analyst-5-3-18.pngSuccessfully recruiting a qualified credit analyst is proving to be quite a challenge in today’s banking environment. There are a number of contributing factors, including compensation compared to other industries, the evaporation of commercial credit training, and a lack of college graduates in certain areas.

With this shortage, credit analysts are highly sought after, and analysts are demanding higher wages than what the banking industry is accustomed to paying.

In the past, it has been common practice for banks to outsource loan review, compliance testing, and internal audit functions — so why not the credit analyst role?

Thin talent pools flow two ways
Historically, banks have hired recent college graduates as credit analysts with the expectation of developing them into commercial lenders and potentially future management. In theory, this practice makes sense. But in today’s market, the success rate of banks converting a credit analyst into a long-term employee seems to be the exception rather than the norm, causing many banks to abandon their commercial training programs.

Over the past decade, many banks have begun hiring seasoned credit analysts who aren’t looking to move to a customer-facing role, making it more difficult to find affordable, permanent analysts.

In recent years, outsourced providers have started meeting the demand for credit analysts. With the increase in compensation for this role, outsourcing may now be the cost-effective option. This is especially true when you factor in the time and effort spent recruiting and training, while accounting for increased efficiency or production from an experienced analyst/outsourced provider.

Banks Still Have Underwriting Control
It is clear many bankers do not want an outside vendor impacting their underwriting decisions. Banks want to make loans to familiar borrowers, and they don’t want the potential for an overly critical or negative analysis from a third party to hinder their ability to do so.

It’s important to understand that your bank will always own and control the underwriting process. The primary focus for outsourced credit analyst services is to provide all the relevant credit information in a consistent format, which will allow the bank to make a well-informed decision. Outsourcing credit analysis should not impact the bank’s underwriting practices.

Banks take pride in their ability to provide quick responses to their borrowers. Outsourcing analyst work doesn’t mean longer turnaround times. If you are considering an outsourced solution, make sure that you establish clear deadlines with your vendor.

You could also consider segmenting the credit analyst work flow between new credit requests and ongoing portfolio monitoring. It may make sense for a bank to analyze new money requests in-house, and then to outsource the less time-sensitive renewal requests and annual reviews.

Training, Retaining Analysts Can Cost You
Even if you are successful in hiring a qualified analyst candidate, the time and resources needed to properly train a new hire with little or no previous credit experience can be quite extensive. Typically, when a bank is large enough to have a pool of credit analysts, there is usually a full-time employee who helps train and develop their skill set. But if you work at a smaller community bank, you might only have one or two analysts on staff.

It is common for a senior analyst, credit officer, or a manager from the credit administration area to oversee a new analyst. But these employees usually maintain a full workload in addition, which may result in inadequate training, or an overstressed manager.

The challenge doesn’t end once you hire and train a new credit analyst. One of the biggest challenges still remains — keeping the analyst in the role. Most banks are lucky if they can keep an analyst in the role for two or three years before the individual leaves for higher pay or a more satisfying analyst role somewhere else. And then it’s time to start the recruiting and training process all over again.

At the end of the day, banks want a viable option to end the what seems like a revolving door of credit analysts. By outsourcing this role, banks have new opportunities to provide cost savings and improve quality for their customers.

The information contained herein is general in nature and is not intended, and should not be construed, as legal, accounting, investment, or tax advice or opinion provided by CliftonLarsonAllen LLP (CliftonLarsonAllen) to the reader. For more information, visit CLAconnect.com.

Keith Francis