Challange 

We worked with a bank’s division specialising in loans for small and medium-sized property investors. The bank faced a significant challenge in increasing the number of issued loans. Despite the efforts of their sales team to provide leads, many applicants were dropping out in the middle of the application process. An internal review showed that 60% of new applicants had secured loans with competitors while waiting for a decision from the bank.

Customer feedback revealed that the lengthy loan approval process, averaging 10 days compared to 5 days with competitors, was a critical pain point. This was particularly concerning for the bank’s target customers—small and medium-sized professional landlords—who often needed quick decisions to capitalise on opportunities, such as property auctions.

Approach

We initiated a comprehensive review of the bank’s loan approval process. Our first step was analyzing Voice of Customer (VOC) data to confirm that slow approval times were the main issue. With this feedback in mind, we assessed the end-to-end process, calculated dropout rates, and conducted interviews with sales staff to gain deeper insights into applicant behavior and frustrations.

It became clear that the approval process included three separate approval loops, which had become ingrained as legacy practices over time. Upon reviewing these steps, we discovered that two of the three approval loops were not essential for compliance or risk assessment.

To address this, we deployed lean methodology to eliminate unnecessary steps and increase efficiency. We identified all types of waste occurring in the process and focused on eliminating redundancies.

Solution Implemented

• Removed redundant approval loops: By streamlining the process and reducing unnecessary reviews, we cut approval time from 10 days to just 3 days.

• Improved customer experience: The faster approval process met the critical needs of property investors, enabling them to make quick purchasing decisions.

Result

The streamlined process doubled the application-to-loan conversion rate. By listening to customers and focusing on the journey steps that mattered most, we successfully directed the bank’s resources toward impactful improvements, achieving a high ROI.