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Is your PPP loan forgiveness process set up for success?

Here are 3 key considerations to assess your process.

5/19/2020
Is your PPP loan forgiveness process set up for success?

You’ve walked your customers though Paycheck Protection Program loan applications – now it’s time to pivot to loan forgiveness. But the process is complex and subject to change, and not all lenders are set up to manage those complexities and create an exceptional client experience. In fact, according to Crain’s New York Business, more than 20% of small businesses plan to switch banks after the PPP forgiveness process because they’re unhappy with their current experience.*

So how can you determine if your PPP loan forgiveness process is set up for success? Here are three key considerations for creating an exceptional customer experience.

Consideration 1

How are you addressing the influx of questions on loan forgiveness?

Possible paths

  1. We can quickly and accurately answer every question.
  2. We are trying to answer questions as they come in but don’t have a consistent system. 
  3. We have no formal structure for informing or educating customers.
How are you addressing the influx of questions on loan forgiveness?

What you can do

Keeping up with the latest news on PPP loan forgiveness is a full-time job. But for your customers, this is just one piece of managing their business. They are also dealing with an uncertain economy, how to reopen responsibly, and unstable supply chains. 

Not only are your customers overwhelmed, but many are not financial experts. They are looking to your organization as a trusted resource, and they expect you to have answers to their questions. 

Here's how you can improve your process to address customer questions quickly and accurately:

  1. Keep customers in the loop on requirements.
  2. Let them know about next steps and which documentation they should start assembling.
  3. Communicate any necessary adjustments along the way.

Consideration 2

How are you supporting your internal team’s review process?

Possible paths

  1. We have a structured review process.
  2. We have review control but no defined process. 
  3. We don’t have a review process.
How are you supporting your internal team’s review process?

What you can do

The key to achieving an exceptional customer experience is a strong foundation of internal process. Customers want to be able to rely on your team for accurate, relevant, and quick answers. That means you need to have a review process in place to disseminate real-time information in a way that’s easy to access. 

Here are some resources you can provide to improve internal team processes:

  1. A place to review and understand forgiveness amount determinations
  2. A guide to consistently address common forgiveness application issues
  3. A way to identify at-risk borrowers

Consideration 3

How are you set up to prepare for audits and support future inquiries?

Possible paths

  1. We have a centralized workflow process in place to capture our review steps and documentation retention built into our program that can support future inquiries.
  2. We have considered how to support future inquiries but have no centralized process, and we currently manage through disparate systems, including email.
  3. We haven’t considered how to handle future inquiries.
 
How are you set up to prepare for audits and support future inquiries?

What you can do

You’re currently focused on helping your customers through the loan forgiveness process, but you don’t want to lose sight of the potential for future inquiries. Whether you’re looking at an internal or external audit, you want to make sure you have what you need to handle it successfully.

Make sure your process is set up for future inquiries. Here are some key pieces for creating an auditable forgiveness process:

  1. Central hub to collect all required documents and to document review steps
  2. Controls for consistency of review and to mitigate the risks of inaccuracy or fraud
  3. Processes to support an audit trail of activities

* Aaron Elstein, “Millions of Businesses to Switch Banks After PPP Fiasco,” Crain’s New York Business, May 12, 2020.

Create an exceptional experience for your PPP customers and streamline your process with our new platform.
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Establishing a process can seem like a daunting task. The Crowe PPP Loan Forgiveness Platform for Lenders can help.

Our new PPP Loan Forgiveness Platform for Lenders can address the issues listed above, giving you a turnkey way to create an exceptional client experience throughout the PPP loan forgiveness process. One of the key features of this platform is specialized support through our consulting team. These specialists can help you customize a solution tailored to your organization.

Contact us

We also have deep expertise in government lending, process, risk management, compliance, and fraud. Contact us to find out more about how we put that expertise to work when it comes to PPP.
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Michael Budinger - Large
Michael Budinger
Principal, Financial Services Consulting
+1 216 623 7517
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Ronak Desai
Ronak Desai
+1 615 360 5591
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