Fundamentals of Credit and Credit Analysis: Corporate Credit Analysis Paperback – January 14, 2015

Simply put, I love this book! It is an excellent primer on credit and credit analysis, relatively concise and it covers the fundamentals. I purchased the book after making a significant career shift into credit risk management and needed a book that could help me learn/review the basics, and string my knowledge into a coherent framework for analysis. This book helped me make that deep-dive into credit risk management,.. without drowning! I am now on my 2nd reading, and hope Arnold Ziegel writes a sequel to the book, perhaps (Intermediate and Advanced), and possibly industry-specific analysis e.g. Credit Analysis of Oil and Gas Firms

It is a concise by quite readable and informative book on the basics of corporate credit analysis. It may serve as an introduction for novice analysts and as a refresher for seasoned lenders – a guide that gets back to the basics of fundamental credit analysis. Although you won’t find here a detailed description of different types of credit instruments or specific analytical tools (ratios, differences in lending rationales behind the generic types of loans – seasonal, permanent WC loans, term loans, the way you use free cash flow to ascertain the capacity to repay, etc.), you will be reminded the fundamental principles of a sound credit culture which sometimes get lost among the often pseudo-scientific mathematical models some lenders use in place of, not as an addition to the fundamental credit analysis of each obligor. Dear Mr. Ziegel – I am looking forward to another book of yours where you could continue the journey to the credit analysis land and expand the topics of analytical tools / approaches, different credit analysis aspects of different types of loans depending on the needs being financed (seasonal and permanent WC needs, investment loans, etc.) and include the common dilemmas as e.g. how to cope with the fact that lenders often do not expect repayment of loans (usually WC loans) as long as the borrower remains sound and has the capacity to repay but demand repayment as soon as the client deteriorates and potentially loses the repayment capacity, thus using their "licence to kill".

This is one of the best books on Credit and Credit Analysis I have read in a recent while. Most that I read were full of very difficult and not easy to comprehend "mumbo- jumbo". Not this one, Arnold has endeavoured to make it an easy read even for novice banker/ or student of banking. The book is not intimidating to the aspiring Credit Analyst either. He has made transfer of Credit skills and knowledge a pleasant journey for the reader. I highly recommend it to any one who wants to acquire Credit Analysis skills, or those seasoned bankers who want a refresher on credit.

I was looking for a good, basic overview of the subject, and maybe this is it? However, there were several typos/errors in the text, which left me questioning its credibility. Who publishes a book with typos!? It seems kind of unprofessional to me. If I already had basic grasp of the subject, I might have been able to look past the unpolished text and find some useful information to expand my current understanding. But without the benefit of that knowledge base, I found it difficult to accept the material as true and accurate when it seems like it was never even proofread. For that reason, this book was not particularly helpful to me. However, as I mentioned, I have little experience with the subject, so I can't make any judgments about the value or accuracy of the information presented.

The Fundamentals of Credit and Credit Analysis is not a nuts-and-bolts book for credit and financial analysis. There are plenty of books that will provide a deep dive into financial spreading, ratios, and the calculations to perform credit analysis. This short, yet powerful book, is about getting back to the basics with an emphasis on free cash flow. When the reader understands the importance of free cash flow, a new world will open up in working with small and large businesses. There are many gems in this book, including "accounting profits are not the same as cash." If you get one thing from this book remember, “never lend short, where you wouldn't lend long.”

Many typos in the book...

Good book for getting your feet wet in credit analysis.First book I read regarding this topic, wish it talked about more day to day operations. Book did give good terminology.

Has all that I need to do a good job

He repeats himself a lot. Though, there is some good information it’s very annoying to read. - Four more words.

The book is repetitive and shallow. It mentions how things are done or should be done, but doesn't explain how to perform those analysis. And it has only 2008 examples. Or Enron.

The book really disappointed me in terms of the lack of detailed coverage on expected concepts. Not at all advisable for a practitioner, neither for a fresher! Lots of repetition as well and very poor formatting.

Boringly repetitious, not helpful to someone looking for tools and techniques, and unsubstantiated calculations for Disney in Chapter 7 - The Process of Credit Analysis. It seems the author used his power point slides and added a bit of details, like cash flow ad nauseam. This is not a text book but a long and repetitive essay, and not worth the price. The pages are unnumbered and there is no index. An opening statement like: "Credit Analysis is an Art, not a Science" is a precursor of what's in store. That said, it gives a broad brush overview of credit analysis.

French, I will make some efforts to comment in English cause I think Ziegel's book deserve to be known.This Book is amazing. All is made simple and clear. Everyone know that theoretical concepts of finance are not easy to handle. By reading this book you really will understand the FUNDAMENTALS of so many IMPORTANT concepts. It is not only related to Credit Analysis, but all financial concepts you need to understand in order to perform well in Credit Risk analysis.Incredible explanations of corporate finance basis! Impossible to let any doubt in your mind after having read this bookEveryone of you that is looking for a starting point should buy this book. A great work, I have great respect for this kind of book, cause it help you to understand and improve your skills in a powerful manner.The (kindle) price of this book is nothing compared to his VALUE.