The credit crunch plot thickens.

A group labeling itself only as ”The Syndicated Debt Covenant Review Roundtable” took out a half-page ad in today’s Wall Street Journal that read: “Sophisticated Lenders: Demonstrate Your Sophistication! Take back Your Rights!”

The ad calls on lenders to demand an end to “unrestrained collateral sale, release or substitution” and insist on “fixed, determinable dollar amounts of equally secured debt.”

Leveraged loans, the debt behind much of the private equity boom that often lacks traditional safeguards, have caused lenders serious concern with the economic picture worsening.

The ad was taken out for “educational purposes” according to Jacob Cherner, who said he was a spokesman for the group, which is backed by “traditional syndicated lenders” like pension funds or regional banks. Cherner declined to name the group’s supporters — and said that one goal was to demand that investment bankers return to standard covenant  packages and that the group may post on its Web site public credit agreements provisions for deals in the market.

Market sources speculated that one group backing the mystery ad may be Beal Bank, which is affiliated with CSG Investments, Inc., Loan Acquisition Corporation, and Beal Mortgage Services. A call to Beal Bank on the matter was not returned but Cherner has been previously associated with Beal affiliates, who reportedly paid for a WSJ ad last year regarding a lending agreement. The bank was founded by Andrew Beal, a Texan billionaire who has reportedly bet millions in poker games.

And in the Feb. 18 issue of Barron’s, Sotheby’s realty group took out a half-page ad for “Distressed Florida Real Estate” portfolios from $5 million to $350 million. The sellers weren’t named and an email to Sotheby’s was not returned.

The ad, which offered a “Wholesale Bulk Purchases Opportunity With Accelerated Disposition at Retail Prices in Pre-Determined Time Frame,” is for “Serious Inquiries Only” — but with vultures starting to circle, that’s probably only a matter of time. 

(Image: Dutch magician and illusionist Hans Klok. Reuters file)