Platinum Risk Advisors announced the launch of Loan Portfolio Analytics (LPA), an outsourced solution to assist banks and credit unions in complying with the Current Expected Credit Loss (CECL) accounting standard.

Dubbed the “10-minute CECL Solution,” LPA brings the industry’s first fully outsourced analytics tool for adopting and complying with CECL that also provides its users with valuable insights into the inherent risk in their loan portfolios and the performance of their loan officers.

Issued in June 2016 by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), CECL is the new “expected loss” accounting model for estimating the Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses (ALLL) to replace the current “incurred loss” model. CECL compliance takes effect in 2020 for SEC-filing and other banks considered a Public Business Entity under FASB standards, and in 2021 for all other financial institutions.

LPA maps between the bank or credit union’s data processing system and PRA’s platform, enabling lenders to:

Calculate the ALLL using three widely accepted methods under CECL as well as the lender’s existing methodology. PRA’s clients can evaluate which method or combination of methods for calculating CECL works best for them.
Generate various reports and graphs to assess the inherent risk in their loan portfolios as well as the performance of their loan officers.
Obtain valuable insights from a team of CPAs, former bankers, actuaries, and risk management consultants. PRA’s clients will obtain verifiable evidence to support the subjective adjustments in their ALLL calculations as well as strategies on how to manage and price for risk within their loan portfolios.

“LPA is the ultimate loan portfolio risk management tool for lenders,” says co-founder Toby Lawrence. “To our knowledge, it is the first CECL solution developed using the assistance of actuaries and provides users with additional information on risk, growth and profitability as well as loan officer performance.” That’s a key point because as Lawrence explains, “with PRA’s solution, board of directors and senior management can finally have the information they have always wanted to strategically evaluate and manage their institution’s lending functions.”

As a CPA who was both a former senior partner in two of the nation’s largest certified public accounting firms, and a bank president and CEO, Lawrence knows first-hand how long and wide this industry gap has been, until now.

By understanding the concerns banks and credit unions would struggle with to implement and transition to CECL; the uncertainties surrounding what data is needed, what upgrades or new systems will be required and if existing internal staff will have the time to comply with CECL, served as the launch pad for the LPA platform versus the finish line to fully address the impact of CECL to each institution’s capital position and future earnings.