The Lending Decision Process offers a sound foundation in the basics of commercial lending and credit. Through web-based, audiovisual features, these 17 courses (or six separate series) present the analytical and decision-making techniques needed to make sound credit decisions using financial accounting, financial statement analysis, and cash flow analysis.

The Lending Decision Process – All Series

Series 1: Industry, Management, and Economic Influences

• Course 1-1: Industry and Economic Influences
• Course 1-2: Understanding the Business

Estimated Completion Time: 3 - 4 Hours

Series 2: Interpreting Quality of Financial Reports and Accounts

• Course 2-1: Interpreting Reliability and Comparability of Financial Statements
• Course 2-2: Interpreting Quality and Consistency of Balance Sheet and Income Statements

Estimated Completion Time: 5 Hours

Series 3: Analyzing the Company's Financial Performance and Condition

• Course 3-1: Spreading Financial Statements
• Course 3-2: Analyzing the Balance Sheet
• Course 3-3: Analyzing the Income Statement
• Course 3-4: Analyzing Combined Balance Sheet and Income Statement Measures

Estimated Completion Time: 12 Hours

Series 4: The Cash Cycle, Seasonality, and Discovering Borrowing Causes and Repayment Sources

• Course 4-1: Business Cash Cycles
• Course 4-2: Seasonality
• Course 4-3: Discovering Borrowing Causes and Repayment Sources

Estimated Completion Time: 8 Hours

Series 5: Analyzing Cash Flow Statements to Measure Long-term Repayment Ability

• Course 5-1: Cash Flow Statements & Their Formats
• Course 5-2: Analyzing Cash Flow
• Course 5-3: Debt Service Coverage

Estimated Completion Time: 5 - 6 Hours

Series 6: Using Financial Projections to Fine Tune the Credit Analysis

• Course 6-1: Assessing Short-Term Repayment Ability Using Monthly Pro-Formas
• Course 6-2: Preparing and Interpreting Annual Financial Projections
• Course 6-3: Using Projections to Help Determine Appropriate Loan Type

Estimated Completion Time: 6 - 7 Hours

Lending to small businesses spanning different industries, geographies, and situations requires years of training and experience. There’s no better way for commercial bankers to get started or sharpen their existing skills than by enrolling in RMA’s Small Business-Lending Decision Process courses:

Small Business Lending Decision Process – Full Curriculum

Develop a Company Overview

Upon completion of this course, learners will be able to:

• Effectively interview a client to gather information about the borrower
• Build a company overview
• Assess the quality of a management team
• Use third-party resources to look for ethics concerns

Estimated Completion Time: 2.5 Hours

Analyze Market and Industry Risks

Upon completion of this course, learners will be able to:

• Analyze market and competition risks
• Perform an industry risk analysis
• Analyze economic and business cycles
• Assess the challenges associated with industry, product, and company life cycles
• Appraise effective business strategies

Estimated Completion Time: 1.75 Hours

Interpreting Reliability and Comparability of Financial Statements

Upon completion of this course, learners will be able to:

• Determine the borrower’s compliance with GAAP
• Evaluate the comparability of financial statements

Estimated Completion Time: 1.5 Hours

Interpreting Quality and Consistency of Balance Sheet and Income Statements

Upon completion of this course, learners will be able to:

• Interpret the quality and consistency of balance sheets and income statements
• Ask questions of the client about balance sheet and income statement information

Estimated Completion Time: 2.5 Hours

Preparing Financial Statements for Analysis

Upon completion of this course, learners will be able to:

• Convert spread financial statements to a format that expresses accounts as percentages of total sales or total assets
• Compute and analyze the company’s:
  • Liquidity ratios
  • Leverage ratios
  • Profit margins
  • Make industry comparisons
  • Determine the company’s profitability

Estimated Completion Time: 5 Hours

Financial Efficiency and Cash Cycles

Upon completion of this course, learners will be able to:

• Compute and analyze the company’s efficiency ratios
• Make industry comparisons
• Determine the causes of liquidity and cash flow problems
• Measure the company’s average cash cycles

