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The pendulum has definitely swung back in favor of the credit discipline within financial institutions. The free wheeling credit standards of the past have proven once again to be problematic. So, things like cost of credit, credit risk modeling, and scoring models are back in fashion. The trouble that we have created is that, in an effort to promote greater emphasis on the sales role, we centralized the underwriting function. This centralization allowed the sales team to focus on business development and underwriting, on credit. The unintended result, however, is that we removed the urgent need to develop credit professionals. Instead, we pushed for greater efficiencies and productivity in underwriting — further stalling any consideration for the development of the credit professional. Now we find ourselves with more problem credits than we have seen in the past 20 years and the pool of true credit professionals is nearly gone. Once this current environment is corrected, let's be sure to keep balance in mind. Again, soundness, profitability and growth — in that order of priority.

As someone heavily engaged with the market and our clients discussing Red Flag Rule compliance, Red Flag guidelines, etc…this question has come up over and over again. You’d think by now I’d have a simple, clever, and strategically created product name to throw out there. Well, I don’t, and here’s why: we had Red Flag relevant products before Red Flags were in vogue. So, why didn’t we just rename them under the Red Flag brand? Because honestly, that would border on irresponsibility. Let me explain briefly… If you recall, the Red Flags Rule requires that covered institutions employ a written and operational Program that addresses the four mandatory elements of: • Identifying Red Flags applicable to covered accounts and incorporating them into the Program; • Detecting and evaluating the Red Flags included in the Program; • Responding to the Red Flags detected in a manner that is appropriate to the degree of risk they pose; and • Updating the Program to address changes in the risks to customers, and to the financial institution’s or creditor’s safety and soundness, from identity theft. You read in these requirements words like “applicable” and “appropriate” and “degree of risk.” You don’t read words like “use this tool” or “detect this specific set of conditions.” My point here is that, over the past year, we’ve been working with our clients to map in the “appropriate” and “applicable” set of products and services to allow them to become Red Flag compliant. These products and services range in data leverage and provision, predictive power, decisioning, and of course, cost. That is a good thing, as our clients require individualized tool sets and processes based on their serviced market, gathered information, consumer relationships, products offered, and risk associated with all of those factors. We don’t offer an unlimited or overwhelming number of Red Flag relevant products, but we do offer a diverse enough set that has afforded our clients an opportunity to select the best fit. Whether you choose to adopt Experian as your Red Flag partner or another service provider, keep in mind that one size does not fit all, and be wary of those claiming to be just that. As Red Flag examinations start rolling out in the coming months, there will be a focus on ensuring that your programs are comprehensive and effective. Examiners will be looking at your programs, not your service provider. Be sure to collaborate with your partners to meticulously apply the best solution. At Experian, we’ve taken this collaborative approach with each of our clients, and have employed products ranging from our robust Precise ID SM consumer authentication platform to our Fraud Shield SM risk warning product. Time spent up front in identifying your Red Flag requirements and working with your service provider to determine the best course of action will pay dividends down the road, and ensure you implement a compliant process once….not twice.

By: Tom Hannagan In previous posts, we’ve dealt with the role of risk-based capital, measuring performance based on risk characteristics and the need for risk-based loan pricing. What about risk mitigation? Some of the greatest sins of the financial industry in the current malaise have been the lack of transparency, use of complex transactions to transfer risk and the creation of off-balance-sheet entities to house dodgy investments. Much has been made of the role of Credit Default Swaps (CDSS) as one of the unregulated markets (and therefore guilty parts) of the current credit meltdown. The regulatory agencies and the media are aghast at the volume (peak of some $62 trillion in notional value) of CDSS that have resulted from a totally private market. The likes of Lehman Brothers, Bear Sterns and AIG were all big issuers of CDSS. And the trillions of notional value of open CDSS is as much as 100 times the underlying value of the actual debt being insured. There are problems here, but it may be worth clarifying the useful risk management activities from the potentially abusive excesses involving such instruments. CDSS are derivative contracts whereby one party buys credit protection from a counterparty. The buyer pays a premium to the seller either in a lump sum or periodically over the life of the contract. If a credit event such as a default on a loan or a bond occurs, the seller of the CDSS pays the holder for the loss or purchases the initial debt, the reference obligation, at a pre-set price. So, a CDSS is in effect a put option that is deep-out-of-the-money. They expire upon termination and most are never exercised. They are subject to fair-value accounting and can change in value from month to month as the credit markets premiums for similar cover moves up or down. Banks and others can use CDSS to, in effect, adjust the nature of credit risk in their portfolios by both buying and selling such contracts. Asset securitizations, whether mortgage-backed securities or other formulations, are in fact broken-down and re-packaged forms of assets that can be sold — transferring certain rights, values and risk to another party for payment received. They are complex and therefore mostly opaque to the general public and even many practitioners. They often involve the use of special purpose entities or trusts that can further confuse investors. These tactics have added to the difficulty of the credit crisis and the collapse of capital markets. But, CDSS are contingent in nature and act more like fire insurance or a back-up data center. Such operational expenses are intended to control risks. The accounting treatment is complex and, to an extent (especially as regards the tax treatment), still not well defined by accounting authorities. For most banks, and most CDSS contract, the premium is amortized over the life of the contract. The premium expense entry in their general ledgers is an expense of doing business that is intended to alleviate some credit risk. We are now talking about a covered CDSS, where the bank has extended credit or invested in a debt instrument. Those who purchased uncovered CDSS are gambling on a default occurrence and used CDSS as a more cost-effective (and secretive) alternative to shorting securities. It is somewhat like a naked short. So, a covered CDSS is ultimately an expense associated with protecting the net asset value of a credit transaction. Importantly, this expense should be included in any performance analysis or pricing of the risk-adjusted profitability of the credit obligation and/or client relationship involved. This risk mitigation exercise may be in lieu of a higher required rate or fee on an otherwise uncovered/unmitigated credit transaction, or being satisfied with a lower risk-adjusted return where the bank assumes (self-insures) all of the credit risk. CDSS quotes/costs, similar to rate spreads on corporate bonds, are the open market’s current feeling regarding an entity’s credit quality or relative probability of default. There are some 400 or so participants in the CDSS market, including writers and dealers. Market data is published for many obligations. Even the previously risk-free Treasury securities now have CDSS quotes – and they have gone up considerably in recent months. It is always the buyers’ responsibility to decide if the quoted prices make sense or not and how such quotes should be used in evaluating credit and negotiating lending opportunities in addition to whether or not to purchase this insurance. Finally, the quality of the seller is a consideration. There is no good reason to buy fire insurance from someone that might not be able to pay for your building if it burns down. CDSS have been private party transactions and, as stated earlier, there have been solvency problems with some of the sellers of such instruments. There is now a move under way to create a central exchange for such transactions with both regulations governing the sellers, more standardized contracts and financial backing of the instruments from the exchange. Such an exchange will address both the transparency of the process and the efficiency of market prices. Risk mitigation strategies (risk-based pricing, portfolio risk management, credit risk modeling, etc.) need to be carried out thoughtfully. If something sounds too good to be true, it deserves a deeper look. Your bank’s credit regimen may well be better at evaluating default probability than a marketplace that is prone to feed on its own fears. But, CDSS “insurance” quotes are an outside point of reference and an option to mitigate some credit risk…no pun intended. Here are two interesting sources of information: * BNET Business Network * Georgetown University — Law Center
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