Inside a credit department !

Mike_St_Helens

Not sure i should be doing this..... but hey... and id like your thoughts and experiences.

I worked for a very very large CC bank for 8 years, I was a Credit Analyst.. a senior one where I made the yeah or neah decisions. Each morning we would be given a target opf how many accounts me and my teams HAD to approve... no question of ' what about the quality of applicants etc etc....'

The motoo of the very highest manager was ' if its alive .. book it !'

Thats how they percieve 'customers' and if they moan about a decline, just see if you can book it and give them a card to shut them up...

This is how i guess most banks credit departments behave, pure and utter greed and they just want to hit target... f~~~~ what it does to peoples lives and businesses !

Comments would be nice to start this discussion off... if you find it boring or spoken about before.. im new here ! but addicted already !

MD

$17mma

Hello

I thought that most companies used their own score cards to determine a "good" risk or "bad" risk so to speak.

Didnt realise that they would approve applications just to hit targets.

Mike_St_Helens

They do have a score card as such, but the bank I worked in had a judgemental lending system, every single application would be looked at.....

Also the bank i worked in ran cards for a number of other banks and societies and groups so you could be fooled into thinking that you were applying for a number of banks, but simply be applying to just the one !

M

keith_lard

What are the 'main points' they look for in a Credit application??

Mike_St_Helens

Ill not use the terms but they look for you having an income, some form of credit record ( obviously minus bankrupcy and of course really bad adverse ! like me !!! )

really just an okish payment record that is a few years old. we used to book people who were on disability benefit (nothing wrong with that !), immigrants, ccj's, defaults, we never checked income and employment.. unless they had no credit record we would do a 'job check' and give them a small limit....

wannabedebtfreebeth

Hi Mike
So which CC is that and do they do 0% balance transfers ? - cause I could really use one of those right now!

Mike_St_Helens

If i gave the card you would know the firm.. I cant go whistleblowing.... sorry

Alyhough if you go to a massive uk cc bank that has massive links with the US... no not citi... you might get there.

Ember999

You worked for MBNA didn't you Mike

amosworks

Yorkshire bank?

Mike_St_Helens

No comment ember 999 :-)

nelly_2

Tetleys?......