Summer time..., moment to relax, enjoying the views from a sunny terrace and sipping a refreshing drink... yes, is time for C.A.M.P.A.R.I. These letters summarize what you have to remember next time you are lending to somebody, anybody...

Character

Who are you lending to? What is their history? Are they good at what they do? Are there areas of weakness? By asking detailed questions of the borrower one can establish if they are of good character. Bad character traits would be a poor credit history, no experience in the sector in which they are operating, not being qualified for the job they are doing, and so on.

Ability

Can the borrower afford to repay or refinance the loan over the period they are asking to borrow for? For this one can look at bank accounts, the business financial accounts, forecasts and projections. Questions such as “who produced the information?” are also valid, as a business plan written by a reputable firm of accountants carries more credence than one that isn’t. This also includes the ability of the owners and their capacity to run the business properly.

Margin / Means

First Margin. Very simply, how much interest income do you want to make? For lower risk, such as a 60% mortgage, the margins will be small as the risk is lower due to the level of equity in the property being funded. For higher risk, the margins are higher to compensate for the greater risk of loss. Secondly Means, or the proper resources and operations to run the business that can safely create enough returns to comfortably pay the interest.

Purpose

What is the loan for and does this fit with the nature of the borrower? For example, a fish and chip shop wanting to borrow money to buy a new deep fryer would be an acceptable purpose. The same shop wanting to buy a knitting machine wouldn’t.

Amount

Size really does matter. The more money someone borrows, the higher the risk. The amount also has to be compared against the apparent value or wealth of the borrower. Banks are happy to lend several million pounds to large companies, as the borrowers have the assets to support the loan. The average man in the street won’t get a loan of this size because he hasn’t got the assets or the ability to repay.

Repayment

How will your loan get repaid? Getting some of your capital back each month reduces your risk of loss. Full repayment over 3 years is less risky than full repayment over 25 years, as there is less time for things to go wrong and the borrower default. If the borrower does default, how do you get your money back?

Insurance

If you ever face a potencial customer that shows any or many of these bullet points.... watch out!

They are split by the key parameter that drives the indicator

Debt Activity Induced

1. Senior lender with debt exceeding 10% of total funded debt terminates customer’s facility

2. Any senior debt is classified from long term to short term in any given month on the customer financial statements

3. Bond interest payment in excess of 5% of YTD EBIT is missed by customer

4. Working capital lender ceases funding for customer

5. A default against any of the borrower’s financial obligations other than secured debt

6. A breach of any manufacturing contract in excess of 5% or YTD revenues

7. Any non-monetary default under a loan or lease obligation

8. Any monetary default under a customer loan or lease obligation

9. The customer restructures or refinances any of its other debt obligations at the request of its senior lender

10. Any customer with an unscheduled over advance under their revolving line of credit

11. Senior lender representing 10% or more of total funded debt has given the customer any request, whether verbal or in writing, to get refinanced within a one-year timeframe

12.    Customer has changed primary senior lender one or more times in the last 24-months

Customer Management Induced

13. CEO immediate family member suffers material personal tragedy

14. Whole management team quits

15. CEO quits

16. CFO quits

17. Top salesman representing 10% or more of annual revenues quits

18. Death of any one member of senior management

19. Regular turnover in senior management

20. Protracted illness (90 days out of work) of key senior management

21. Any break up of partnership

22. Any transfer of ownership

23. New management team brought into the company

24. Company is acquired by national consolidator as stock purchase

25. Company pulls cash out of business to buyback investment of a stockholder

26. Credit report for PG shows judgments within the last 12-months

27. Customer retains any crisis management firm

28. Employee turnover exceeds 10% in the last 12-months

Operating Results Induced

29. A pre-tax financial statement loss in any one month for a customer

30. Charter service looses its 135 certificate

31. Any domestic subsidiary owned 50% or more files BK

32. Any international subsidiary owned 50% or more files BK

33. Failure to file any SEC required statements in a timely manner

34. Any debt forgiveness that exceeds 10% of funded debt thereby generating a taxable event

35. Customer engages and investment firm for sale of 50% or more of its business

36. 10% reduction in freight shipments over a 12 month period

37. A bankruptcy of one of the borrowers competitors

38. A 10% increase in the borrowers raw material costs

39. Any decline exceeding 1% in the borrowers gross margins for two consecutive years

40. Customer has had more than one NSF with GE in the last six-months

41. Any customer that fails to meet 100% of its payroll

42. Loss or bankruptcy of a borrower’s customers whose revenues comprised more that 5% of total revenue

43. The value of the collateral securing the debt has fallen by more than 15% in any given year

44. Work under a given contract representing 20% of company’s revenues comes up for renewal and the company looses the contract

