Debt advisory

Borrowing base

Limit secured availability to eligible collateral after advance rates, exclusions, concentrations and reserves.

Quick answer

A borrowing base is an agreement-defined calculation of eligible collateral value that supports permitted borrowing. Receivables, inventory or other assets may be reduced by ineligibles, concentration limits, advance rates, reserves and outstanding usage.

Use the worked example

Meaning and transaction use

OCC guidance expects collateral, structure and repayment capacity to be assessed and monitored. [S1]

SEC-filed credit disclosures illustrate that debt capacity and repayment terms are agreement-specific. [S2]

Proposed review method: Test collateral eligibility at invoice or asset level and reconcile the certificate to books, controls and field examinations.

Worked example

Illustrative calculation only. All figures are hypothetical.

Scroll the table horizontally to view all columns.

MeasureCalculationResult
Eligible receivablesGiven30.0m
Advance rate30.0 x 80%24.0m
ReservesGiven3.0m
Net borrowing base24.0 - 3.021.0m

The hypothetical net borrowing base is 21.0m before deducting facility usage.

Proposed transaction review process

Read documents

Extract definitions, amounts, dates, thresholds and remedies.

Reconcile inputs

Tie financial and legal inputs to source evidence.

Model scenarios

Test base, downside, liquidity and enforcement cases.

Control execution

Record approvals, certificates, notices and monitoring.

Evidence checklist

Facility terms

Agreement, amendments, fee letters and notices.

Financial evidence

Accounts, forecasts, debt schedule and reconciliations.

Security and priority

Guarantees, collateral, filings and intercreditor terms.

Monitoring

Certificates, waivers, defaults, actions and correspondence.

Decision framework

SituationProposed action
Definitions differUse the executed financing agreement.
Evidence is incompleteHold the conclusion and request source records.
Downside failsResize, restructure or decline the exposure.
Terms changeUpdate the model and approval record.

Common errors to check

  • Using accounting labels instead of contractual definitions.
  • Relying on forecasts without reconciled source data.
  • Ignoring downside liquidity and enforcement timing.
  • Failing to update the model after amendments.

Build the borrowing base decision file

Bring the governing documents, reconciled inputs and decision questions to a structured review. Record assumptions, approvals and follow-up actions.

Discuss the transaction

Primary references and editorial scope

  1. OCC Comptroller Handbook: Loan Portfolio Management
    Official bank-supervision guidance on credit risk, underwriting, structure, monitoring and problem loans. Reference checked 17 September 2026.
  2. SEC filing: leverage and mandatory prepayment terms
    Filed example of leverage covenants and leverage-linked excess-cash-flow prepayment. Reference checked 17 September 2026.
Editorial qualification

General debt-advisory education using public institutional and filed sources. Figures are hypothetical. Executed documents, facts, law and professional advice determine actual rights and outcomes.

General business information. Obtain advice appropriate to the legal, tax, accounting and financing facts. No offer, lender commitment or transaction outcome is represented. All worked examples use expressly assumed figures. Editorial draft date: 17 September 2026.

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