DSCR — what a lender actually checks

Why the minimum debt-service coverage ratio across the loan tenor matters more than the headline average.

By M. Rajagopal ·

DSCRfinancinglenders

The debt-service coverage ratio (DSCR) is the first number a credit committee reads, and the one most often reported the wrong way.

The minimum, not the average

A single headline DSCR — or an average across the loan — hides the years that matter. Lenders care about the minimum DSCR across the tenor: can the project service its debt in its tightest year, not just on average?

  • Show the DSCR year by year, across the whole tenor.
  • Report the minimum, the average, and the shape of the curve.
  • Then show what happens to that minimum under stress — lower price, slower

ramp-up, higher financing cost.

A model that reports one DSCR invites the question the committee least wants to ask: what happens in the tight years?

A quick reference

FigureWhat it answers
Minimum DSCRCan it pay in the worst year of the loan?
Average DSCRIs there comfortable headroom overall?
Stressed minimumDoes it still cover debt if assumptions move?

Every Parxium model presents DSCR in the order a committee reads it. We build to that submission standard; we do not obtain or guarantee approval.

Related models

HC16 →MM01 →

Every Parxium model is built to bank-submission standard. Browse the models →

← All articles