Problem Loans and the Coronavirus: 5 Strategies That Lenders Can Implement Today

Forbearance is a common first step toward foreclosure, but the process does not have to end that way. In this whitepaper, we will discuss five simple, proactive strategies that lenders can implement – even during a forbearance period — to ensure as many customers survive and return to financial health as possible.

Our discussion is intended for less complex, smaller lenders (private, regulated depository institutions with loan books under $350M) who are worried about providing personal and prudent service in the face of the volume and scale of likely pressures without access to the resources of larger financial institutions and public entities. Our guidance addresses options for working with customers in light of regulatory scrutiny and should be applicable regardless of which shock, or which stage of that shock, a lender is responding to coronavirus, energy, or various downstream effects.