45. Any customer that allows a lapse in insurance coverage on leased equipment

46. Company is involved in leveraged buyout, which results in a substantial negative impact on company’s liquidity and leverage ratios

47. Company purchases future contracts on raw materials in anticipation of increasing costs

48. Company looses market share in excess of 30% due to product reliability issues

49. Loss of major employer in a local market has ripple effect on other businesses serving businesses and consumers in that market

50. EBIT has declined by more than 20% versus the comparable YAG period

51. Customer’s production plant is damaged by fire, natural disaster, etc, decreasing the company’s production output by greater than 10%

52. Equipment financed to customer representing greater than 20% of customer’s product output is recalled by manufacturer

53. A/P days have increased (faster turn) by more than 10% from the previous year’s A/P turnover

54. Inventory days has slowed by more than 20% from the previous year’s inventory turnover

55. Cash burn exceeds 50% of total operating cash flow in any one month during the last six-months

56. Private-company customer pays a dividend to shareholders that exceeds 50% of net income

57. Any customer with multiple facilities and one of the facilities generates net losses exceeding 20% of total company earnings

58. Backlog has declined by more than 20% from the comparable YAG period

59. Insurance costs increased by more than 15% in the last 12-months

60. Any loss of bonding insurance

61. More than one change in accounting firm representation in the last 12-months

62. Company has been unable to negotiate new union contracts that are due within 90 days

63. Customer is publicly-traded and has been de-listed by one of the US stock exchanges within the last 3 months

64. Any credit-rating downgrade, whether by S&P, Fitch or other major rating agency, of more than two levels in the last 12-months

65. Any credit-rating agency downgrade to junk status within the last 12-months

66. Any customer with KMV rating that has declined to CCC+ or less within the last 12-months

67. Equity sponsor refused continued support

68. A strike is initiated by more than 10% of the company’s workforce

69. Customer has greater than 20% of its receivables aged 90-days +

70.    Transportation company with more than 10% of their power units sitting idle

71.    Transportation company with a 15% increase in brokered freight

72. Technological changes in equipment used effecting 20% of the cost of equipment

73. Technological changes in product manufactured effecting 20% of the cost of equipment

74. Customer increase in aviation fuel prices by 20% within any 60 day period

75. Customer increase in diesel fuel prices by 20% within any 60 day period

76. Customer increase in heating oil prices by 20% within any 60 day period

77. Customer increase in any natural gas prices by 10% in any 60 day period

Trade Vendor Induced

78. Loss of any key supplier representing more than 10% of annual raw material purchases

79. Utility bill remains unpaid for 60 days

80. Sewer and sanitation bill remains unpaid for 60 days

81. Adverse Administrative ruling entered against customer or one of their key suppliers or customers entered resulting in a 15% decline of TNW

Litigation/Judgment/Legal suit Induced

82. Any judgment in excess of 10% of aggregate current assets

83. Any casualty loss exceeding 10% of total assets

84. Any IRS levy event

85. Any IRS lien event

86. Notice of any lien or judgment being filed on the company as a result of a lawsuit against the company

87. Any working capital fraud is perpetrated by management or any operating division of the obligor representing 15% or more of annual revenue base

88. Any criminal indictment of a company officer

89. Adverse Legal judgment against one of their key suppliers or customers

90. Product liability filed against company or against supplier (10%) or purchaser (10%) or which results in cessation of production of product

91. Eminent Domain against customer or one of their key suppliers or customers entered

92. A judgment against the company in excess of 10% of its net worth

93. Unpaid payroll taxes, FICA and Fed Withholding

94. Customer relies on patents that will expire within the next 6-months and such products protected by patents constitute at least 10% of total revenue

95. Customer has been advised by bankruptcy counsel within the last six-months

96. Customer has hired a turnaround consultant within the last 12-months

97. Customer relies on patents that will expire within the next 6-months and such products protected by patents constitute at least 10% of net income

