Commercial lending · Credit committee
Multi-workflowCommercial lendingPrepare the weekly credit committee pack automatically
Every week the committee secretary rebuilds the same pack from memos, spreadsheets and emails. Here is a setup where four workflows assemble it from the source systems and the secretary decides when it goes out.
Valnora & Elric team12 min read
- Team
- Commercial lending credit committee secretariat
- Manual steps today
- 6
- Build steps
- 10
- Review points
- 4
The problem
A commercial lending credit committee usually meets every week, and every week someone rebuilds the same pack: an agenda, a one-page summary for each deal, a list of policy exceptions and a view of the portfolio. Supervisors such as the EBA, in its guidelines on loan origination and monitoring, expect documented credit decision-making and ongoing monitoring, and the committee pack is where much of that record lives.
The work behind it is mostly assembly. The secretary chases RMs before the cutoff, collects memos and spreads by email, writes or edits summaries from 30-page memos, checks each deal against policy, rebuilds the portfolio slides from a warehouse export and sends the pack late the evening before. Members get little time to read it, and exceptions sometimes surface in the meeting.
How commercial lending credit committee secretariat works today
Today, done by hand · Commercial lending credit committee secretariat
- 01The secretary emails RMs before the cutoff to ask which deals are going to committee.
- 02Memos, spreads and rating sheets arrive by email in different formats and versions.
- 03The secretary or analysts write a one-page summary per deal from 30-page memos.
- 04Someone checks each deal against the credit policy by hand for exceptions.
- 05The portfolio section is rebuilt from a warehouse export into slides.
- 06The pack is compiled, checked and emailed, often late the evening before.
Where it breaks
- Papers arrive after the cutoff or missing spreads, and are sent back.
- Summaries vary by author, so members compare deals on different terms.
- Policy exceptions are sometimes found in the meeting rather than before it.
- Members get the pack with too little time to read it.
- Nobody can say which version of a memo the summary was written from.
In this illustrative scenario, a committee reviewing about eight deals a week spends around three hours per deal paper and ten secretary hours a week on the pack, and it takes about two working days from cutoff to issue.
What the change could be worth
A commercial lending credit committee that reviews about 8 deals a week, with one secretary assembling the pack.
| Assumption | Value |
|---|---|
| Deals reviewed a week | 8 deals |
| Hours per deal paper today | 3 h |
| Hours per deal paper with a drafted summary | 1 h |
| Secretary hours a week on the pack today | 10 h |
| Secretary hours a week with the workflows | 3 h |
| Loaded cost of an hour | 90 USD |
| Working hours from cutoff to pack today | 16 h |
| Working hours from cutoff to pack | 4 h |
| Papers sent back for missing items today | 20% |
| Papers sent back with the completeness check | 5% |
Modelled from the assumptions above to show how the outcome is calculated; not a customer result. Your results depend on your volumes and process.
The outcome you want
At the cutoff, the agenda builds itself. Each deal gets a one-page summary in the same template, with policy exceptions flagged and referenced. The portfolio section is current and compared with last week. The secretary reviews the assembled pack and releases it within a working day, and members read it with time to spare.
Acceptance criteria
- The agenda is built at the cutoff, with missing items flagged to the RM.
- Every deal has a one-page summary in the same template, citing the memo.
- Every policy exception is flagged with its policy reference before the pack goes out.
- The portfolio section is refreshed each week and compared with the previous week.
- The pack is released only by the secretary, within a working day of the cutoff.
The solution end to end
The setup is four workflows, a Relay, two rules and a dashboard, sharing an agenda table and a portfolio table.
Data sources and tables. Deals come from your loan origination system or CRM through a Salesforce or API block, and portfolio data from your warehouse through a Snowflake block. The "Committee agenda" table holds one row per deal with its request, grade, summary and policy values; the "Portfolio snapshot" table holds one row per measure per week.
Workflow 1, agenda at cutoff. A Schedule block runs at the paper deadline. The workflow reads deals marked for committee, a Condition block checks that the memo, rating sheet and spreads are attached, and a Table block writes the agenda. RMs with missing items get a Microsoft Teams message straight away, while there is still time to fix them.
Workflow 2, deal summaries. For every complete deal, Workflow 1 runs Workflow 2 inside a Loop using the Workflow block. It reads the memo with the File block, extracts the spreads tables with Reducto, searches the credit policy in the Knowledge Base for the sector and product limits, and drafts the one-page summary with an Agent block. Each figure cites the memo section it came from. A Table block writes the summary and the policy values back to the agenda row.
