Alterest’s ability to digitize any bespoke deal terms means that the bank is always putting its clients’ needs at the forefront while also operating on a modern, future-proof infrastructure capable of serving wider areas with the bank.
About
A leading bank with a rich history of over 70 years of providing innovative financial services deployed Alterest to digitize their entire receivables finance operations, to automate, and modernize borrowing base data exchange from borrowing lenders, eliminate Excel spreadsheets, perform follow-on analytics including look-throughs for regulatory-related computations.
Challenge
The bank, like many in the industry, was running a multi-billion dollar structured finance operation on spreadsheets. This did not enable them to scale at the pace required due to natural hurdles in establishing robust processes using Excel files. Auditing and implementing the maker-checker policy were nearly impossible. Data from all portfolios were fragmented and spread across numerous spreadsheets. Connectivity to accounting and finance data was missing which created difficulties in accurate waterfall computations.
Solution
Elimination of Losses due to Spreadsheet Risk
Complicated models were created on a deal-by-deal basis on Excel sheets. Amendments to deals meant changes to the initially created spreadsheet. Drawdowns and waterfall computations were also captured within the sheets. Modeling mistakes and human errors sometimes meant credit facilities were not used optimally which lead to the accumulation of lost revenue for the bank.
The bank was able to migrate 40+ structured finance transactions onto the Alterest platform where the code beneath the models is version controlled. Dashboards and workflows using these models enabled a robust process for creating and managing these transactions without leaking revenue.
Improved Client Experience
Spreadsheets were emailed to bank’s clients, asking them to fill up all required data. This was an outdated workflow that bank was keen to replace. Alterest’s shared workflow feature provided portals for the bank’s clients which increased client experience by 10 times. Clients were also able to automate data delivery via SFTP connectors which meant automation and real-time monitoring for the bank.
Scaling Structured Finance Operations
Deal term-sheet templates were digitized onto the Alterest platform. This set up the bank to assess new deals rapidly and provide funding decisions to clients in a timely manner. Data standardisation and centralisation enabled cross-portfolio analytics and loan-level look-through monitoring in an automated fashion. Centralising workflows and data on Alterest’s analytical engine has also opened up several possibilities including cross-portfolio comparison, benchmarking and proactive fraud detection for the bank.
Robust Internal Processes, CRR (Capital Requirement Regulation)
Workflow features on Alterest meant that 4-eyes (maker-checker) policies were implemented on each deal. Neat sequential workflows meant that each team involved in the upkeep of transactions had a way to hand over the process efficiently down the chain, thereby increasing the decision time to approve ongoing drawdown requests from clients and improving client experience. Look-through monitoring provided an effortless way to comply with regulations such as CRR.
White Glove Quantitative Support
Alterest’s dedicated customer support augments the platform’s rich capabilities with a domain-specific support team which proactively collaborates with the fund to expand the applicability of the platform within its business and ensure customer success. The Alterest support team were able to interpret complicated Excel spreadsheet models (no matter how large) and either migrate or train users to migrate them into Alterest.
Key improvements
- 20+ hours saved per user per month through digitized workflows
- Eliminated revenue leak due to spreadsheet errors
- 10x improved client experience through dedicated portals
- Enhanced regulatory posture and CRR compliance
