Day 12-13: Credit Department

On Saturday I continued to research and write the report. With the staff busy at meetings throughout the day, the office was quiet. I managed to work efficiently and get more done than I had originally planned. This morning I spent time with the credit department learning about their operations and the changes the crisis precipitated within the department. The different branches of the department include Field Operations, the Credit Approval Team, the Individual Loans Team, and Collection Management. The Field Operations staff, Field Credit Officers (FCO), manages the branches (about 8-10 branches each). The Credit Approval Team approves only the Group Loans, making sure they are reasonable and fair for borrowers. The Individual Loan Team approves only Individual Loans, going through a very similar procedure as the Credit Approval Team. The Collection Management team deals with customers who default on their loans. I also learned a lot about the changes the department underwent during the crisis such as stricter credit checks, faster loan disbursements and major changes in customer policies. The credit department was most affected of all departments, having strict regulations put into place by the government. The second half of the day I worked on my report.