Rules. Two rules of type Flag (true / false) compare each deal with its limits: net debt to EBITDA above the sector limit and tenor above the product limit. The flags appear on the agenda and on the dashboard, with the policy reference in the summary.
Workflow 3, portfolio section. Every Monday morning, a Snowflake block reads exposure by grade and sector, watchlist names, covenant breaches and rating moves, and writes the week’s snapshot.
The dashboard. The committee dashboard shows the agenda, new exposure requested, exceptions and watchlist names, with exposure by grade compared with the previous period. Row-level access limits RMs to their own deals.
Workflow 4, pack and release. After the cutoff, an Agent block orders the agenda and writes the cover note, and the File block saves the pack to Files. A Human block then pauses the run. The secretary opens the paused execution, reviews the pack and chooses Release or Hold in the Resume Form. Only on Release does an Outlook block send the pack link to the committee list.
The Relay. A Relay called Pack readiness runs on a schedule the day before the cutoff, in Observe. It reads the pipeline and agenda tables and sends the secretary a short list of deals likely to miss the cutoff and what each is missing. It cannot write tables or email RMs, so the secretary decides who to chase.
Chat. Members and the secretary can ask Chat questions of the agenda table, such as which deals have a debt multiple exception this week.
From deal pipeline to a released committee pack
Workflow 1 · Agenda at cutoff
- 01Weekly at the cutoffA Schedule block runs at the paper deadline, for example Tuesday at 12:00.
- 02Deals ready for committeeA Salesforce or API block reads deals marked for committee in the origination system.
- 03Completeness checkA Condition block checks the memo, rating and financial spreads are attached.
- 04Committee agendaOne row per deal with status, and a Teams message to the RM for anything missing.
Workflow 2 · Deal summaries
- 05Read memo and spreadsFile and Reducto blocks extract text and tables from the memo and financial spreads.
- 06Check credit policyA Knowledge block searches the credit policy for the sector and product limits.
- 07Draft one-page summaryAn Agent block writes the summary in the committee’s template, citing the memo.
- 08Policy exception flagsRules flag deals where debt multiples, tenor or security fall outside policy.
Workflow 3 · Portfolio section
- 09Portfolio dataA Snowflake block reads exposures, watchlist names, covenant breaches and rating moves.
- 10Portfolio snapshotBatch Insert Rows writes this week’s snapshot for the dashboard.
- 11Committee dashboardAgenda, exposure by grade, exceptions and watchlist, compared with last week.
Workflow 4 · Pack and release
- 12Assemble the packOrders the agenda, writes the cover note and saves the pack with a File block.
- 13Secretary releasesA Human block pauses until the secretary chooses Release or Hold.
- 14Send to membersAn Outlook block sends the pack link to the committee list after release.
Relay · Pack readiness
- 15Day before the cutoffA scheduled responsibility reads the pipeline and agenda tables.
- 16Gaps list for the secretaryWhich deals are likely to miss the cutoff and what each one is missing.
Build it
Build the agenda table and Workflow 1 first and run them for a week; the rest depends on a reliable agenda.
Configure it step by step
- 01
Create the agenda table
Tables → New table
- Table "Committee agenda": Deal ID (Text), Borrower (Text), RM (Text), Request (Text), Amount (Currency), Grade (Number), Status (Select).
- Add Debt to EBITDA (Number), Debt multiple limit (Number), Tenor years (Number), Tenor limit (Number), Summary (Text), Memo file (Text).
- 02
Load the credit policy
Knowledge → New knowledge base
- Name: "Credit policy". Upload Documents: credit policy, sector limits, summary template.
- New connector: SharePoint for the policy folder, Sync Frequency: Weekly.
- 03
Build Workflow 1, agenda at cutoff
Workflow builder → Schedule block
- Run frequency: Weekly. Day of week: Tuesday. Time: 12:00.
- Salesforce or API block: deals at stage "Ready for committee".
- Condition block: memo, rating sheet and spreads all present. Table block, Upsert Row into "Committee agenda".
- Microsoft Teams block: tell the RM what is missing for any incomplete deal. Deploy.
- 04
Build Workflow 2, deal summaries
Workflow builder → Start block
- Input: one agenda row. File block, Read the memo; Reducto block extracts the spreads tables.
- Knowledge block, Search: limits for the deal’s sector and product.
- Agent block: one-page summary in the committee template; cite the memo section for each figure.
