Banking relationships are usually fine until they aren't. When they shift, the people inside the business often do not have the recent reps with credit teams to read the room properly. We sit alongside the CFO at those moments and help reshape the relationship before it sets badly.
When clients come to us
When a bank pulls back, when covenants tighten, when a new jurisdiction needs a new bank, or when a long-standing relationship has been allowed to drift and needs to be reset. Often when a CFO is preparing for a refinancing in twelve months and wants to start the conversation early. Sometimes when a Turkish parent needs a credible EU banking footprint for the first time.
How we work
We start with a structured read of the current banking relationships — facilities, pricing, covenants, ancillary — and what each bank actually thinks of the relationship today. From there we build a renegotiation or onboarding plan, prepare the management team for the credit conversations, and sit in the room when useful. We work with the CFO; we do not replace them.
What we deliver
- Banking relationship map and facility audit
- Covenant headroom analysis and stress test
- Renegotiation strategy memo
- Lender pack and management presentation
- New-jurisdiction onboarding sequencing
- Term sheet review and negotiation support
Typical engagement
A banking engagement runs three to six months. On our side, a senior advisor leads with an analyst. On the client side, the CFO is the principal counterpart, with the CEO involved at strategic decision points and the board informed at the close. We avoid running the relationship for the client — the goal is to leave it stronger and in their hands.
Why CGLA
We have worked across Estonian, UK and Turkish banks from both the corporate and the credit side. That bilingual fluency — in language and in credit culture — is hard to find in a single advisor. We are not regulated to act as broker; the role is purely advisory.
