Why Asian banks' credit functions should have minimal exposures

CIMB's Viegas says branches should focus solely on serving customers than dealing with lending decision.

Under normal circumstances, lending is a function of a centralized group. Do branches really need to have credit functions? Why or why not?

CIMB Bank: Renzo Viegas, Group Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Head of Consumer Banking
Some banks are exploring offering lending services in branches as branch-based credit functions can provide a more personalised lending decision for customers.

However, in the case of CIMB, our current credit model has delivered excellent results in terms of NPLs as well as delivering improved efficiencies. We also believe that it is important for our branches to focus solely on serving customers rather than dealing with lending decisions.

However, we do approve some products at branches. We will also introduce instant approvals and disbursements at branches and other customer touch points. This is mainly targeted for consumer products that have sophisticated scorecard engines and other interfaces to help credit decisions happen in a matter of minutes. 

RCBC: Ismael Sandig, Senior Executive Vice President - Retail Banking Group
In the interest of adapting to the demands of customers for speed in processing, branches must have credit functions but should have minimal exposures.