A credit-linked note is like a special kind of loan agreement between two parties: a borrower (usually a company) and a lender (usually an investor).
Let's pretend that you and your friend want to start a lemonade stand. You need some money to buy the ingredients, so your friend agrees to lend you $10. But your friend is worried that you might not be able to pay them back, so they ask you to promise to pay them back with an extra dollar (called interest) for every glass of lemonade you sell.
A credit-linked note works in a similar way. Let's say a big company (like Amazon) needs to borrow some money. The company sets up a credit-linked note with an investor (like a bank or a rich person). The company agrees to pay back the loan plus interest, but there's a catch: the amount of interest they have to pay depends on how well they're doing in the future.
Specifically, the investor is worried that the company might run into financial trouble and won't be able to pay back the loan. So they ask the company to promise that if something bad happens (like they go bankrupt), they'll have to pay back even more interest. This extra interest is like a kind of insurance policy for the investor, because it helps protect them from losing all their money if the company goes under.
Just like with your lemonade stand, the amount of interest the company has to pay on the credit-linked note varies depending on how well they're doing. If the company is doing really well and making lots of money, they might not have to pay much extra interest. But if the company starts struggling and their finances go downhill, they'll have to pay more extra interest to the investor to make up for the increased risk.
Overall, credit-linked notes are a way for investors to make money by lending money to companies, while also protecting themselves in case the company runs into financial trouble. It's like a special kind of agreement that lets everyone involved feel a little bit safer about the deal.