SME Banking Strategy Training Course

Participants can assess market opportunity and define a defensible SME banking position.

• TAM, SAM and SOM estimates for priority SME customer markets
• PESTLE analysis of regulation, inflation, trade conditions and business formation
• Porter's Five Forces applied to local SME financial-services competition
• Competitor benchmarking across products, pricing, channels, approval speed and service
• Strategic position choices: relationship bank, specialist lender, digital challenger
• Market-entry hypotheses tested against customer demand and internal capabilities

Participants can create actionable SME segments using needs, value and risk criteria.

• Firmographics: turnover, employees, legal form, age and ownership structure
• Needs-based segmentation using lifecycle, sector, trading model and financial behaviour
• Behavioural signals from transaction patterns, product use and channel preference
• Risk-adjusted segment value combining revenue potential, costs and expected losses
• Sector heatmaps identifying cyclicality, collateral availability and supply-chain dependencies
• Segment prioritisation matrices balancing attractiveness, accessibility and strategic fit

Participants can design segment-specific SME propositions with clear customer and bank value.

• Jobs-to-be-Done interviews identifying operational, financing and growth requirements
• Value proposition canvases linking customer pains, gains and banking solutions
• Bundled propositions combining accounts, payments, lending, insurance and trade services
• Lifecycle offers for start-ups, growth firms, exporters and established businesses
• Service promises defined through turnaround times, access and resolution standards
• Proposition proof points supported by product features, pricing and evidence

Participants can select effective coverage models across relationship, branch and digital channels.

• Coverage archetypes: dedicated managers, pooled teams, branches and digital service
• Relationship-manager capacity calculated from portfolio size, contact frequency and complexity
• Tiered service models matching customer value, risk and advisory needs
• Omnichannel journey mapping from acquisition through servicing, renewal and retention
• Referral rules between branches, specialists, credit teams and product partners
• Service-level agreements for onboarding, credit decisions, complaints and escalations

Participants can build a disciplined SME acquisition approach with measurable conversion economics.

• Ideal customer profiles defined through segment economics, needs and risk appetite
• Lead-source analysis covering referrals, branches, digital campaigns and ecosystem partners
• Sales funnel metrics from prospecting through onboarding, activation and first lending
• Consultative selling using SPIN questioning and financial-needs discovery
• Account-opening triggers identified from payroll, payments, tax and trade events
• Acquisition scorecards combining conversion, product penetration, cost and early delinquency

Participants can analyse SME financial statements and identify lending-relevant strengths and weaknesses.

• Income statement analysis of margins, operating costs and earnings quality
• Balance-sheet assessment covering liquidity, leverage, working capital and net worth
• Cash-flow statement interpretation using operating, investing and financing movements
• Ratio analysis: DSCR, current ratio, leverage ratio and inventory days
• Normalising owner compensation, non-recurring income and related-party transactions
• Management-account reliability assessed through reconciliations, trends and external evidence

Participants can structure SME lending decisions around sustainable cash generation and operating cycles.

• 13-week rolling cash forecast built from receipts, payroll and supplier data
• Cash conversion cycle analysis using receivables, inventory and payable days
• Borrowing-base calculations for receivables, inventory and eligible collateral
• Working-capital facility structures: overdrafts, revolving credits and invoice finance
• Debt-service capacity tested through downside revenue, margin and collection scenarios
• Covenant design using liquidity, leverage, DSCR and information undertakings

Participants can produce consistent SME credit recommendations using structured underwriting criteria.

• Five Cs of Credit applied to SME borrower assessment
• Credit memoranda structured around purpose, repayment, risks, mitigants and recommendation
• Internal risk-rating factors covering financials, management, industry and conduct
• Security analysis of guarantees, charges, pledges and collateral enforceability
• Conditions precedent and subsequent aligned with identified underwriting risks
• Delegated authorities matched to exposure, rating, tenor and policy exceptions

Participants can price SME relationships using funding, capital, cost and credit-risk drivers.

• Risk-adjusted return on capital calculated for SME lending decisions
• Funds transfer pricing applied to term loans, overdrafts and deposits
• Expected loss components: probability of default, loss given default, exposure
• Activity-based costing assigned to onboarding, servicing, collections and channels
• Minimum pricing floors established from capital, funding, operating costs and losses
• Relationship pricing considers lending spreads, fee income, deposits and wallet share

Participants can monitor SME portfolio quality and connect credit trends to expected credit loss.

