Context
In most banks, first contact on a delinquent retail loan was manual branch work. That carried two costs: branch staff spent time on collection calls instead of sales and relationship work, and because timing depended on individual workload, the most critical early days of a delinquency were handled inconsistently.
Approach
- A tiered action ladder was defined by days past due: which day triggers an SMS, which day a call, which day a handover to a central unit.
- SMS dispatch and call triggering were systematised, reducing manual workload on branches and central teams.
- The branch role was narrowed to relationship-based intervention on cases automation could not resolve.
- Monitoring outputs were made reportable so it became visible which action worked at which stage.
Outcome
- First-contact timing stopped depending on the individual and became rule-based.
- Operational load on branch staff fell, freeing capacity for core work.
- It became traceable which action was taken at which stage of the delinquency.
- Standardised early contact increased the chance of resolving a case before it reached formal workout.
This case study describes the project through its scope and approach. Client name, commercial figures and performance metrics are withheld under confidentiality obligations.
What This Project Left Behind
In distressed credit, the most expensive delay is not in the collection itself but in the timing of first contact. Reaching a borrower on day 5 rather than day 45 is not merely an interest difference; it is the difference between a borrower still looking for a solution and one who has stopped. That principle still underpins the distressed-loan advisory offered to companies today: the party that moves early is the party with the most options.
- Banking & Credit Process Advisory — Strategic advisory on restructuring distressed loans, financial analysis, negotiation preparation and process management with banks.