98. Any violation of patent, trademark, or copyright laws where such infringements would result in fines exceeding $100,000

Environmentally Induced

99. Customer environmental damage/contamination with remediation costs exceeding 10% of aggregate current assets

100. Customer is identified as a PRP in any environmental claim

Yes,we all know the typical game with the pen and the nine dots (http://ift.tt/1YEL4UC

) and yet, at first we all need to think back. "how was it again?"  And because we all know we have to think out of the box, what we do is making the box bigger... , something similar to what  Malcolm Gladwell said in the What the Dog Saw articles in The New Yorker: "If everyone had to think outside the box, maybe it was the box that needed fixing"

The reason I am talking about this is a story I read a while ago (I can´t trace it back so all my credits to his author) about a father of a little girl (let´s say 10 years  old) that fails a math exam. The key is that the girl is a genius on that field so the father don´t believe she has failed so he goes to talk with the teachers. Sumarizing: the girl fails the exam because the answer to a question was not the expected one! The answer is right though!, but it is no the expected from a 10 years old girl.. and so she is "out of the box" and  "penalised" . Curious about the question?

* What is the highest number you can make using three times a 2?

The obvious answer (10 years old) is 222. But it is not the correct answer... , you have to think out of the box! Understand the rules and make them work better!

That´s why I always ask "why are you doing this? " every time I go to a customer and revise the processes. The worst answer is "we aways did it in this way" ... it shows that people in that company are so into the box they can not even figure there is anything else out there!  Any employee should know why is he/she working , why is doing that report in that way, why it is important to do it and do it right, what is the reason for the task is being assigned,... because then he/she can think answers that go beyond the request, can make a report that is easier to read or use a tool that avoid errors or... ..he/she wlll think out of the box of the job description and go into the "company rol" described by the holacracy methodology.. "Roles instead of job descriptions"

Then the company will move quicker and react more flexible to changes from outside of the box!

By the way.. have you think the answer to the exam?    think again... and write in a paper 2 to the power of 22

The dark side

Lo reconozco,  me he pasado al lado oscuro. Durante mucho tiempo cultive mis habilidades en la fuerza para intentar entrar en la élite pero al final el lado oscuro me ha conquistado...

No, no estoy hablando del despertar de la fuerza ni de la próxima película de star wars. Hablo de financiación.

Si en otros articulos hablaba de Unicornios, en este hablo de Dinosaurios... La banca tradicional es como un enorme dinosaurio que se va moviendo lentamente y casi por inercia desde hace mucho tiempo. Incluso las pequeñas entidades financieras de credito son como velociraptors incapaces de adaptarse a los nuevos tiempos y que pese a su velocidad acabaran transformandose o siendo devorados. Y a ello ayuda (y no para bien) la carga administrativa y regulatoria impuesta. Obviamente esa regulacion es necesaria porque el negocio financiero es un negocio de confianza, sin ella los clientes no depositarian su dinero en ninguna entidad (al fin y al cabo lo que hacen es prestar dinero al banco) a cambio de tan misero rendimiento como se ofrece actualmente.

El caso es que durante un tiempo yo fui parte de una de esos entes malditos: la banca. Como trabajador de una entidad financiera de credito asisti desde un palco privilegiado al cruce de opiniones sobre la crisis economica y financiera de los utlimos años: La Banca, ese sector maldito, que habia sido rescatado con el dinero de todos para disfrute de unos pocos....

No entraré aquí en si el rescate fue bueno o malo, en si la forma fue las mas idonea o en por qué unas entidades cayeron y otras fueron apoyadas. Si comentaré que no entiendo porque hay gente que se rasga las vestiduras con las ayudas o subvenciones a la banca y en cambio no lo hizo en su momento con con las ayudas al carbón o a los astilleros o a la agricultura...  En todo momento ha habido sectores en peor situacion que otros y en muchos casos ha acabado necesitando ayudas puntuales para seguir adelante.

