The Credit Analyst Role Hinges on Two Questions

An approver is reading page three of a credit presentation. The borrower’s revenues dropped 10% last year. The analyst has written, accurately, that “revenues declined 10% year over year.”

The approver stops reading and picks up the phone to call the lender: “𝗪𝗵𝘆?”

The answer was a lost contract that the borrower has since replaced, which takes most of the sting out of the concern. But the analyst didn’t know that. Working only from the financial statements, all they could see was the decline, not the reason behind it. The explanation never made it into the presentation, because the analyst never asked the question to the lender.

Two pages later, the analyst has written a full paragraph listing out various ratios and whether they had improved or declined since the prior year. The approver skims past it, thinking, “𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲?” The spreads already showed that. The paragraph only took up space.

Those two questions, 𝗪𝗵𝘆? 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲?, are the foundation of a commercial credit analyst’s job. Reviewing and understanding the documentation is the start. The real work is distilling it into a presentation that helps an approver decide quickly and decisively. That can’t happen without asking questions and gathering more information beyond the financial statements.

Analysts today have tools that didn’t exist a few years ago. LOS platforms populate and organize the data. Systems can auto-spread financials from tax returns. AI can help to spot potentially concerning trends. But no tool can supply the meaningful narrative that answers Why? and Why should I care?

That’s the skill AnalytiQ is built to develop. It’s a six-week, live virtual training program that helps analysts strengthen the skills no tool can replace. And when analysts convey “𝘞𝘩𝘺? 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦?” in the credit presentation, approvers make more confident decisions, and institutions make good loans and build stronger portfolios over time.
The credit analyst’s role has evolved, and AnalytiQ is responding by providing skills and tools for today's credit analyst.

Registration is now open for the January cohort. Message me or visit the link in the comments to learn more.