Word: crediteers
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...hundreds of U.S. companies, the federal bailout may be too little, too late. Bankers, lawyers and credit analysts say the government's plan to invest billions into the nation's banks is doing little to ease the credit crunch for U.S. businesses. The result, they say, is that many companies now struggling to get financing may soon be out of business. "In the past few weeks, lending has been getting tighter, not looser," says Larry Flick, a partner at law firm Blank Rome, which helps companies get financing. "All the moves the government is making to end the credit crisis...
...seeing companies across a wide variety of sectors that are struggling," says Sam Rovit, who heads up Bain Corporate Renewal, the optimistically named restructuring division of Bain & Company. If the credit squeeze doesn't loosen up quickly, he expects a "tidal wave of bankruptcies among large companies...
Analysts say dozens of smaller businesses have the same or worse predicament. "If the biggest companies in the nation are having a tougher time getting financing, then it's going to be much more difficult for smaller firms to get credit," says Martin Fridson, whose firm Fridson Investment Advisors analyses corporate bonds...
...that many of the moves so far, like insuring money-market mutual funds, have been made to shore up the nation's commercial paper markets. But small companies or those that are short on capital cannot access the commercial paper market, which is generally reserved for companies with good credit. What's more, while the Treasury is urging banks to boost lending in the wake of the government's $250 billion investment into these firms, industry observers are skeptical that it will actually happen. "The idea that more capital is going to influence how much banks lend is a misconception...
...companies that have loans that are coming due in the next few months and need to refinance, the continued credit crunch could mean they will be forced to file for bankruptcy or shut down. Bain's Rovit estimates that there will be 75 bankruptcies this year among companies with at least $100 million in assets, up from just 13 last year. He expects the number of bankruptcies to continue rising next year as well. S&P says its watch list used to be filled mostly with homebuilders or mortgage companies. But the latest additions are coming from industries such...