Loan Approval SA Track — Maple Trust Bank

Deliverable 1

Process Narrative — As-Is

Maple Trust Bank's current personal loan approval (CAD $5K–$50K) spans 7 steps and 6 roles, averaging 9–12 business days end-to-end. The process is manually intensive and paper-dependent.

👤

Customer

Submits application and supporting documents

🧑‍💼

Loan Officer

Branch intake, document review, data entry

📊

Underwriter

Credit assessment, risk scoring, recommendation

🏛️

Credit Bureau

External — credit report & score provider

⚖️

Compliance Officer

AML/KYC, sanctions screening, regulatory sign-off

🏢

Branch Manager

Final approval authority for loans > $25,000

Step 1 — Application Intake (Day 0)

Customer visits branch. Loan Officer completes a 12-page paper form and photocopies ID and pay stubs. Data is manually re-keyed into the core banking system (CBS).

Pain: Dual entry — 35 min/application, 8% transcription errors

Step 2 — Document Verification (Day 0–1)

LO physically checks for completeness. Missing items require a customer phone call and return visit.

Pain: 22% return-visit rate

Step 3 — Credit Bureau Pull (Day 1–2)

LO manually logs into bureau portal, keys applicant SIN and DOB, downloads PDF, emails to UW shared inbox. No API integration.

Pain: Manual lookup, mis-routed emails

Step 4 — Underwriting Review (Day 2–5)

Underwriter pulls next file from FIFO queue. DSR calculated in ad-hoc Excel sheet. Recommendation memo written manually. Queue depth averages 40 files.

Pain: 3-day median queue wait, inconsistent Excel models

Step 5 — Compliance Review (Day 5–7)

AML/KYC and sanctions screening — only triggered after Underwriting completes. Serial flow means Compliance rejections cause full rework.

Pain: 12% rework rate from late Compliance rejections

Step 6 — Branch Manager Sign-off (Day 7–8)

For loans > $25K, file is couriered to originating branch for wet-ink BM signature, then couriered back.

Pain: 1–2 day courier delay, pages occasionally lost

Step 7 — Disbursement (Day 8–12)

Customer returns to branch in person to sign loan agreement. Funds released upon completion.

Pain: 9% post-approval drop-off (customers never return)

Step 8 — Rejection

Rejected applicants receive a paper letter by mail within 10 business days. No adverse-action explanation provided in real time.

Pain: No real-time notice; potential regulatory exposure

Deliverable 2

As-Is BPMN — Current State

End-to-end process flow showing all pain points (red). Steps are serial; Compliance runs only after Underwriting completes.

flowchart TD Start([fa:fa-user Customer submits application]) --> LO1[LO: Paper form intake + photocopy IDs] LO1 --> LO2[/LO: Dual-entry into CBS/] LO2 --> LO3{Documents complete?} LO3 -- No --> LO4[Call customer, schedule return visit] LO4 --> LO1 LO3 -- Yes --> LO5[/LO: Manual login to Credit Bureau portal/] LO5 --> LO6[/Download PDF report, email to UW inbox/] LO6 --> UW1[UW: Pull next file from FIFO shared inbox] UW1 --> UW2[UW: Calculate DSR in Excel, write memo] UW2 --> UW3{Recommend approve?} UW3 -- No --> REJ1[Paper rejection letter mailed to customer] REJ1 --> EndR([End: Rejected]) UW3 -- Yes --> CO1[CO: AML / KYC / sanctions review] CO1 --> CO2{Compliance pass?} CO2 -- No --> REJ1 CO2 -- Yes --> AMT{Loan greater than $25K?} AMT -- No --> DISB1[Disbursement Clerk prepares agreement] AMT -- Yes --> BM1[Courier file to originating branch] BM1 --> BM2[BM: Wet-ink signature on paper] BM2 --> BM3[Courier file back to hub] BM3 --> DISB1 DISB1 --> DISB2[Customer returns to branch in person to sign] DISB2 --> DISB3{Customer signs?} DISB3 -- No --> EndD([End: Abandoned]) DISB3 -- Yes --> DISB4[Funds released to deposit account] DISB4 --> EndA([End: Disbursed]) style LO2 fill:#3d1a1a,stroke:#c0392b,color:#f85149 style LO4 fill:#3d1a1a,stroke:#c0392b,color:#f85149 style LO6 fill:#3d1a1a,stroke:#c0392b,color:#f85149 style UW1 fill:#3d1a1a,stroke:#c0392b,color:#f85149 style CO1 fill:#3d1a1a,stroke:#c0392b,color:#f85149 style BM1 fill:#3d1a1a,stroke:#c0392b,color:#f85149 style BM3 fill:#3d1a1a,stroke:#c0392b,color:#f85149 style DISB2 fill:#3d1a1a,stroke:#c0392b,color:#f85149 style REJ1 fill:#3d1a1a,stroke:#c0392b,color:#f85149

🔴 Red nodes = pain points identified in the gap analysis

Deliverable 3

Gap Analysis

12 gaps identified across 4 themes: integration absence, sequential bottlenecks, paper inertia, and customer experience.

