Credit Risk Assessment Training Course

The SA Telecom Risk Ecosystem

• Explain how South African economic and socio-economic conditions can affect customer affordability, payment behaviour and credit risk.
• Apply the 5 C’s of Credit—character, capacity, capital, collateral and conditions—to consumer and SME applications in a telecom context.
• Balance responsible lending and NCA requirements with commercial objectives such as customer acquisition and sustainable portfolio growth.
• Identify how products such as postpaid services and handset financing can create different risk exposures.

Advanced Vetting & Bureau Analysis

• Interpret bureau information alongside internal payment history and KYC documentation to build a rounded applicant risk profile.
• Look beyond a bureau score to assess repayment patterns, existing obligations, adverse listings, enquiries and potential inconsistencies.
• Identify information gaps or conflicting evidence that may require verification, referral or further assessment.
• Apply POPIA principles when handling personal information and ensure decisions are based on relevant, appropriately used data. 

Financial Statement Analysis for SMEs

• Review key SME financial information to assess financial health, repayment capacity and potential warning signs.
• Interpret income, expenses, cash flow, assets and liabilities in the context of the business and its operating conditions.
• Apply the 5 C’s of Credit to SME applications, distinguishing business risk from the owner’s or guarantor’s personal profile where relevant.
• Recognise when financial information is incomplete or inconsistent and determine what additional evidence may be needed.

Excel Simulation

• Use an Excel-based scoring model to combine bureau data, internal payment history and KYC information into a structured assessment.
• Perform stress tests on consumer and SME accounts by changing relevant assumptions and observing their effect on risk outcomes.
• Compare possible decision outcomes and explain the evidence and assumptions behind a recommendation.
• Identify model limitations and use the results as decision support rather than as a substitute for informed judgment.

Ethical Decisioning & Appeals

• Make nuanced, evidence-based decisions rather than relying on a simple pass/fail outcome.
• Balance credit risk, affordability, fair treatment and commercial considerations within the NCA and POPIA framework.
• Explain decision rationales clearly and consistently, using relevant evidence and documented criteria.
• Review appeals objectively, address disputed or missing information, and identify when a case should be reconsidered or escalated.