Estimated Completion Time: 1.75 Hours

Analyzing Interim Financial Statements

Upon completion of this course, learners will be able to:

• Analyze an interim financial package
• Obtain supplemental information to an interim financial statement
• Distinguish temporary from permanent current asset and liability build-ups

Estimated Completion Time: 1.5 Hours

Non-Seasonal Events and Trends

Upon completion of this course, learners will be able to:

• Identify causes for long-term borrowing
• Identify ways to reduce long-term borrowing needs
• Calculate cash flow and coverage ratios
• Analyze a company’s coverage ratios

Estimated Completion Time: 2.5 Hours

Using Tax Returns to Analyze the Borrower

Upon completion of this course, learners will be able to:

• Identify specific tax forms needed in order to evaluate a business loan request
• Find information needed about a borrower from their tax returns
• Identify additional information needed from the business to process the loan application
• Explain how rules for reporting income differ from financial statement rules

Estimated Completion Time: 1.75 Hours

Analyze Personal Financial Statements and Tax Returns

Upon completion of this course, learners will be able to:

• Locate data on the personal financial statement (PFS) relevant to cash flow and other sources of repayment in order to adjust net worth
• Identify and fill in gaps on the personal financial statement
• Calculate net worth adjustments and determine potential repayment sources
• Construct a personal cash flow

Estimated Completion Time: 2.5 Hours

Analyze Global Cash Flow

Upon completion of this course, learners will be able to:

• Locate and gather the key information needed to construct a global cash flow
• Construct a global cash flow

Estimated Completion Time: 0.5 Hours

Recommend the Structure of the Small Business Loan

Upon completion of this course, learners will be able to:

• Structure and document a small business loan prospect
• Match the appropriate loan type with the customer’s needs
• Qualify the secondary repayment sources
• Identify sources of collateral
• Determine if the loan (with its risks) should still be approved
• Identify key covenants

Estimated Completion Time: 1.5 Hours

Document the Loan

Upon completion of this course, learners will be able to:

• Specify the loan document components and elements that support the identified loan structure
• Ensure all documents are executed accurately

Estimated Completion Time: 0.75 Hours

Monitor the Loan and Look for Opportunities

Upon completion of this course, learners will be able to:

• Identify all required reporting covenants
• Identify all reporting requirements
• Review third-party information sources

Estimated Completion Time: 1.5 Hours

Commercial real estate (CRE) lending requires a specific skillset built on a deep understanding of the industry and market forces. Learn how to make sound CRE-lending decisions with our 13-course curriculum of self-directed online courses.

Commercial Real Estate Lending Decision Process – Full Curriculum

(13 courses, includes Construction and Homebuilder Lending)

Commercial Real Estate Lending Decision Process – Core Curriculum

(11 courses, excludes Construction and Homebuilder Lending)

Commercial Real Estate Lending Decision Process – Underwriting Bundle

(All 3 Underwriting courses)

CRE Lending Overview

Given that learners will already have experience with C&I lending, this short course will compare C&I and CRE lending. Learners will:

• Choose appropriately between C&I and CRE loans and the analysis framework
• Match loan need and CRE loan type
• Identify the loan’s purpose and related use of funds, types of property and collateral, and ultimate repayment source

Estimated Completion Time: 0.5 Hours

Risk Areas

Using scenarios, learners will:

• Identify key risks
• Answer three questions about the property
• Explain the steps that analyze and mitigate risks

Estimated Completion Time: 2 Hours

Drivers of Performance

Using scenarios, learners will:

• Identify the drivers of CRE loan performance
• Complete a performance checklist
• Explain which drivers are the most critical

Estimated Completion Time: 0.5 Hours

Underwriting – Basics

Using scenarios, learners will:

• Identify best practices for CRE underwriting
• Explore the component parts of the underwriting process
• Construct a basic CRE Cash Flow Statement for an office property

Estimated Completion Time: 2 Hours

Underwriting – Different Types of Commercial Properties

Using scenarios, and considering the various property types, learners will:

