Banking Process Improvement & Digital Transformation Case Study
Situation
A mid-market publicly traded bank struggled with operational inefficiencies and declining customer satisfaction in its underwriting, issuance, and onboarding of new consumer credit cards. Paper-based workflows, manual credit verifications, and backlogs slowed customer acquisition and damaged the bank’s reputation.
Task
My team was assigned to evaluate, optimize, and digitize the underwriting and onboarding processes. The bank required:
Automated workflows to reduce processing time.
Seamless credit bureau integrations for faster underwriting decision-making.
Enhanced reporting & analytics to improve operational oversight.
Stronger data security to protect sensitive customer PII.
Actions Taken
Conducted process assessments with frontline teams to identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies.
Redesigned and mapped future-state workflows, streamlining underwriting and onboarding.
Developed a business case with ROI projections, securing C-suite approval and funding.
Implemented digital workflow automation, integrating with credit agencies to eliminate manual verifications.
Led change management and training for a team of ~50 credit card specialists to ensure adoption.
Results
Underwriting review cycle reduced from 5 days to same-day processing (an 80% improvement).
Automated credit verifications eliminated manual reviews, accelerating approvals.
Enhanced reporting & analytics enabled proactive decision-making and improved operational oversight.
Strengthened data security, implementing Active Directory authentication to mitigate risks surrounding access to customer PII.
Key Takeaways & Lessons Learned
Pilot first – Conduct a proof of concept to validate new processes and refine approaches before full-scale implementation.
Measure & showcase success – Document before-and-after metrics, ROI, and impact to reinforce team achievements, build credibility, and drive organizational momentum.
Baseline data is critical – Capture accurate pre-implementation benchmarks to effectively communicate success and demonstrate improvement.