- Table block, Update Row by ID: Summary, Debt to EBITDA, limits. Deploy.
- 05
Call Workflow 2 for every complete deal
Workflow 1 → Loop block
- Loop over complete agenda rows from Workflow 1.
- Inside the Loop, a Workflow block runs Workflow 2 for the row.
- 06
Add the policy exception rules
Rules → New rule
- Rule type: Flag (true / false). Name: "Debt multiple exception". Condition: Debt to EBITDA is greater than Debt multiple limit.
- Second flag: "Tenor exception". Condition: Tenor years is greater than Tenor limit. Create rule.
- 07
Build Workflow 3, portfolio section
Workflow builder → Schedule block
- Run frequency: Weekly. Day of week: Monday. Time: 07:00.
- Snowflake block: exposure by grade and sector, watchlist names, covenant breaches, rating moves.
- Table block, Batch Insert Rows into "Portfolio snapshot" with the week date. Deploy.
- 08
Build the committee dashboard
Dashboards → New dashboard
- KPI cards: deals on agenda, new exposure requested, policy exceptions, watchlist names.
- Bar chart: exposure by rating grade with Compare with: Previous period. Table: the agenda with status.
- Share → Share access: the committee team. Settings → Row security → Add policy so RMs see only their own deals.
- 09
Build Workflow 4, pack and release
Workflow builder → Schedule block
- Run frequency: Weekly. Day of week: Tuesday. Time: 16:00. Table block, Query Rows: this week’s agenda.
- Agent block: order the agenda and write the cover note. File block, Write: save the pack to Files.
- Human block: Display Data shows the pack link and exceptions; Resume Form has Decision (Release / Hold) and Notes.
- Condition on Decision, then an Outlook block sends the pack link to the committee list. Deploy.
- 10
Create the readiness Relay
Relays → New Relay
- Specialization: Custom. Name: "Pack readiness". Create draft.
- Instructions: list deals likely to miss the cutoff and what each is missing. Do not contact RMs directly.
- Other resources: Committee agenda (Table) and the pipeline table. Tools in conversations: Query tables.
- New responsibility → On a schedule → Cron expression for Mondays at 15:00. Autonomy: Observe. Publish.
What it produces
One deal moving through the setup: the record in the origination system, the summary Workflow 2 drafts, and what the secretary sees at the release step.
What the solution produces
Deal in the origination system (illustrative)
Record- Borrower
- Northbank Logistics Ltd · sector: transport and logistics
- Request
- $42m five-year term loan to refinance and fund 60 new vehicles
- Attachments
- Credit memo (31 pages), financial spreads, rating sheet
- Stage
- Ready for committee
One-page deal summary (illustrative)
MemoRequest: $42m five-year amortising term loan; refinances $25m and funds fleet expansion.
Grade 4, unchanged. Net debt to EBITDA 3.8x at close, falling to 3.1x by year 3 in the base case (memo, section 5).
Key risks: fuel cost pass-through, concentration in two customers (41% of revenue).
Mitigants: first charge over the fleet, two-year contracts with both main customers.
Policy exception: net debt to EBITDA 3.8x against a sector limit of 3.5x (credit policy, transport section).
Proposed conditions: net debt to EBITDA covenant at 4.0x stepping down to 3.25x; annual fleet valuation.
Release step for the secretary (illustrative)
Checklist- Agenda: 9 deals, ordered by request size; 2 deferred to next week for missing spreads.
- Exceptions: 3 flagged, each with its policy reference.
- Portfolio section: refreshed Monday 07:00; 1 new watchlist name.
- Decision: Release or Hold, with notes.
Where people stay in charge
Where people stay in charge
- Gate 1Credit risk approves which policy limits the exception rules check, and the limit values.
- Gate 2Each RM sees their deal’s summary on the agenda row and corrects it before the pack is built.
- Gate 3The secretary reviews the assembled pack and chooses Release or Hold in the Human step.
- Gate 4The committee makes every credit decision; summaries and flags only inform it.
The dashboard
Credit committee, this week (illustrative)
Agenda
| Borrower | Request | Grade | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northbank Logistics | $42m term loan | 4 | Exception |
| Harlow Foods | $18m RCF renewal | 3 | Complete |
| Meridian Clinics | $27m acquisition | 5 | Exception |
| Calder Steel | $9m covenant waiver | 6 | Complete |
Controls and audit
Each workflow runs from a deployed version, so changes to the summary prompt or the rules are reviewed before they reach a live pack. Every run records each block’s inputs, outputs and errors in Logs, which answers the question of which memo version a summary came from. The Human step records who released each pack and when, and Relay activity is written to the audit log. Row-level policies limit what RMs see, roles and permission groups control who can edit the workflows, and sign-in runs through SSO with SCIM provisioning. Self-hosting keeps credit data inside your environment. Zero data retention is available with supported model providers using your own keys or self-hosted models. Some provider features keep data on the provider’s side by design, such as Gemini Deep Research, so they are outside zero data retention.
