Risk frameworks built to hold.
Credit policy that is technically sound is the minimum standard. CB Advisors structures risk frameworks that function under stress, satisfy the regulator, and give the institution's credit committee a defensible basis for every decision it makes.
Most credit policies are sound in their architecture and unworkable in their application. The gap between design and operational reality is where credit quality deteriorates.
Most institutions approach credit risk management as a policy exercise — a structured set of procedures assembled to satisfy the regulator's expectations and the audit committee's oversight mandate. The result is documentation that is technically adequate but disconnected from the operational decisions that determine actual credit quality. When the credit environment turns or the portfolio concentrates, the gap between compliant and sound becomes immediately apparent.
CB Advisors designs credit risk frameworks with two constraints in mind simultaneously: the supervisory standard the institution must satisfy, and the operational reality in which the framework must function. Every credit policy, risk appetite statement, and classification methodology we develop is built to be used — not merely filed.
A risk advisory mandate moves through four defined phases — from a rigorous diagnostic of the existing credit environment to a framework ready for supervisory presentation.
Portfolio Diagnostic
An independent assessment of the credit portfolio — concentration analysis across sector, product, and geography; vintage analysis to identify emerging deterioration; and a structured review of the existing risk taxonomy, approval hierarchy, and classification methodology. The diagnostic produces the technical baseline against which the framework is designed.
Policy Architecture
Development of the credit policy framework: origination standards calibrated to risk profile, approval hierarchies by loan type, covenant architecture, exception handling procedures, and the documentation disciplines required for regulatory defensibility. Designed to be operationally functional — not merely compliant.
Stress & Scenario Analysis
Design and application of credit stress scenarios calibrated to the institution's portfolio composition and CBvS supervisory expectations. Includes IFRS 9 expected credit loss sensitivity analysis, concentration risk modelling under adverse conditions, and the technical documentation required to support provisioning positions under supervisory review.
Regulatory Alignment
Preparation of the risk documentation package for supervisory engagement: formal credit risk framework submission, internal audit readiness assessment, and targeted support for institutions subject to corrective action or enhanced prudential scrutiny. CB Advisors prepares institutions for supervisory dialogue — not merely its conclusion.
The principal deliverables of a full risk and credit advisory mandate. Scope is confirmed at the conclusion of the portfolio diagnostic and adapted to the institution's specific risk profile and supervisory context.
- Credit policy development and periodic review
- Risk governance framework and credit risk appetite statement
- Credit portfolio assessment and concentration risk analysis
- CBvS supervisory alignment and corrective action support
- Loan classification, IFRS 9 impairment methodology, and provisioning standards
- Commercial banks under CBvS supervision
- Credit unions and cooperative institutions under the CAFT framework
- Regulated investment structures with material credit exposure
- Institutions subject to supervisory corrective action or remediation
- Entities implementing IFRS 9 expected credit loss methodology for the first time
Risk advisory mandates are accepted subject to a preliminary diagnostic assessment. CB Advisors works with a select number of clients at any one time to maintain the depth of engagement each institution requires.
Credit frameworks
built to last.
CB Advisors accepts risk advisory mandates subject to a preliminary diagnostic.
Initial consultations are confidential and without obligation.