Board of Director Education I & II

1/2 DAY SESSIONS
These seminars are designed to build the vocabulary, concepts and skills necessary for a Board Director to actively engage in the credit risk analysis process with senior management and lending officers. These seminars can be customized to include a bank’s actual credit situations and underwriting guidelines and are optimally delivered over a one month period.

Session I- Credit Risk Analysis- Participants review the credit approval process and the basics of business risk analysis and financial statement analysis. All key ratios necessary to make a sound credit decision are explored. Particular focus is placed on how to measure financial leverage and the sustainability of free cash flow to cover interest and principal payments.

Session II- Loan Structuring Fundamentals- Participants explore how banks structure loans to meet a customer’s credit needs while simultaneously protecting the bank’s capital. This seminar covers the full range of loan facilities, appropriate use of proceeds, amortization schedules, covenant design and reviews the different approaches used in asset based, cash flow and commercial real estate lending.

Presentation Skills

1 DAY
This seminar is designed for banking professionals who want to improve presentation skills, overcome speech anxiety and master nonverbal delivery techniques. Participants develop skills needed to become a successful speaker, presenter and group facilitator. In addition, participants learn how to plan, write, revise and deliver high quality presentations and explore how to improve overall communication skills by becoming a better listener.

Writing Boot Camp

1 DAY
Participants learn how to write powerful, persuasive documents in a clear and concise manner. Topics covered include: identifying strategies for starting quickly and capturing reader attention, explaining the inverted pyramid approach to editing, and discussing appropriate tone and language. Participants receive a business writing toolkit with handouts as well as grammar and punctuation rules/tip sheets.

Banking Fundamentals

1 DAY
This seminar allows participants to examine their own bank's financial statements and key operating ratios and can be an effective tool for on-boarding bank professionals. The objective is to gain an understanding of how a bank makes money and how credit, market and operating risk can affect a bank’s performance. The seminar examines the root causes of the Subprime Crisis and the effects that subprime loans, mortgage backed securities, and credit default swaps have had on banks’ operating performance and balance sheet quality.

Core Credit Values Workshop

1 1/2 DAYS
This workshop gives senior management the opportunity to investigate and discuss their institution’s core credit principals and values. Using a case study as a backdrop, senior management can discuss key analytical techniques that become the foundation for a sound credit underwriting process that is consistent with bank policy and procedure. Herter Associates can customize a case from the institution’s loan portfolio.

Advanced Cash Flow

2 DAYS
This seminar builds on Module 2 in the Credit Risk Training Program and is designed for Relationship Managers and Portfolio Managers with at least two years of credit underwriting experience. Participants review how the cash flow statement can be used as a capital allocation tool to identify both business development opportunities as well as underwriting risks. Through three case studies, participants explore a company’s debt capacity and learn how to apply that knowledge to credit restructuring, recapitalization and transfer of ownership. Finally, participants examine management case projections to assess the reliability of the key underlying assumptions and develop their own base case and downside scenarios.

Advanced Loan & Transaction Structuring

2 DAYS
This seminar builds on Module 3 in the Credit Risk Training Program and is designed for Relationship Managers and Portfolio Managers with at least two years of credit underwriting experience. Participants review the hallmarks of sound loan structure to ensure timely repayment and examine the different approaches used in asset based lending and cash flow lending. Through three case studies, participants explore the bank’s credit underwriting philosophy as it pertains to seasonal and permanent working capital lending; medium, long term and bridge financing; and covenant design. Additional topics include: holding company versus operating company loans, contractual and structural subordination, inter-creditor issues, optimal capital structure and collateral evaluation.

Advanced Credit Skills

2 DAYS
Participants learn how to detect early warning signs of deterioration and how to proactively manage a troubled credit with the dual objective of preserving a sound client relationship while protecting the bank’s capital. In day 2, participants create an action plan with the client, learn how to discuss sensitive credit issues and most importantly, design a structure that protects the bank’s exposure. This seminar is the same as Module 7 in the Credit Risk Training Program.