ID	Gap	Type	Step	Severity	Root Cause
GAP-01	Dual paper + CBS data entry	Manual / data quality	Step 1	Medium	No digital intake channel
GAP-02	Missing docs only caught at branch	Rework	Step 2	Medium	No upfront validation logic
GAP-03	Manual credit bureau lookup	Integration gap	Step 3	High	No API integration
GAP-04	FIFO queue, no prioritization	Bottleneck	Step 4	High	No case management system
GAP-05	DSR calculated in ad-hoc Excel	Inconsistency / risk	Step 4	Medium	No standardized rules engine
GAP-06	Compliance is serial — after UW	Serialization bottleneck	Step 5	High	Sequential process design
GAP-07	Wet-ink BM signature, courier	Manual handoff / delay	Step 6	Medium	No e-signature workflow
GAP-08	Redundant approvals on small loans	Over-control	Steps 4–6	Low	Risk policy not tiered
GAP-09	In-person customer signing	CX / drop-off	Step 7	High	No remote ID verification
GAP-10	Rejection by paper mail only	CX / compliance	Step 8	Medium	No customer-facing portal
GAP-11	No real-time status for applicant	Transparency	All	Low	No applicant portal
GAP-12	No audit trail across paper handoffs	Compliance risk	All	High	Hybrid paper/digital trail

ID	Gap	Impact
GAP-03	Manual credit bureau lookup	15–20 min/file; mis-routed emails; PII via email
GAP-04	FIFO queue, no prioritization	3-day median queue wait; no SLA visibility
GAP-06	Compliance serial after UW	12% rework rate; adds 2–3 days when triggered
GAP-09	In-person customer signing	9% post-approval drop-off
GAP-12	No end-to-end audit trail	Regulatory exposure; difficulty proving timelines

ID	Gap	Impact
GAP-01	Dual data entry	8% transcription errors, 35 min/application
GAP-02	Missing docs caught late	22% return-visit rate, customer friction
GAP-05	Ad-hoc Excel DSR	Inconsistent risk decisions, audit weakness
GAP-07	Wet-ink BM signature	1–2 day courier delay, lost pages
GAP-10	Rejection by paper mail	Slow adverse-action notice, NPS impact

ID	Gap	Impact
GAP-08	Redundant approvals on small loans	Over-control adds days unnecessarily for <$15K
GAP-11	No real-time status visibility	Inbound call volume; NPS cost

Deliverable 4

To-Be BPMN — Redesigned Process

Redesigned flow with digital intake, automated credit scoring API, parallel UW + Compliance, tiered auto-approval, and digital e-signature.

❌ Before

Paper forms + dual CBS entry
Manual bureau PDF lookup
Serial UW → Compliance
Wet-ink courier for BM
In-person customer signing
Paper rejection letters
No audit trail

✅ After

Digital app + OCR extraction
Credit Bureau REST API
Parallel UW + Compliance
E-signature for BM approval
Remote ID verification + e-sign
Real-time adverse-action notice
Immutable append-only audit log