Ah, pero esto es diferente piensan algunos. Por que? Pura cuestion de imagen creo yo. Los banqueros van todos trajeados y se les asocia a la buena vida... Es verdad, pero podriamos decir lo mismo de los abogados o de los medicos o muchos otros del sector servicios, porque al fin y al cabo la banca es una empresa que como todas pretende ganar dinero ofreciendo un producto o servicio, igual que cualquier otro sector que ha recibido ayudas durante los últimos años, pero me estoy desviando de la historia.

Como iba diciendo,  trabaje durante un tiempo en una entidad financiera, una empresa que estaba regulada por el banco de España y que por tanto debia enviar con regularidad una cantidad increible de informes muy detallados sobre todas y cada una de las transacciones, los clientes, los riesgos, las posiciones de garantia,...  Era el lado luminoso: transparencia total, informacion minuciosa.... y un coste enorme para poder procesar todos esos datos y emitir los informes. Una enorme burocracia que ralentizaba o  impedia la rapida adaptacion a los cambios en el mercado.... y por otro lado estaba el lado oscuro..

La banca en la sombra o sistema bancario en la sombra (en inglés, shadow banking system), es decir,  el conjunto de entidades financieras, infraestructura y prácticas que sustentan operaciones financieras que ocurren fuera del alcance de las entidades de regulación nacionales. Incluye entidades como hedge funds, fondos del mercado de capitales y vehículos de inversión estructurados.

Los mercados de capitales y la banca en la sombra se han convertido en los nuevos canales de financiación para las empresas que no pueden acceder al crédito bancario tradicional. En el sector del shadow banking se incluyen entidades como las socimis en el mercado inmobiliario, los business angels, el crowdfunding, los fondos de capital riesgo, o incluso a los hedge funds.

Estas sociedades son en general mucho mas agiles, mas proactivas, mas adaptables, ....no estan tan reguladas y por ello podrian ser mas arriesgadas... o no... (todo depende de los responsables de las empresas y todos conocemos lo ocurrido en entidades reguladas..). Estas empresas arriesgan su capital o su reputacion o ambas en cada financiacion que hacen, y analizan cada caso con cuidado porque saben que no tienen colchon alguno en caso de equivocarse, y por ello desde mi punto de vista son mas de fiar pese al nombre. Al fin y al cabo si estan en la sombra es porque a buen arbol se han arrimado... 

