Securing the future (TT Oct09 p24-27)

Companies are looking for funding security and are now keen to refinance at a much earlier stage than before the credit crunch kicked in. Forward start deals set up future corporate finance, which lies dormant until a current facility matures, but critics say that in pursuit of market share some banks are using such deals to offer corporate finance at below market price, providing no incentive to reduce the overall corporate debt level.