Advice General

Alternative Approaches to Commercial Credit Analysis

Posted on February 22, 2018 Published by

Over the last several months, we have had more and more financial institutions inquire about commercial credit underwriting and analysis services.  After several discussions, there’s no question as to why:  Analysts and underwriters are difficult to find, they can be expensive, and they often lack the experience that comes from the lessons learned through economic cycles.  At the same time, community-based financial institutions have limited resources and may have only one or two analysts on their team, if they have any at all.  On top of that, credit risk management remains and will always be the pillar of prudent lending and credit administration.  This is the first line of defense when limiting credit losses.

Enlighten Financial was organized to help community-based financial institutions meet the challenges of current trends in the banking industry in a cost-effective and flexible manner.  In addition to our loan review services, we offer several alternatives to credit analysis, customized to the unique needs of your organization.

1) Fully Outsourced Credit Analysis:  Our team of experienced analysts provides independent credit analysis for your organization to make better-informed credit decisions.  We act as the complete underwriting department, providing analytical services to your credit administration and lending function for all commercial credit opportunities.

2) Add-On Credit Analysis:  Our team of credit professionals provides support to your existing credit and lending teams.  We’re pulled in when needed, often due to limits on existing capacity, temporary staffing needs or specific industry experience.

3) Underwriting review:  Our team of experienced risk professionals works with your team of analysts in a review function.  We review the work completed by your analysts and provide targeted feedback to improve the quality of your financial institution’s underwriting.

Our approaches to outsourced credit risk analysis are fully flexible and offers a cost effective-alternative to the traditional model.  Our experience will provide considerable value to your organization, helping you make better informed decisions before the money is out the door or the loan is renewed.

Again, we’re here to help!  If we can be of any assistance or if you’d like additional information as to how we can provide customized risk management services to your organization, please give us a call!

Peter Nugent is Director and founder of Enlighten Financial, a specialized consulting firm that focuses on providing loan review and risk management services to community banks and credit unions. Peter guides the company’s service offerings, which include in-depth loan reviews, commercial and personal underwriting/analysis, internal process improvement and workout services. To talk to Peter directly, please call: (920) 354-6797.

Comments are closed here.

“The staff at Enlighten have been available for questions, in addition to the engaged work that they do. They've been very helpful as a resource beyond the major audit.”
— Meghann Kasper, Chief Credit Officer, Bank First
“Enlighten gives us a very good second set of eyes on our transactions. They're not afraid to challenge us on some of the work that we've done, which is what is needed. I don't need to pay somebody to tell me I'm good, I need to pay somebody to tell me where I've made mistakes.”
— Robert McPherson, VP of Risk Management, Peoples State Bank
“Enlighten provided industry best practices that weren’t going to show up in an audit report. They would say, ‘Hey, I noticed you do this. This is really unique, you do a really great job of it.’ And then they might add, ‘Some other clients that I have are doing something like this.’”
— Bill Beardsley, President, Michigan Business Connection
“By questioning some of our methodologies, Enlighten has helped us say, ‘Okay, this is where we need to train staff better and focus on so that they understand what they're doing better.”
— Robert McPherson, VP of Risk Management, Peoples State Bank
“The organization of the communication — before, during, and after the reporting process — was certainly better with Enlighten than what I've experienced with a lot of auditors.”
— Bill Beardsley, President, Michigan Business Connection
“The staff at Enlighten have been available for questions, in addition to the engaged work that they do. They've been very helpful as a resource beyond the major audit.”
— Meghann Kasper, Chief Credit Officer, Bank First
“Enlighten gives us a very good second set of eyes on our transactions. They're not afraid to challenge us on some of the work that we've done, which is what is needed. I don't need to pay somebody to tell me I'm good, I need to pay somebody to tell me where I've made mistakes.”
— Robert McPherson, VP of Risk Management, Peoples State Bank
“Enlighten provided industry best practices that weren’t going to show up in an audit report. They would say, ‘Hey, I noticed you do this. This is really unique, you do a really great job of it.’ And then they might add, ‘Some other clients that I have are doing something like this.’”
— Bill Beardsley, President, Michigan Business Connection
“By questioning some of our methodologies, Enlighten has helped us say, ‘Okay, this is where we need to train staff better and focus on so that they understand what they're doing better.”
— Robert McPherson, VP of Risk Management, Peoples State Bank
“The organization of the communication — before, during, and after the reporting process — was certainly better with Enlighten than what I've experienced with a lot of auditors."
— Bill Beardsley, President, Michigan Business Connection