Basic Objectives Before beginning to analyze a firm’s financial statements, the analyst should know and be able to define the end result being sought. Only if fully aware of objectives - both interim and ultimate - can the analyst focus attention on the relevant details. Establishing objectives is therefore essential to the process of conducting a truly effective and efficient analysis: effective in that the conclusions reached will be correct and useful for the purposes of the analysis; efficient in that the analyst will achieve the best results with a minimum expenditure of time and effort. With that said, the analyst’s accurate input of data is a must if the final output is to be correct and complete, and second, the spreadsheet utilized is of the utmost importance to ensure that the desired output is reliable. In general, financial statement analysis has two basic objectives with respect to a given business enterprise: evaluation of past operating results (horizontal analysis) and current financial condition (vertical analysis) and forecasting of future trends in the firm’s operating performance and financial position. Regardless of who is doing the analysis or what firm is being analyzed, these objectives are always paramount, although their relative importance may vary from one situation to another. Capital Equipment Objectives of Statement Analysis Commercial banks generally aim their analysis at evaluating a commercial loan applicant’s financial position to determine the degree of his creditworthiness, or right of access to bank credit. Since the borrower’s creditworthiness also depends on the ability to service and repay as scheduled, an attempt usually is made to forecast, or assess, the extent of that ability. Commercial bankers, however, deal principally in “productive credits” - short term, seasonally self-liquidating loans to businessmen and others - and application of the second test is seldom necessary. For borrowers seeking only productive credits, a satisfactory current financial condition is adequate proof of creditworthiness. In contrast to the short-term debt claims of commercial bankers, Equipment transactions tend to be intermediate to long-term (3-8 years). Accordingly, the emphasis is on the lessee/borrower’s ability to repay its obligations, based not solely on its present financial condition, but on its historic operations and anticipated future income and operating cash flow. The analysis of financial statements of a particular customer focuses on: the relatively long-term (3-5 years) historical profitability of the firm, together with future anticipated financial results, from which we must make an assessment of the degree of risk in extending longer-term financing based on a given rate of return and a certain amount of underlying collateral support. Nature of Financial Statements  Financial statements are prepared by the management of a company for periodic review or to report on its progress. The statements deal with the status of the investment in the business and the results achieved during the period under review. They reflect a combination of recorded facts, accounting standards/conventions, personal judgments, and company policies. The judgments and conventions applied affect the financial statements materially, and the soundness of the judgments depends on the competence and integrity of those who make them and on their adherence to generally accepted accounting principles. Accounting is the body of knowledge concerned with the systematic originating, authenticating, recording, classifying, processing, summarizing, analyzing, interpreting, and supplying of dependable and significant information covering transactions and events which are, in part at least, of a financial character. These functions are required for the management and operation of an entity and for the reports that have to be submitted to meet fiduciary and other responsibilities. It is generally recognized that:
(1) financial statements are representations by management;
(2) the public accountant has the responsibility for conducting his examination in accordance with accepted auditing standards; and
(3) the accountant (certified or otherwise) has the sole responsibility for writing his opinion stating, among other things, whether the financial statements are presented in accordance with accounting principles applied on a consistent basis. The Opinion A short-form accounting report is given below, and it usually is referred to as an “unqualified” opinion. Limitations on the scope of the examination typically are included in the first paragraph, and qualifications of the opinion are expressed in the second paragraph. “We have examined the balance sheet of ABC Company as of December 31, 2000, and the related statements of income, stockholder’s equity and changes in financial position for the year then ended. Our examination was made in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards, and accordingly included such tests of the accounting records and such other auditing procedures that we considered necessary in the circumstances. We previously examined and reported upon the financial statements of ABC Company for the year ended December 31, 2000. In our opinion, the aforementioned financial statements present fairly the financial position of ABC Company at December 31, 2000, and the results of operations and the changes in financial position for the year then ended, in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles applied on a consistent basis.” Accountant’s statements basically make the same representations. A careful phrase by phrase reading of the unqualified opinion provides the meaning of the accountant’s report. The use of the word examined is considered notice to all concerned that the accountant is neither engaged nor expected to disclose all minor discrepancies. Since accountants usually do not examine accounts in detail, the accountant avoids the use of the word audit in his report. The accountant limits his balance sheet responsibility to one date and not to any interim date. He is required, however, to report any material events (disclosure) occurring between the date of the balance sheet and the date of his report. It should be noted that the operating period covered is defined, and the related statements are limited. The phrase generally accepted auditing standards is an unqualified statement of fact, and it implies that the auditor knows the auditing standards generally accepted by his profession. The auditor also gives notice that the examination included all types of accounting records and not just the ledgers. A statement is made that the auditor has no reservations regarding the scope of his examination, and he has done everything in his judgment necessary to warrant an expression of opinion on the accounts examined. (At this point it might be useful to consider the distinction between auditing standards and auditing procedures. The former deals with measures of the quality of performance of those acts and objectives to be attained in applying the procedures. The latter relates to acts to be performed, as outlined in an audit program). The opinion expressed can be evaluated in terms of the reputation, experience, and professional standing of the auditor. He is liable for negligence, bad faith, and dishonesty, but not for losses resulting solely from errors of judgment. The auditor links his opinion with the financial statements and states that the statements present fairly the financial condition of the company in the sense that he believes they are substantially correct. Bear in mind, however, that