look at the following key distinctions between the two types of debt:

This has been a guide to Senior Debt and its meaning. Here we discuss how it works along with its features, examples, and differences with Subordinated Debt. You can learn more from the following articles –

Senior debt is the highest priority loan that gives senior creditors an advantage over other lenders to get their money back if the company goes bankrupt. A company can borrow money from banks or the bond market at a fixed, reduced interest rate for a set period. It can be secured (i.e., backed up by collateral and given priority during liquidation) or unsecured (i.e., not backed up by collateral and not given priority during liquidation).

Mezzanine debt is a combination of loan and investment in non-tradable security with lower repayment priority. Furthermore, the interest rates on this type of debt are higher. On the other hand, senior debt financing is a high-priority loan backed by collateral and offered at a lower interest rate. 

Senior loan or debt is 2 to 3 times EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization). Subordinated debt, on the other hand, is calculated differently.

  • Funded DebtDebt DefaultDistressed Debt