It has been said that nothing exposes the intellectual abilities of a loan officer like a credit write-up, because writing is a reflection of thinking.  And not just for loan officers, but for credit analysts, portfolio managers and others that deal with business and commercial loans.

Many facets of lending are difficult to explain, especially when put into writing.  This program is centered around basic writing principles, but applied to lending.  It explores the process using five Ps.  Within the thought process and planning, there are two Ps: (1) Purpose and (2) preparation.  Within “getting it done” there are three more Ps: (3) Putting it all together, (4) Polish and (5) Pizzazz:

• Purpose
  • Identifying what you want the reader to do
  • Determining your (almost always) multiple audiences
• Preparation
  • Recognizing the eight qualities of effective writing
  • Communicating efficiently using “cover pages”
  • Determining what supporting evidence is needed in the memorandum
  • Finding the best format
• Putting it all together
  • Identifying the unique issues in communicating data and quantitative information
  • Outlining prior to drafting
  • Data tables are not analysis
• Polish
  • Before and after example
  • Using white space and formatting conventions
  • Lender liability issues
• Pizzazz
  • Getting the reader’s attention
  • Making sure that the reader does not miss key points
  • Every package tells a story