• Identify property characteristics and underwriting considerations
• Analyze key differences in income and expenses
• Explain gross vs. triple net rent structures

Estimated Completion Time: 1.25 Hours

Underwriting – Example Calculations

Using scenarios that include retail, apartment complex, and wholesale/manufacturing properties, learners will:

• Complete NOI calculations
• Calculate the value based on the cap rate
• Calculate LTV, DSC, and supportable loan amounts
• Complete stress testing and sensitivity analyses

Estimated Completion Time: 1 Hour

Appraisals

Learners will assess a property’s value based on the current market conditions presented in an appraisal. Using scenarios, learners will:

• Explain which valuation approach is most relevant
• Complete an Appraisal Review Form

Estimated Completion Time: 2.5 Hour

Leases

Learners will apply lease review techniques in commercial property leases. Using scenarios and a lease review checklist, learners will analyze:

• A tenant’s legal rights, remedies, and obligations
• The key business considerations of lease commitments
• Priority issues

Estimated Completion Time: 1.25 Hours

Environmental Assessments

Using scenarios, learners will:

• Explain to a customer the environmental assessment process and requirements
• Identify the level of environmental assessment that is required for a loan request to move forward
• Determine if further environmental investigation will be required and why

Estimated Completion Time: 1 Hour

Loan Structure

Using scenarios, learners will:

• Determine the best structure for a loan request
• Explain why that structure is recommended

Estimated Completion Time: 1 Hour

Due Diligence and Documentation

Using scenarios, learners will:

• Explain the key pre-approval documents required for a loan
• Identify the key elements of due diligence and closing documentation required for a loan

Estimated Completion Time: 1 Hour

Construction Lending

Using scenarios, learners will:

• Explore different types of construction loans
• Explain to a customer the additional documents required for a construction loan
• Evaluate the risks of a construction loan request
• Explore project completion requirements and lender actions

Estimated Completion Time: 3 Hours

Homebuilder Lending

Using scenarios, learners will:

• Explore acquisition, development, and construction lending
• Compare and contrast homebuilder to other CRE construction lending
• Identify the risks of AD&C
• Complete a discounted cash flow analysis
• Calculate a sensitivity analysis assuming a change in lots sold per quarter

Estimated Completion Time: 2 Hours

Courses on special topics like ethical decision-making and the business of commercial banking serve as ideal onboarding material for employees either new to commercial banking or new to your bank.

Special Topics Bundle

7 courses: Accounting and Ratio Analysis, The Business of Commercial Banking, Ethics and Decision Making, Borrower Analysis: Qualitative Factors, Balance Sheet Analysis, Income Statement Analysis, Combined Balance Sheet & Income Statement Analysis

Financial Statement Analysis Bundle

3 courses: Balance Sheet Analysis, Income Statement Analysis, Combined Balance Sheet and Income Statement Analysis

Accounting and Financial Statements Refresher

Re-examine basic accounting principles, the format, and content of financial statements prepared in conformance with generally accepted accounting principles.

Upon completion of this course, learners will be able to:

• Explain how key accounting principles and concepts govern the construction of financial statements
• Identify the format and content of financial information presented in the four basic financial statements
• Identify common disclosures included in the footnotes to the financial statements
• Explain how transactions have a dual effect on the accounting equation
• Explain the relationship between the matching principle and adjusting process
• Identify and describe the nine steps of the accounting cycle

Accounting and Ratio Analysis

Learn how to analyze financial statements in order to assess a company’s creditworthiness.

Overview

In your role as a banker, you need to analyze financial statements. This course will prepare you to know how to analyze financials and not just know about the process.

Through this course, you will analyze the financial statements of a small business. Along the way, you will discover how the income statement and balance sheet relate to each other; follow the money invested, spent, and earned as it impacts the accounting equation; and explore the difference between cash-basis and accrual accounting. Finally, you will conduct a “bottom line” analysis of the company to assess the company’s continued ability to perform and repay bank debt.

Since early-career bankers have a wide range of financial backgrounds and everyone learns at their own pace, we estimate that it will take between three and a half and five hours to complete the course. You will have opportunities to advance through the course following the pathway that best meets your needs.