• Portfolio segmentation by sector, geography, product, rating and maturity
• Concentration limits set for industries, obligors, collateral and connected groups
• Vintage analysis tracks origination cohorts, delinquency migration and loss emergence
• IFRS 9 staging distinguishes performing, underperforming and credit-impaired exposures
• Expected credit loss drivers linked to PD, LGD, EAD and scenarios
• Portfolio review packs combine growth, yield, arrears, provisions and concentrations

Participants can identify deteriorating SME exposures and select proportionate intervention actions.

• Early-warning indicators from arrears, account turnover, covenants and external events
• Watchlist criteria define escalation thresholds, review frequency and accountable owners
• Collections strategies differentiate temporary distress from structural repayment incapacity
• Forbearance options assessed through affordability, viability and policy requirements
• Remedial action plans address cash preservation, restructuring and collateral recovery
• Root-cause analysis feeds delinquency lessons into underwriting and portfolio policy

Participants can match SME payment and liquidity solutions to operating and revenue needs.

• Transaction banking needs mapped across collections, payments, payroll and reconciliation
• Cash-management propositions for domestic suppliers, distributors and recurring collections
• Merchant acquiring economics assessed through volumes, fees, chargebacks and retention
• Virtual accounts improve receivables identification and automated reconciliation processes
• Payment-data insights identify cross-sell opportunities and customer financial stress
• Liquidity solutions connect operating balances, sweep accounts and short-term deposits

Participants can identify trade and supply-chain finance opportunities while managing documentary risks.

• Trade-cycle mapping from purchase order through shipment, invoicing and final payment
• Letters of credit assessed for documentary requirements, bank obligations and discrepancies
• Documentary collections compared with open-account trade and advance payment
• Bank guarantees and standby letters structured around contractual performance risks
• Supply-chain finance links approved invoices, buyer credit quality and supplier liquidity
• Sanctions screening and anti-money laundering controls within trade transactions

Participants can prioritise digital SME journeys and data applications that improve service and control.

• Digital onboarding journeys map identity verification, ownership checks and account activation
• Know Your Customer requirements applied to beneficial ownership and source-of-funds evidence
• Straight-through processing identifies automation opportunities within SME service workflows
• Open banking data supports affordability analysis, cash-flow insights and proposition targeting
• Credit-decision engines combine policy rules, risk scores and human referrals
• Digital adoption metrics track activation, self-service use, abandonment and satisfaction

Participants can improve SME customer experience through journey redesign and retention management.

• Customer journey maps identify friction across onboarding, borrowing, servicing and complaints
• Moments of truth prioritised using customer effort, value and operational failure
• Net Promoter Score analysed alongside complaints, churn and relationship profitability
• Service recovery protocols define ownership, response times and root-cause actions
• Retention triggers identify declining balances, reduced activity and competitor switching
• Voice-of-customer governance connects feedback themes to product and process improvements

Participants can embed conduct, financial-crime and operational-risk controls into SME banking design.

• Treating Customers Fairly principles applied to SME sales and servicing
• Product governance defines target market, exclusions, testing and periodic review
• Anti-money laundering risk assessment considers ownership, transactions and geography
• Sanctions controls address screening, escalation, documentation and payment holds
• Operational risk and control self-assessment identifies process failures and mitigants
• Complaint trend analysis identifies conduct risks, control gaps and remediation priorities

Participants can design an operating model that links strategic priorities to accountable delivery teams.

• Target operating model defines capabilities, processes, governance, people and technology
• RACI matrices assign ownership across sales, credit, operations, risk and finance
• Process mapping identifies handoffs, rework, controls and service bottlenecks
• Centralisation decisions compare scale benefits, expertise needs and customer proximity
• Workforce planning matches relationship-manager skills with segment and product priorities
• Third-party risk controls govern fintech, broker, data and service-provider relationships

Participants can convert an SME banking strategy into measurable priorities, governance and phased delivery.

• Balanced Scorecard measures financial, customer, process and capability outcomes
• KPI trees link strategic objectives to leading indicators and accountable owners
• OKRs translate priorities into measurable quarterly delivery commitments
• Initiative prioritisation uses value, feasibility, risk, dependency and resource criteria
• Benefits realisation plans define baselines, targets, evidence and review cadence
• Implementation roadmaps sequence quick wins, foundations, pilots and scaled deployment

Participants can build, review and present a complete SME banking strategy and solutions blueprint for executive approval.

• Market diagnosis integrates segment demand, competition, economics and strategic constraints
• Priority segments selected using attractiveness, risk appetite and delivery capability
• Value proposition specifies products, service model, channels and differentiating proof points
• Credit and portfolio framework defines underwriting, pricing, limits and early warnings
• Operating model assigns capabilities, governance, KPIs and implementation accountabilities
• Executive presentation defends strategic choices, financial logic, risks and milestones