the judgment involved is an informed judgment, and it is aided by generally accepted accounting principles. When financial statements have been prepared in conformity with these principles, they should reflect financial facts fairly, even though approximations and estimates have been necessary. The concluding phrase, applied on a consistent basis, is self-explanatory. Recognize that statements may represent fairly the company’s financial position and results of operations and be in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles, but still not be on a basis consistent with the previous year. Furthermore, the balance sheet may be consistent, but the income statement may be inconsistent. Materiality Accounting and auditing literature is replete with references to items that are material, significant, of substantial importance, materially distorting, immaterial, etc. These references make it abundantly clear that the concept of materiality plays an important part in auditing, accounting, and reporting of financial information. “A statement, fact or item is material, if giving full consideration to the surrounding circumstances, as they exist at the time, it is of such a nature that its disclosure, or the method of treating it, would be likely to influence or to make a difference in the judgment or conduct of a reasonable person. The same tests apply to such words as significant, consequential, or important”. Consolidation A lease/loan request frequently will involve a company that is a subsidiary of a larger concern or a member of a holding company. When leasing to companies of this nature, the analyst may receive consolidating and/or consolidated financial statements. Consolidating statements are presentations of all individual entities comprising the consolidated group, with the accounting entries of consolidation or examination clearly stated. This applies to both balance sheets and income statements. Recognize that consolidated statements may not represent the financial position and operating results of a single legal entity. Consolidated statements may show the data of an economic unit consisting of a group of legal corporate entities. In this case, each subsidiary corporation is a legal entity with distinct and separate rights and obligations. While consolidated statements are of great use in determining the earning power and stability of the economic unit, creditors, especially term creditors, wish to analyze the consolidating statements to ascertain the financial soundness and operating efficiency of each of the holding-company or Group entities; especially if a significant portion of debt rests at the holding company level with the servicing of such debt solely dependent on the operating companies financial results. Annual Report A significant portion of most reports consists of illustrative graphs, diagrams, and pictures of various company operations. To facilitate comparisons, it has become increasingly popular to include financial data for numbers of prior years as well as for the current year. There have also been examples of the inclusion of competitive financial data. Some reports include supporting schedules or units produced. Stockholder, or annual reports, of publicly held companies are quite helpful in credit analysis, revealing physical facilities, production results, employees, major shareholders, etc. In addition, most annual reports of leading companies contain a substantial amount of data describing operations, expectations for the future, affiliated company results, etc. Direct Statements Company prepared interim-financial statements can be meaningful (when attested to and signed by corporate officers). This depends on the quality of the internal accounting system. Constantly seek to have an interim company-prepared financial statement signed by a corporate official, if possible. This is a warranty that the statement is true to the best of their knowledge. Additional sources of financial information include statements of corporate officials to the press and speeches to public organizations. Such releases may provide information about financial conditions and policies, plans for future expansion, labor relations, government controls, contemplated financing, etc. Many corporate spokespersons appear before financial analysts. Their remarks are usually detailed and frequently reproduced and distributed to other members and occasionally to the press. Pro Forma Projection The analyst may have projections, pro forma statements, budgets, or forecasts. Pro forma statements purport to reflect the receipt and application of the proceeds of a financing transaction and other material events. When pro forma statements involve economic projections, the basis for the changes should be clearly stated and documented in detail. Changes reflected in pro forma income statements and balance sheets should be reviewed for reasonableness, and they should be accompanied by notes clearly indicating the facts and assumptions employed. Revenue increases and cost reductions are the norm and should be scrutinized. Accomplishment is a question of probabilities. Cash Basis Accounting One of the analyst's major concerns is to note whether financial statements are prepared on an accrual, cash, or regulatory basis. Statements prepared on a cash basis reflect only income and expenditures resulting from actual cash receipts and disbursements. Such a statement is not a true reflection of costs incurred during a period. Since most businesses are conducted on a credit basis, a statement which portrays only cash transactions usually fails to reflect all the transactions affecting gains and losses for the period under review. Cash basis accounting, however, has distinct applications in many areas. It is prevalent in real estate venture operations and installment sales businesses. “Regulatory Basis” statements are issued primarily by banks and insurance companies under regulation. Accrual Accounting Accrual accounting takes into consideration transactions during the period under review, whether on a cash or credit basis. Unless it is specifically stated to the contrary, a financial statement is presumed to have been prepared on the accrual basis. When the company closes its books at the end of an accounting period, there invariably exist certain unrecorded items of income and expense. Unless these items are reflected in the accounts, income for the current and subsequent years will be distorted. Such items include accrued and deferred income and expense. Omission of accrued income and deferred expense will understate current income, and omission of accrued expenses and deferred income will overstate earnings. Since the determination of amounts charged against or taken into income in an operating period rest with management, net income obviously may be manipulated to show a greater or lesser amount, depending on the objective. Options and Objectives Constantly be aware of the accounting alternatives available to management. Depending on management objectives, conservative or liberal policies can be applied to the balance sheet and/or the income statement. For instance, if management is primarily interested in earnings per share, straight-line depreciation will be used rather than accelerated; capitalized costs and interest expenses as opposed to expensed; rapid recognition of earnings rather than more conservative alternatives; and possible reluctance to reserve for or write-off doubtful accounts and notes receivable. Again, depending on the objectives of management, both the quality of the balance sheet and the income statement can be suspect.