Controls and governance
Run logs
Every workflow run records each block’s inputs, outputs and errors, so a reviewer can trace how a result was reached.
Audit trail
Proposals, approvals, declines and executed actions are written to the workspace audit log, which admins can export.
Deployed versions
Workflows run from a deployed version, so a change is reviewed before it reaches production runs.
Row-level access
Row-level policies narrow what each person sees in tables, dashboards, exports and scheduled reports.
Roles and permission groups
Admin, write and read roles per workspace, plus permission groups that limit which models, blocks and integrations a team can use.
SSO and SCIM
Sign in through your identity provider with SAML 2.0 or OIDC, and provision people with SCIM.
Self-hosting
Run Agent Serve in your own cloud or data centre, next to the systems it reads.
Zero data retention
Zero data retention with supported model providers, backed by your own provider keys and agreements or self-hosted models. Some provider features keep data by design, such as Gemini Deep Research, so they are outside zero data retention.
More on how Agent Serve handles access, data and audit on the security page.
Roll it out
Shadow the manual pack for three weeks before anything is released from the workflow. Track hours from cutoff to issue, papers sent back for missing items and exceptions found before the meeting on the dashboard, so the committee can judge the change.
Pilot, measure, expand
- Weeks 1–3
Shadow pack
- Run Workflows 1 and 2 in parallel with the manual pack.
- Compare summaries and exception flags with what the secretary produced.
Done when: Summaries need only light edits and no exception is missed for two weeks running.
- Weeks 4–5
Portfolio and dashboard
- Add Workflow 3 and the committee dashboard.
- Retire the portfolio slides once members are content with the dashboard.
Done when: The committee reviews the portfolio section from the dashboard.
- Weeks 6–8
Release through the workflow
- Switch on Workflow 4 with the Human release step.
- Add the readiness Relay the day before the cutoff.
Done when: The pack is released from the workflow every week, within a working day of the cutoff.
| Risk | How to handle it |
|---|---|
| A summary misstates a figure from the memo. | Every figure cites a memo section, the RM checks the summary before the cutoff, and the secretary reviews before release. |
| Policy limits in the rules drift from the policy document. | Store limits as table columns owned by credit risk, and review them when the policy changes. |
| Extraction from scanned spreads is incomplete. | Flag low-confidence extractions on the agenda row and ask for native spreadsheets where possible. |
| Members treat flags as decisions. | The template labels flags as checks against policy and keeps the officer’s recommendation in its own section. |
Timings are an illustrative plan, not a commitment; your pilot sets the pace.
Before you start
What you need
- Read access to the loan origination system or CRM where deals are marked for committee
- Read access to the portfolio data, for example in Snowflake or another warehouse
- Your credit policy and sector limits, as documents for the Knowledge Base
- The committee’s one-page summary template and pack order
- The paper cutoff day and time, and the committee distribution list
- A named committee secretary, plus a deputy, to release the pack
- Agreement from credit risk on which policy limits the rules should check
Questions teams ask
Questions teams ask
Does the setup make or recommend credit decisions?
No. It summarises the memo the credit officer wrote and flags where a deal sits outside policy. The recommendation stays in the memo and the decision stays with the committee.
What stops a summary misstating the memo?
The Agent block is told to cite the memo section for every figure, the RM sees the summary on the agenda row before the cutoff, and the secretary reviews the pack before release. Every run is traced in Logs.
Can the pack go out without the secretary?
No. Workflow 4 pauses at a Human block, and the Outlook step runs only after the secretary chooses Release in the Resume Form.
Why is the readiness check a Relay and not a workflow?
Judging which deals are likely to slip, and why, reads better as a short briefing than as a status table. The Relay reads the tables and reports to the secretary; it cannot change them.
Can members ask questions of the agenda?
Yes. Chat can query tables, so a member can ask which deals on this week’s agenda have a debt multiple exception. Row-level access still applies.
Related reading: drafting commercial credit memos and loan pricing scenarios. Request access to try it on your own committee pack.