How banks determine a client's requirements based on their cash flow forecast

The cash flow statement is intended to (1) provide information on a firm's liquidity and solvency and its ability to change cash flows in future circumstances; (2) provide additional information for evaluating changes in assets, liabilities and equity; (3) improve the comparability of different firms' operating performance by eliminating the effects of different accounting methods; (4) indicate the amount, timing and probability of future cash flows.

All lenders use their own internal methods of determining the ability of a client to pay back obligations based on their Cash Flow and Balance Sheet.

Source: Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cash_flow_statement)