• a) plataformas de financiación de la deuda,
• b) plataformas de financiación de capital, 
• c) plataformas de gestión de patrimonios, 
• d) soluciones de procesamiento de pagos y 
• e) otros.

• a) la automatización de la recopilación de datos para evaluación de crédito: accediendo directamente a  por ejemplo, estados de cuenta bancarios, notas de crédito, datos de flujo de pedidos, ventas, devoluciones de impuestos
• b) el uso de nuevas fuentes de datos para desarrollar modelos mas sofisticados de evaluacion de capacidad de pago - por ejemplo, los datos de las máquinas de punto de venta con banda magnética, datos ERP de cliente de los vendedores / distribuidores, los datos de ventas de comercio electrónico, datos de cuentas por cobrar de tarjetas de crédito, perfiles sociales etc.

The Ten Commandments of Commercial Credit:

The C´s of the Force

One of the first things credit analysts’ learn is the five Cs of credit. The, names varied but the essence is the same: the trusted rules to follow in order to do a good credit decission: character, capacity, conditions, capital, and collateral. 

Character

Make sure your customer has Character! Resilience whenever things get tough. You might not expect that to happen but "what-if" analysis is a mustto give you some sense of assurance. 

Capacity

Is your customer able to pay back? Check if a company is not making money or generating a positive cash flow.

Conditions

Be aware that economic and industry conditions can and will change. You do not know what will happen, but you need to be able to quickly react to changes .

Capital

Your customer must be capitalized. The networth is sort of cushion for any losses that may occur.

Collateral

Do NOT ever make credit decission based only in collateral! Collateral is just an extra security in case things do not go as expected, and a sizable asset backing up each deal means that if something goes wrong, you might be covered. However, if company is suffering the chance that the asset value falls is high, and you coverage reduce dramatically.

The C´s of the dark side are complacency, carelessness, communication, contingencies, and competition. 

Complacency

“I don’t need to worry about that borrower, he has always paid us on time.” 

That loan can’t go bad. Mr. Rich and Famous is guaranteeing it”

“The last three loans were paid as agreed. Why worry about this one?” 

“I know him. I know his family. They have borrowed from us for years; they wouldn’t default on me.” 

What experienced lenders need to emphasize to new lenders is the danger of the good times. The danger is that bad times always follow!

Carelessness

“Don’t worry about the loan covenants or documentation, I’ll get to it later.” 

Inadequate Loan Documentation . Perfection needs to be filed on some assets. 

Lack of Current Financial Information 

Lack of Protective Loan Covenants . 

Information Not Kept in Files. Many times, side agreements, calls or conversations are not properly filed and who is able to remember 3 years later when going to court? ...

Communication

Unclear Credit Quality Objectives. Maintain Loan policy written and updated to provide standards for acceptable and unacceptable loans.

Upward Communication. There must be upward and lateral communication, Sales people might know that customer is under financial pressure and he might assume credit department knows about it...Dont assume, just communicate! 

Contingencies

Lenders get paid for taking risks on customers and being right about 99.9 out of 100 times. The job is to weigh the risks of a loan and the odds of being paid back -- to look at the contingencies. Credit personnel are supposed to look at every bad thing that can happen and then decide how likely it is that any of those things will happen.

Insufficient Attention to Downside Risk.  “What are your contingency plans if the economy slows?”

Make the Deal Work. “Your financials don’t look very good, but don’t worry, we can find a way to make this work.”

Price for Risk. “Of course is risky, that´s why we are charging such a premium rate...”

Competition

Lenders started making decisions because of what the competitor down the street was doing, rather than concentrating on the merits of the loan in front of them. 

Competitive Euphoria. “I am not going to lose this deal to anyone” 

Market Share. 

Commercial lending will always be around, and mistakes will always be made. That is why there are loan loss reserves and provisions. The key, of course, is to remember these painful lessons so no one has to learn them the hard way again. Just let the force guide you my Credit Wan

y lo que significa para los bancos

Las empresas de P2P y P2B estan llevando a cabo progresivamente un proceso de expansion de sus lineas de negocio hacia aquellas mas tradicionales de las entidades bancarias. Hasta ahora las entidades financieras no han prestado mucha atencion o lo han hecho de forma muy tangencial, ahora sin embargo la disyuntiva para los bancos es colaborar o enfrentarse! Y deberan reacionar de una manera u otra y pronto para evitar que sus clientes les abandonen. 

