# Professor Edward Altman's estimation that roughly 8% of all firms whose debt is rated speculative grade will default in the next 12 months is cited

1 Faculty News June 2, 2020 ![](/sites/default/files/styles/246w/public/assets/images/con_033148.jpg?itok=1k3_F7Wi)>

Excerpt from [Money Morning](https://moneymorning.com/2020/06/02/how-well-surf-and-trade-the-looming-bankruptcy-tidal-wave/) -- "[Edward Altman](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/faculty/bio/edward-altman), an emeritus professor of finance for the New York University Stern School of Business, estimates about 8% of all firms whose debt is rated speculative grade will default in the next 12 months. Over the next two years, 20% will go belly-up. Altman also expects at least 165 large firms with more than $100 million in liabilities will go bankrupt by the end of 2020."

[Read More](https://moneymorning.com/2020/06/02/how-well-surf-and-trade-the-looming-bankruptcy-tidal-wave/)