Who will benefit?

Bankers who need an introduction to accounting and ratio analysis will benefit from this course.

You will:

• Describe the general characteristics and format of the income statement and the balance sheet.
• Explain the meaning of the accounting equation.
• Describe the effect of simple business transactions on the accounting equation.
• Describe examples of accrual accounting’s revenue recognition and matching principles.
• Explain the difference between accrual and cash methods of accounting.
• Identify and describe three major categories of expense typically included on the income statement.
• Accurately calculate financial ratios that measure growth, profitability, liquidity, activity, leverage, and debt service coverage.
• Interpret the financial ratios to identify borrowing strengths and weaknesses of a case study example.
  Prerequisites
• This course has no prerequisites.

Resources

This commercial lending training course contains all necessary resources, including sample financial documents. You can save these resources to your desktop and/or print them.

Assessment

Throughout the course, you will receive feedback as you analyze the financial statements of a small business. This feedback will help you reflect on your understanding and build the confidence to transfer essential skills to the workplace. After you have completed this course, you will take an assessment that will measure mastery of the material.

Estimated Completion Time: 3.5 - 5 Hours

The Business of Commercial Banking

Learn how commercial banking works with an understanding of the basics.

Course Overview

This course sets the stage for those who are unfamiliar with the commercial banking function. Through a combination of infographics, micro-learning, and targeted modules written by bankers, you will explore how commercial banking works. We estimate it will take one hour to complete the course.

Who will benefit?

Anyone who works in a bank or is exploring a career in banking will benefit from this course.

You will:

• Understand the history of banking.
• Learn how the bank makes money.
• Realize the risks to a bank’s ability to make money.
• Gain insight into common commercial loan products.
• Assess the impact of regulation, supervision, and bank examinations.
• Know the 5 Cs of credit.

Prerequisites

This course has no prerequisites.

Resources

This commercial banking training course contains all necessary resources.

Assessment

There are no assessments associated with this course.

Estimated Completion Time: 1 Hour

Ethics and Decision Making

Develop a strong ethical foundation in decision making as a professional banker.

Course Overview

Every banker’s performance must meet the highest ethical standard, ensuring that the trust customers place in your bank is well-founded. Sometimes ethical situations can seem very clear. At other times, a matter may seem trivial, but if not handled properly, can lead to serious consequences. The best way to develop a strong ethical underpinning in any banker’s professional practice is through rehearsing ways of thinking and responding to a variety of situations.

Through this course, you will encounter nine stories or episodes. Each story illustrates one of RMA’s Principles of Ethical Conduct which are “rules of reason” created jointly by RMA’s Operational Risk and Enterprise Risk Management councils.

As each story unfolds, you will make decisions, reflect on the thinking behind your decisions, and explore the possible consequences of your choices. We estimate it will take approximately one hour to complete the course.

• Episode One: The Test (Act with integrity.)
• Episode Two: The SAR (Report wrongdoing.)
• Episode Three: The Jackpot (Be dedicated to stakeholders.)
• Episode Four: The Apartment (Avoid conflicts of interest and the appearance of impropriety.)
• Episode Five: The Bonus (Report information accurately.)
• Episode Six: The Post (Maintain confidentiality.)
• Episode Seven: The Lead (Compete fairly and honestly.)
• Episode Eight: The Interview (Promote inclusion in the workplace.)
• Episode Nine: The Friends (When in doubt, seek counsel.)

Who will benefit?

This course is appropriate for all bankers.

You will:

• Have a more nuanced understanding of the impact of everyday decisions.
• Exercise professional judgement when considering the ethical ramifications of decision making.
• Have the tools to promote honest conduct, fair dealing, proper handling of conflicts of interest, full disclosure and compliance, and the protection of institutions’ legitimate business interests.

Prerequisites

This course has no prerequisites.

Resources

This commercial banking training course contains all necessary resources and can be used on any device.

Assessment

A scored knowledge check is available after all nine episodes are completed.