En EE.UU, Prosper ha adquirido American Healthcare Lending para ofrecer prestamos a los pacientes que necesitan pagar las -a menudo- costosas intervenciones medicas (recordemos la diferencia del sistema de salud americano con el nuestro). Mas recientemente ha adquirido Billguard, una empresa centrada en registro de operaciones y evitar el fraude de operaciones con tarjeta, lo que permitira a Prosper usar esos datos para su oferta de consolidacion de deudas.  Lo que Prosper esta haciendo es basicamente aprovechar su capacidad de adaptar otras empresas del sector fintech para ampliar su abanico de ofertas a sus clientes y a la vez mejorar su conocimiento de dichos clientes, algo parecido a lo que Google ha hecho basandose en su buscador para recopilar datos y datos de sus clientes y poder ofrecerles lo que realmente necesitan (aunque aun no lo sepan).

Los grandes bancos ya han empezado a entender que la colaboracion con este tipo de empresas puede ser vital, y cuando Prosper anuncio una ampliacion de capital de 165 millones dollars, la misma fue cubierta entre otros por SunTrust Banks, JPMorgan Chase, Credit Suisse y BBVA. 

PWC en su informe de Febrero (Peer pressure: How peer-to-peer lending platforms are transforming the consumer lending industry), ya indicaba las opciones que los bancos tienen ante esta revolucion: colaborar mediante compra de prestamos -bien directamente como inversor cualificado o indirectamente como inversor en la plataforma- ; colaborar mediante operaciones de "linea blanca"; o desarrollar sus propias plataformas. 

El primer caso presenta muchas oportunidades (ampliar el portfolio en general e introducirse en areas donde no habrian entrado, aplicar sus propios modelos de scoring para escoger las mejores oportunidades y todo ello sin ampliar estructura o personal) y alguna desventaja (la falta de acceso directo al prestatario impide la venta cruzada de otros productos, que es uno de los core business de las grandes entidades financieras).

La "linea blanca" o colaboracion compartiendo marca permite acceder al mercado mas rapidamente y sin grandes inversiones, permitiendo al banco aprovechar la tecnologia y cappacidad de reaccion de la P2P para ofrecer un producto mas a la medida ajustando sus precios (el tipo de interes) y sus decisiones de credito a cada tipologia de cliente. Sin embargo, esta colaboracion conlleva mayores riesgos: operacional por la total dependencia de la empresa de crowdlending que aporta su know-how y su estructura , y riesgo reputacional y de control de fraude dado que las acciones y omisiones de la empresa P2P afectan directamente a la marca financiera. 

La posibilidad de ofrecer directamente sus propias plataformas es la ultima opcion para el banco. El mercado de crowdlending permite acceso a un segmento de empresas a las que la oferta tradicional puede no parecer atractiva y ademas posiciona a la entidad como innovadora lo que puede atraer a la larga a muchas empresas start up y similares que necesitaran financiacion a medio plazo. Ello permitara al banco la venta cruzada que hemos comentado anteriormente y una mayor integracion con el cliente para ofrecerle todos los servicios que este demande. Por contra, las implicaciones regulatorias, el coste de desarrollo y la potencial canibalizacion de sus propios clientes puede echar para atras a muchas entidades. Seria un proceso parecido a lo ocurrido con las lineas low cost creadas por aerolineas “de bandera”.

PWC remarca en su estudio que las entidades financieras deben plantearse una respuesta consistente, en funcion de sus objetivos a largo plazo y su clientela objetivo. En cualquier caso el uso de la tecnologia para centrarse en resolver necesidades del cliente debera ser la base de desarrollo de cualquier entidad que pretenda sobrevivir en un mercado cada vez mas competitivo, tanto por parte de las entidades como por parte de los clientes que estan cada vez mas informados y demandan un servicio a su medida.

Tal vez la regulacion, tan necesaria como temida por su carga de trabajo, sea la que acabe por determinar el futuro de este sector.