Credit portfolios rise and fall with the quality of the decisions made one loan at a time. Rapid growth, concentration in a few sectors, informal borrower records and economic shocks all put pressure on underwriting standards. Institutions that lend well combine solid financial analysis with clear structuring, consistent grading and prompt action when warning signs appear.

This programme guides participants through that full discipline. They begin by understanding how credit risk arises and how policy and risk appetite frame lending decisions. Core sessions then develop analytical skill in reading financial statements, projecting cash flow and testing repayment capacity across corporate, SME and retail segments. Participants learn how to design facility terms, covenants and security packages, assign internal ratings, and understand how default probabilities, loss estimates and provisioning feed into pricing and capital. Later sessions focus on portfolio monitoring, problem loan management, restructuring and recovery.

Instruction is deliberately applied. Participants work through case files with real-world messiness, build ratio and cash flow workbooks, and defend their recommendations in a mock credit committee. Everyone completes a credit proposal that reflects the standards expected in their own institution.

By the end of the training, participants will be able to:

• Apply a structured credit process and evaluate borrowers using the five Cs.
• Spread and analyse financial statements and compute key ratios.
• Project cash flow and test debt service capacity under stress.
• Structure facilities, covenants and security that match the borrower's needs and risks.
• Assign internal risk ratings and explain probability of default and loss given default.
• Describe how IFRS 9 expected credit loss and Basel principles affect lending decisions.
• Monitor portfolios and manage restructuring, workout and recovery of problem loans.

The training is suitable for professionals who originate, approve or oversee credit, including:

• Relationship managers in corporate, commercial and SME banking
• Credit analysts and credit officers
• Credit risk and portfolio managers
• Branch managers and heads of lending
• Microfinance, SACCO and development bank loan officers
• Recovery, collections and legal officers
• Internal auditors and compliance staff reviewing loan portfolios
• Finance staff in leasing and asset finance companies

Participants take with them:

• A financial spreading and ratio workbook for borrower analysis.
• A completed credit proposal drafted to committee standard.
• A scorecard for assigning internal risk grades.
• A covenant and security checklist for common facility types.
• A watch-list and early warning indicator set for monitoring.
• A workout decision guide for restructure, enforce or write-off cases.

The format mirrors the working life of a lender. Participants engage in:

• Practical presentations on analysis, structuring and recovery techniques
• Spreadsheet workshops for ratios, cash flow and rating
• Anonymised credit files covering retail, SME and corporate borrowers
• Role play of borrower interviews and negotiations
• A mock credit committee that questions each written proposal

Participants who attend the programme in full and submit their analysis and credit proposal exercises are awarded the CPD-accredited Certificate of Completion of Vision Reach Global Consultancy.