Company: LAZ
Filing Date: 2025-02-24
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001628280-25-007441
Chunk: 126

Company: Lazard, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-02-24
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 126
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, our borrowing costs and our access to the debt capital markets depend significantly on market factors, including benchmark interest rates, and our credit ratings. These ratings are assigned by rating agencies, which may reduce or withdraw their ratings or place us on “credit watch” with negative implications at any time.

The soundness of third parties, including our clients, as well as financial, governmental and other institutions, could adversely affect us.

We have exposure to many different industries, institutions, products, counterparties and clients, and we routinely execute transactions with counterparties in the financial services industry, including brokers and dealers, commercial banks, investment banks, mutual and hedge funds and other institutions. Many of these transactions expose us to credit risk in the event of default of our counterparty or client. In addition, our credit and settlement risk may be exacerbated when the collateral held by us, if any, cannot be fully realized or is liquidated at prices not sufficient to recover the full amount of the loan, credit balance or derivative exposure due to us.

23

LFG and LFB offer wealth management and banking services to high net worth individuals and families. In order to support this business, LFB may extend lines of credit to such clients. These loans are fully collateralized, but collateral values could fluctuate over time. In the event that the clients are unable to repay their loans and we are unable to realize the collateral for sums that exceed the underlying amount of the loan, we may lose some or all of these amounts.

In addition, we have and may continue to enter into joint ventures and partnerships and invest in entities in which we share ownership or management with unaffiliated third parties. In certain circumstances, we may not have complete control over governance, financial reporting, operations, legal and regulatory compliance or other matters relating to such joint ventures, partnerships or entities. As a result, we may face certain operating, financial, legal, regulatory compliance, reputational and other risks relating to these joint ventures, partnerships and entities, including risks related to the financial strength of such third parties; the willingness of such third parties to provide adequate funding for the joint venture, partnership or entity; differing goals, strategies, priorities or objectives between us and such third parties; our inability to unilaterally implement actions, policies or procedures with respect to the joint venture, partnership or entity that we believe are favorable; legal and regulatory compliance risks relating to actions of the joint venture, partnership, entity or such third parties; the risk that the actions of such third parties could damage our brand image and