5 Cs of Credit Applied to an Indian MSME File
Read an Indian MSME file through the 5 Cs: character, capacity, capital, collateral and conditions, with a worked DSCR example and RBI paragraph references.
All articles
Every CreditBrief article on credit and underwriting in India, newest first.
Foundations Terms ABB in banking: meaning and how it is read
ABB is average bank balance. Credit teams use it to judge whether an account's usual balance can carry a proposed EMI.
Change tracker Bank compliance function directions 2026: a credit team view
RBI's 2026 compliance function directions for commercial banks: who is covered, what the text requires, and where it touches credit teams.
Early warning Bank credit sector mix: how to read it for early warning
Read RBI's sectoral credit data for early warning: compute sector shares, find what drives growth, compare your book, and decide what to review.
Appraisal how-tos Bank statement analysis for loan: ABB, bounces and EMI to ABB
Bank statement analysis for a loan, step by step: account type first, then ABB, bounces split by cause, EMI to ABB and fit with the stated business.
Interview questions Bank statement analysis interview questions with bureau checks
25 bank statement analysis interview questions with model answers, covering bureau reports, for unsecured MSME credit roles in India.
Appraisal how-tos Credit appraisal memorandum format: how to structure a CAM
Section-by-section credit appraisal memorandum format for MSME term loans and LAP, with what good looks like and RBI references for commercial banks.
Early warning Credit bureau early warning: what updates can and cannot show
How to run credit bureau early warning checks for MSME and mid-corporate loans, using RBI's NBFC reporting cycle, and what bureau updates cannot show.
Interview questions Credit manager interview questions and answers: first 25
25 credit manager interview questions with answers on financials, bureau, banking and property, tied to RBI's Credit Risk Management Directions, 2025.
Foundations Credit scoring basics: bureau, application, behavioural scores
Bureau, application and behavioural scores answer different questions at different stages. How each works and how to read them together.
Terms DPD in a bureau report: meaning
DPD means days past due: how many days a payment was late at the time it was reported. A bureau report shows it month by month.
Terms Drawing power in banking: meaning and calculation
Drawing power in banking: the amount a borrower can draw on a working capital limit, based on current assets less margin. Calculation and RBI treatment.
Foundations DSCR explained for underwriters, with a worked example
How to calculate DSCR, where a good-looking ratio can mislead, and what to check before you trust it.
Terms DSCR: meaning, full form and formula
DSCR is the debt service coverage ratio. It compares the cash a business generates with the interest and principal it must pay.
Early warning Fraud early warning signals under RBI 2026: working an alert
How commercial banks work an EWS alert to a red-flag decision under RBI's 2026 fraud directions, with the CRILC, show cause and 180-day timelines.
Terms FOIR: meaning, full form and formula
FOIR is the fixed obligation to income ratio: the share of monthly income already committed to EMIs and other fixed payments.
Norms by product Gold loan LTV RBI norms: caps and collateral rules for NBFCs
Gold loan LTV caps under RBI's NBFC Credit Facilities Directions, 2025: 85, 80 or 75 per cent by total consumption loan per borrower.
Norms by product HFC provisioning norms: asset classes and rates (2025)
HFC provisioning rates under RBI's 2025 Directions: 0.25% to 2% on standard assets outside Upper Layer, 15% sub-standard, 25% to 100% doubtful, 100% loss.
Change tracker NBFC Internal Ombudsman Directions 2026: What Credit Teams Need
The RBI's 2026 NBFC Internal Ombudsman Directions: who is covered, the 20-day and 30-day complaint clocks, and what it means for credit teams.
Directions decoded IRAC norms RBI 2026: which direction applies to whom
RBI's 2025 IRAC direction covers commercial banks, not small finance, payments or local area banks. What it says on NPAs, provisions and income.
Foundations ISCR and FCCR meaning: interest and fixed charge cover explained
ISCR tests whether earnings cover interest. FCCR adds lease rentals and scheduled principal. Formulas and how to read both in Indian appraisal.
Appraisal how-tos LAP Loan Credit Appraisal: Income, Collateral and End Use
How to appraise a LAP file in India: reconcile income, test title and value, trace end use, then size the loan to the weakest of the three.
Terms MPBF: full form and what it measures
MPBF is maximum permissible bank finance, the working capital limit method from the Tandon Committee's 1975 report.
Interview questions MSME credit interview questions: first 25, with model answers
25 MSME credit interview questions on unsecured business loans, with model answers, made-up worked cases and RBI rules for commercial banks.
Appraisal how-tos MSME loan underwriting: common errors in unsecured cases
A checklist of MSME loan underwriting errors in unsecured cases: cash flow, hidden debt, Udyam classification, collateral limits and RBI timelines.
Change tracker NBFC internal audit directions 2026: a guide for credit teams
RBI's 2026 internal audit directions for deposit-taking and larger NBFCs and HFCs: scope, key rules and what credit teams should expect.
Norms by product NBFC-MFI Directions 2025: key norms and sanction checks
RBI's NBFC-MFI Directions, 2025: minimum 60 percent qualifying assets, 15 percent capital adequacy, 90-day NPA test, provision norms and sanction checks.
Directions decoded NBFC Responsible Business Conduct Directions for MSME Loans
What RBI's 2025 NBFC Responsible Business Conduct Directions require at sanction and disbursal on MSME and mid corporate loans: KFS, charges, prepayment.
Norms by product NBFC securitisation directions: key limits and tests in tables
RBI's NBFC securitisation directions in tables: retention, the 20 per cent cap, ineligible pools, credit enhancement resets, STC tests and timelines.
Early warning Out of Order Cash Credit Signals: How to Track Them
How to test cash credit accounts against RBI's three out-of-order conditions, count days to 90 and act before NPA classification.
Early warning How to run a portfolio concentration review for early warning
How to test borrower, connected-group and sector exposure against limits and headroom, so concentration shows before a limit is breached.
Change tracker RBI fraud risk management directions for NBFCs, 2026: decoded
The RBI fraud risk management directions for NBFCs, 2026, decoded: coverage, 21-day notice, 14-day FMR deadline, EWS duties, five-year debarment.
Norms by product RBI MSME lending norms: what the Master Direction asks of banks
RBI MSME lending norms for scheduled commercial banks: collateral, credit decision timelines, composite loans and monitoring, as updated February 2026.
Interview questions 25 RBI norms interview questions for credit roles, answered
25 RBI norms interview questions for bank credit roles, with answers from the Credit Risk Management Directions, 2025, updated as on October 01, 2026.
Change tracker RBI standardised approach credit risk 2026: underwriter guide
RBI's 2026 Directions set credit risk weights for commercial banks from April 1, 2027. What they mean for MSME, home and personal loan underwriters.
Appraisal how-tos Site visit report for loan: how to write one well
Site visit report for loan: separate what you saw from what you were told, test the file, and show what changes the credit decision.
Early warning SMA early warning signals: how to read movement on your book
Read SMA movement as an early warning: build a month-end transition table, track roll and cure rates, and escalate on direction, not the SMA total.
Appraisal how-tos Stock statement drawing power: how to read and work it out
Test a stock statement line by line, strip out ineligible assets, work out drawing power and spot when a cash credit account turns irregular.