Financial test applied each quarter regardless of borrower action — typically a maximum leverage ratio and a minimum fixed-charge coverage ratio. Provides the lender with early warning of deterioration and a contractual right to intervene (default, default rate, waiver fees, tighter terms) before payment default. In Black-Cox terms, the maintenance covenant is the down-and-in barrier whose value to the lender is empirically sim 80–120 bps of spread on a typical 5–6× leveraged unitranche.