The terms of a loan, when it comes due and what it allows, matter as much as how much was borrowed.
In distress, a claim is worth what its documents let it argue for, not where it sits on the slide.
Restructuring and distressed interviews, credit modelling, and any discussion of covenant-lite lending.
From The Caesars Palace Coup · Max Frumes and Sujeet Indap
Ask when the debt comes due, what it can reach, and what trips it, before asking how much there is.
Real estate, infrastructure and any capital structure question where leverage is measured only as a ratio.
From Brookfield Asset Management's 2008 letter to shareholders · Bruce Flatt
State the liquidity first, because the argument that prices overshoot value is only available to those who can wait.
Any crisis communication, any question about buying in a crash, and infrastructure or real asset valuation.
From Bruce Flatt's March 2020 update to Brookfield shareholders · Bruce Flatt
Private credit's borrowers are more levered and its recoveries lower than the syndicated market's, and the capital waiting to be deployed is what pressures underwriting.
Credit fund, leveraged finance and private equity interviews, and any discussion of where the risks in private credit sit.
From Private Credit: Characteristics and Risks · Fang Cai and Sharjil Haque, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FEDS Notes)