Senior Debt

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

11.	SENIOR DEBT

Senior debt is comprised of the following as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018:

							Outstanding as of
	Initial			Annual			September 30, 2019						December 31, 2018
	Principal Amount		Maturity Date	Interest Rate(b)			Principal		Unamortized Debt Costs		Carrying Value		Principal		Unamortized Debt Costs		Carrying Value
Lazard Group 2020 Senior Notes (a)	$	500,000	11/14/20		4.25	%	$	-	$	-	$	-	$	250,000	$	863	$	249,137
Lazard Group 2025 Senior Notes		400,000	2/13/25		3.75	%		400,000		2,534		397,466		400,000		2,888		397,112
Lazard Group 2027 Senior Notes		300,000	3/1/27		3.625	%		300,000		2,920		297,080		300,000		3,215		296,785
Lazard Group 2028 Senior Notes (a)		500,000	9/19/28		4.50	%		500,000		8,038		491,962		500,000		8,774		491,226
Lazard Group 2029 Senior Notes (a)		500,000	3/11/29		4.375	%		500,000		7,587		492,413		-		-		-
Total							$	1,700,000	$	21,079	$	1,678,921	$	1,450,000	$	15,740	$	1,434,260

(a)

During March 2019, Lazard Group completed an offering of $500,000 aggregate principal amount of 4.375% senior notes due 2029 (the “2029 Notes”). Interest on the 2029 Notes is payable semi-annually on March 11 and September 11 of each year, beginning September 11, 2019. Lazard Group used a portion of the net proceeds of the 2029 Notes to redeem or otherwise retire $250,000 aggregate principal amount of the 4.25% senior notes due 2020 (the “2020 Notes”). In March 2019, $167,943 aggregate principal amount was redeemed or otherwise retired, and the remaining $82,057 was redeemed or otherwise retired in April 2019.

During September 2018, Lazard Group completed an offering of $500,000 aggregate principal amount of the 2028 Notes. Interest on the 2028 Notes is payable semi-annually on March 19 and September 19 of each year, beginning March 19, 2019. Lazard Group used a portion of the net proceeds of the 2028 Notes to redeem or otherwise retire $250,000 aggregate principal amount of the 2020 Notes.

(b)

The effective interest rates of Lazard Group’s 3.75% senior notes due February 13, 2025 (the “2025 Notes”), Lazard Group’s 3.625% senior notes due March 1, 2027 (the “2027 Notes”), Lazard Group’s 4.50% senior notes due September 19, 2028 (the “2028 Notes”) and the 2029 Notes are 3.87%, 3.76%, 4.68% and 4.54% respectively.

On September 25, 2015, Lazard Group entered into an Amended and Restated Credit Agreement for a five-year $150,000 senior revolving credit facility with a group of lenders (the “Amended and Restated Credit Agreement”), which expires in September 2020. The Amended and Restated Credit Agreement amended and restated the previous credit agreement dated September 25, 2012. Borrowings under the Amended and Restated Credit Agreement generally will bear interest at LIBOR plus an applicable margin for specific interest periods determined based on Lazard Group’s highest credit rating from an internationally recognized credit agency. At September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, no amounts were outstanding under the Amended and Restated Credit Agreement.

The Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, the indenture and the supplemental indentures relating to Lazard Group’s senior notes contain certain covenants, events of default and other customary provisions, including a customary make-whole provision in the event of early redemption, where applicable. As of September 30, 2019, the Company was in compliance with such provisions. All of the Company’s senior debt obligations are unsecured.

As of September 30, 2019, the Company had approximately $167,000 in unused lines of credit available to it, including the credit facility provided under the Amended and Restated Credit Agreement and unused lines of credit available to LFB of approximately $16,000.

The Company’s senior debt at September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 is carried at historical amounts of $1,678,921 and $1,434,260, respectively. At those dates, the fair value of such senior debt was approximately $1,817,000 and $1,429,000, respectively. The fair value of the Company’s senior debt is based on market quotations. The Company’s senior debt would be categorized within Level 2 of the hierarchy of fair value measurements if carried at fair value.