Estimated Completion Time: 1 Hour

Borrower Analysis: Qualitative Factors

Learn how to analyze and evaluate your borrower’s market condition and management experience.

Course Overview

This course will prepare you to develop a company overview, assess business strategy, and evaluate management adequacy. Using a case file, targeted lessons, job aids, and micro-modules, the course walks you through the following:

• Apply the Porter model to analyze the competitive forces in an industry and gauge the degree of difficulty a company may have in seeking to compete successfully in its industry.
• Assess the impact economic cycles and conditions can have on a business.
• Study the financial behavior of industries, products, and companies through their life cycles.
• Determine related financing needs based on a review of the relationship between a company’s industry, business, and product life cycles and its operating and asset acquisition cycles.
• Develop a company overview, assess business strategy, and evaluate management adequacy.
• The course is estimated to take between four and six hours to complete. You will have opportunities to advance through the course following the pathway that best meets your needs.

Who will benefit?

Anyone who participates in the analysis or evaluation of the borrower’s market conditions and management experience using qualitative factors will benefit from this course.

You will:

• Interpret key success elements in the company’s industry.
• Explain cycles that influence the company’s viability (economic cycle, industry, company, and product lifecycles) and interpret their effect on company asset acquisition and operating cycles.
• Explain and interpret the impact of key industry and other external (industry structure and environmental, regulatory, international and political) factors.
• Prepare a company overview of products, services, customers, suppliers, facilities, management organization, ownership, and history.
• Appraise the company’s likelihood of success, considering prior risk mitigation, competitive advantages, management qualifications, and effectiveness of business strategies.
• Appraise depth and breadth of management skill, experience, and organization.
  Prerequisites
  There is no prerequisite for this course. However, you are encouraged to complete The Business of Commercial Banking and Ethics in Decision Making before taking this course in order to better understand the industry and ensure an awareness of the ethical considerations fundamental to your work as a banker.

Resources

This commercial lending training course contains all necessary resources, including job aids. You can save these resources and/or print them.

Assessment

Throughout the course, you have ample opportunity to receive feedback to your responses to questions related to the simulation. This feedback serves to encourage you to reflect on your learning and build your confidence in applying the concepts presented. At the conclusion of the course, you will take a scored mastery assessment.

Estimated Completion Time: 4-6 Hours

Balance Sheet Analysis

Develop the skills to evaluate the strength of a balance sheet through liquidity analysis.

Course Overview

In your role as a commercial banker, you need to apply income statement measures to analyze the profitability of the company. Balance Sheet Analysis will prepare you to evaluate the strength of the balance sheet through liquidity, leverage and net worth analysis.

This course uses a combination of storytelling, application challenges, microlearning, and job aids to build your confidence in your ability to read and interpret balance sheets. We estimate it will take between two and three hours to complete the course.

Who will benefit?

Bankers who need to interpret balance sheets will benefit from this course.

You will:

• Assess a company’s ability to meet its short-term obligations through liquidity analysis.
• Calculate and interpret working capital.
• Evaluate the results of a liquidity analysis in light of industry expectations.
• Assess the extent to which a company has funded its assets with debt as opposed to owner’s equity through leverage analysis.
• Compare a company’s liability structure to its asset distribution to evaluate the risk in a company’s leverage.
• Analyze trends in the leverage of a company, including comparison with a peer composite in RMA’s Annual Statement Studies.

Prerequisites

You should be well versed in basic accounting for bankers or take RMA’s Accounting and Financial Ratios course before enrolling in Balance Sheet Analysis.

Resources

This commercial lending training course contains all necessary resources, including sample financial documents and job aids. You can save these resources to your device and/or print them.

Assessment

Knowledge checks are used throughout the course. The knowledge checks allow you to test your progress in securing the concepts and reflect on your thinking about the questions. A scored mastery assessment is available after you complete the course.

Estimated Completion Time: 2-3 Hours

Income Statement Analysis

Learn how to apply income statement measures to analyze the profitability of a company.

