38 MARCH / APRIL 2019 CECL Compliance Data Find the remarkable value within John Dalton Director of Product Strategy Financial & Risk Management Division Fiserv john.dalton@fiserv.com Fiserv is an associate member of the Indiana Bankers Association. There is no “easy button” for CECL. Adhering to the new standards will take time, effort and considerable planning, but it is possible to turn the pain of compliance into the benefit of strategy. The new current expected credit loss (CECL) mandate has made broad, sweeping changes to credit measurement and reporting. To meet CECL requirements, financial institutions must use historical information, current conditions and economic forecasts to estimate expected losses. The new guidelines require collecting, sorting and analyzing significant amounts of data from various sources, as well as altering methodologies to estimate expected losses. The CECL requirements mark the first time this much data has been aggregated at the individual financial instrument level. But once that history – that instrument-level data – has been captured, good things can happen. With the right data, financial institutions can begin improving decision-making around credit risk, interest rates and profitability. Working Toward CECL Standards With less than two years to go before the CECL implementation date goes into effect for many organizations, financial institutions should be working through the necessary steps to adhere to the new standards. The multiyear implementation period is intended to give organizations a chance to prepare, but time will go quickly. CECL requires quantitative, measurement-based historical data through the contractual or behavioral life of a loan, rather than an estimate. Most auditors are advising financial institutions to collect seven to 10 years of data. Collecting and storing that amount of information can be daunting, which is why many financial institutions are partnering with third-party providers as part of their CECL plans. Credit has largely been, and will continue to be, an art form balanced by financial institutions’ finance side, which has historically had more insight and access to models, solutions and analytics. Unlike other requirements, CECL requires input, adjustments and new, higher levels of rigor from multiple teams throughout a financial institution. CECL ups everyone’s game. The Good News Waiting on the Other Side of CECL Although using data for better decision-making has always been encouraged, capturing it prior to CECL requirements has been a step few were willing to take. Now that years of historical, instrument-level data will be collected and available to your organization, it makes sense to use it as a competitive advantage. New insights will emerge that can move your organization from a reactive state to predictive or prescriptive analytics. Instead of asking what might happen, instrument-level data can help your organization make something happen. Start by correlating data. Look at loan demand over time and other key factors for your institution. There are many ways to pool and correlate data – by collateral or type, including mortgages, auto loans, credit cards or others. You can further segment by cost center, loan officer, FICO score or geography. Consider what level of detail provides meaningful information for your organization. Does the data tell you something that might alter your strategies? Analyzing data provides a solid foundation for understanding your markets and metrics, including how portfolios behave and where opportunities lie: • Where will the market go? • How will that affect your ability to earn a reasonable return on your asset base? FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
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