flowchart TD Start([fa:fa-mobile Customer: digital application via web or mobile]) --> SYS1[/System: real-time field validation + doc checklist/] SYS1 --> SYS2[/System: OCR extract ID and pay stub data/] SYS2 --> SYS3{Documents complete?} SYS3 -- No --> SYS4[/Auto-notify customer via SMS and email/] SYS4 --> SYS3 SYS3 -- Yes --> API1[/API: Credit Bureau REST call returns JSON score/] API1 --> RULES[/Rules engine: standardized DSR and risk score/] RULES --> TIER{Risk tier?} TIER -- Low risk up to 15K --> AUTO1[/System: auto-approve per policy/] AUTO1 --> ESIGN TIER -- Medium or High risk --> UW1 & CO1 UW1[UW: review case in workflow tool] --> JOIN((AND-join)) CO1[CO: AML and KYC and sanctions in workflow tool] --> JOIN JOIN --> DECIDE{Both approved?} DECIDE -- No --> REJ1[/System: real-time adverse-action notice via portal and email/] REJ1 --> EndR([End: Rejected with reason codes]) DECIDE -- Yes --> AMT{Loan greater than $25K?} AMT -- No --> ESIGN[/System: send e-sign package to customer/] AMT -- Yes --> BM1[BM: e-sign approval in workflow tool] BM1 --> ESIGN ESIGN --> CUST1[Customer: remote ID verification and e-sign] CUST1 --> SIGNED{Signed within SLA?} SIGNED -- No --> REMIND[/Auto-remind at 24h and 72h/] REMIND --> SIGNED SIGNED -- Yes --> DISB[/System: auto-disburse to deposit account/] DISB --> AUDIT[/System: write immutable audit trail entry/] AUDIT --> EndA([End: Disbursed]) style SYS1 fill:#122113,stroke:#238636,color:#3fb950 style SYS2 fill:#122113,stroke:#238636,color:#3fb950 style SYS4 fill:#122113,stroke:#238636,color:#3fb950 style API1 fill:#122113,stroke:#238636,color:#3fb950 style RULES fill:#122113,stroke:#238636,color:#3fb950 style AUTO1 fill:#122113,stroke:#238636,color:#3fb950 style REJ1 fill:#122113,stroke:#238636,color:#3fb950 style ESIGN fill:#122113,stroke:#238636,color:#3fb950 style DISB fill:#122113,stroke:#238636,color:#3fb950 style AUDIT fill:#122113,stroke:#238636,color:#3fb950 style REMIND fill:#122113,stroke:#238636,color:#3fb950

🟢 Green nodes = automated / system tasks. UW and CO run in parallel (AND-split → AND-join).

⚡ Credit Bureau API

Replaces manual portal login — score returned in <5 sec via REST call, no PII over email.

⚡ Parallel Review

AND-split sends file to UW and Compliance simultaneously — eliminates 2–3 day serial delay.

⚡ Tiered Auto-Approval

Loans ≤ $15K passing rules engine skip human review — zero queue wait for low-risk files.

⚡ Digital E-Signature

BM approves in workflow tool, customer signs remotely — courier delays and drop-off eliminated.

⚡ Immutable Audit Trail

Every state transition logged with actor, timestamp, and payload hash — regulator-ready.

⚡ Real-Time Notices

Adverse-action reasons delivered via portal and email within 60 seconds of decision.

Expected Outcomes

Metric	As-Is	To-Be Target
Median time-to-decision	7 business days	< 4 hours
Median time-to-disbursement	9–12 business days	< 2 business days
Manual rework rate	18%	< 5%
Post-approval drop-off	9%	< 2%
Late Compliance rejection rate	12%	< 3%

Deliverable 5

Requirements Traceability Matrix

Each gap maps to one or more system requirements (FR / NFR) and the To-Be BPMN element that realises it.

Gap	Req ID	Type	Requirement	BPMN Element
GAP-01	FR-01	FR	Digital application form writes directly to CBS — no rekeying	SYS1
GAP-01	FR-02	FR	OCR extracts data from ID and pay stubs and pre-populates application	SYS2
GAP-02	FR-03	FR	Document checklist enforced at submission — blocks until all mandatory artifacts uploaded	SYS1 → SYS3
GAP-03	FR-04	FR	Credit bureau integrated via REST API; score returned in <5 seconds	API1
GAP-03	NFR-01	NFR	Bureau payloads over TLS 1.3 mutual auth; no PII via email	API1
GAP-04	FR-05	FR	Case management tool with risk-weighted UW queue prioritization	UW1 (parallel)
GAP-05	FR-06	FR	DSR and risk score calculated via versioned centralized rules engine	RULES
GAP-05	NFR-02	NFR	All risk decision inputs/outputs persisted immutably for 7 years	AUDIT
GAP-06	FR-07	FR	Parallel UW + Compliance via AND-split; joined only when both decisions recorded	AND-split / AND-join
GAP-07	FR-08	FR	Qualified e-signature for Branch Manager approval	BM1
GAP-08	FR-09	FR	Auto-approve loans ≤ $15K passing rules engine without human review	TIER → AUTO1
GAP-09	FR-10	FR	Remote ID verification and customer e-signature compliant with PIPEDA	CUST1
GAP-09	FR-11	FR	Automated e-sign reminders at 24h and 72h post-issuance	REMIND
GAP-10	FR-12	FR	Adverse-action notice via portal + email within 60 sec of rejection, with reason codes	REJ1
GAP-11	FR-13	FR	Customer portal shows real-time application status and required actions	Portal (cross-cutting)
GAP-12	NFR-04	NFR	Immutable append-only audit log — every state transition with actor, timestamp, payload hash	AUDIT
All	NFR-05	NFR	95% of low-risk applications disbursed within 2 business days	Cross-cutting SLA
All	NFR-06	NFR	Customer-facing portal and APIs at 99.9% monthly availability	Cross-cutting

Loan Approval Process