Course Overview

In your role as a banker, you need to apply income statement measures to analyze the profitability of the company. Income Statement Analysis will prepare you to evaluate revenue, expense, and efficiency trends. You will also sharpen your ability to dive deeper into the numbers and ask meaningful questions.

This course uses a combination of storytelling, application challenges, microlearning, tools like RMA’s Annual Statement Studies, and job aids to build your confidence in your ability to read and interpret income statements. We estimate it will take between two and three hours to complete the course.

Who will benefit?

Bankers who need to interpret income statements will benefit from this course.

You will:

• Determine if internal and external trends exist and interpret their significance.
• Understand that gross profit indicates that the company’s sale of its product or service is a profitable sale.
• Assess whether operating expenses are well managed to protect the gross profit.
• Determine whether operating profit indicates an appropriate balance between management of cost of goods sold and operating expenses.
• Know whether interest expense and nonoperating income/expense have been well managed to protect the company’s operating profit.
• Understand that any profit earned is available to pay dividends and/or be retained as earnings reinvested in owners’ equity.

Prerequisites

You should be well versed in basic accounting for bankers or take RMA’s Accounting and Financial Ratios course before enrolling in Income Statement Analysis.

Resources

This commercial lending training course contains all necessary resources, including sample financial documents and job aids. You can save these resources to your device and/or print them.

Assessment

Knowledge checks are used throughout the course. The knowledge checks allow you to test your progress in securing the concepts and reflect on your thinking about the questions. A scored mastery assessment is available after you complete the course.

Estimated Completion Time: 2-3 Hours

Combined Balance Sheet & Income Statement Analysis

Learn how to interpret repayment risks through analyzing a company’s balance sheet and income statement.

Combined Balance Sheet and Income Statement Analysis will prepare you to interpret repayment risks suggested by the company’s historical financial performance and financial condition, applying balance sheet and income statement measures to analyze liquidity, leverage, profitability, financial productivity, and efficiency.

This course uses a combination of storytelling, application challenges, microlearning, cases, and job aids to build your confidence in your ability to analyze financial productivity and financial efficiency. We estimate it will take between two and three hours to complete the course.

Who will benefit?

Bankers who are responsible for both balance sheet and income statement analysis will benefit from this course.

You will:

• Assess a company’s financial productivity or ability to generate profit.
• Assess a company’s financial efficiency using turnover or activity ratios that relate income statement items to balance sheet items.
• Analyze a company’s historical measures and trends as well as conduct an industry comparison.

Prerequisites

You should be well versed in basic accounting for bankers or take RMA’s Accounting and Financial Ratios course and have completed RMA’s Balance Sheet Analysis and Income Statement Analysis courses before enrolling in Combined Balance Sheet and Income Statement Analysis.

Resources

This commercial lending training course contains all necessary resources, including sample financial documents and job aids. You can save these resources to your device and/or print them.

Assessment

Knowledge checks are used throughout the course. The knowledge checks allow you to test your progress in securing the concepts and reflect on your thinking about the questions. A scored mastery assessment is available after you complete the course.

Estimated Completion Time: 2-3 Hours

Commercial Loan Documentation (Online)

Learn to analyze correctness and completion of loan documentation.

Across the commercial loan documentation process, individuals analyze correctness and completion of loan documentation to reduce errors and lender liability. Commercial Loan Documentation (Online) is designed to meet the training needs of bank personnel, including credit analysts, document preparers, document reviewers, and commercial loan officers, who are responsible for handling the paperwork associated with commercial loans. The course is also designed to train bank personnel to recognize what documents are required in various transactions, to be familiar with the content of those documents, and to be able to explain the content to bank customers.

Estimated Completion Time: 9 Hours

Structuring Commercial Loans (Online)

Learn how to structure a commercial or corporate loan.

Structuring Commercial Loans (Online) teaches financial professionals the fundamental principles of how to structure a commercial or corporate loan. Individuals analyze the relevant information to structure commercial loans that balance a bank’s risk appetite with meeting clients’ needs. Structuring Commercial Loans is designed for lenders or those that supervise others in the commercial lending function.

Estimated Completion Time: 5 Hours