3.F Manual underwriting workflow

Purpose

Where the automated engine returns “refer”, or business policy requires human review, this module orchestrates the work. Every queue, every approval, every note, every deviation, every approval chain is captured for audit.

In-scope features

• Analyst queue — per analyst / team / region / product / risk grade; configurable.
• Queue prioritisation — SLA-based, value-based, channel-priority.
• File assignment — auto-assign or pick.
• Application case view — single screen with all data, all scorecards, all decision-engine output, all documents, BO graph, history.
• Notes — per case, with mentions / threads.
• Maker-checker — analyst recommends; supervisor approves.
• Query raising — analyst raises query to borrower / DSA / RM; tracking SLA.
• Document deficiency — flag specific docs as missing / unclear; borrower notified.
• Deviation approval — when policy fails but business wants to approve; routes per delegated authority matrix.
• Credit committee approval — for above-delegation cases; committee meeting workflow.
• Risk memo generation — structured PDF with borrower profile, financials, decision rationale, terms.
• Sanction memo — final approved memo.
• Approval matrix — per ticket size, per product, per risk grade.
• Decline workflow — analyst decline with reason taxonomy, decline letter.
• Withdrawal handling — borrower withdraws; case closed cleanly.
• Re-review — after data refresh / borrower remediation.
• Audit trail — every action, every actor, every state change, with immutable log.
• SLA tracking — per case, per stage; breach alerts.
• Productivity dashboards — per analyst, queue, stage.

Out of scope

• The automated decision engine — see 3.E.
• Loan booking / disbursement — see 3.I, 3.J.
• Document generation (sanction letter, agreement) — see 3.H.

Key entities

• CaseQueue — definitions, ordering.
• CaseAssignment — case to user.
• AnalystNote — per case.
• Query — raised to borrower / DSA / RM, with SLA.
• Deviation — per case, with approval chain.
• Approval — per stage, per actor.
• RiskMemo — versioned.
• SanctionMemo — final.
• DeclineReason — code + free text.
• AuditEvent — immutable log entry.

Key workflows

1. Refer-to-manual — engine refers → routed to queue → analyst picks → analyst evaluates → recommends → maker-checker → approved or declined or query.
2. Query lifecycle — query raised → borrower notified → borrower responds → analyst re-evaluates.
3. Deviation — analyst flags deviation → approval chain (per matrix) → approved with conditions or declined.
4. Credit committee — supra-delegation cases queued for committee → meeting agenda → minutes → decisions.
5. Decline — analyst declines → reason → letter generated → borrower notified → application closed.

Integrations

• Decision engine output consumed as input.
• Document upload module for borrower’s response to queries.
• Notifications (SMS / WhatsApp / email) for query raise, decision communication.
• DMS for sanction memo storage.

APIs

• GET /queues/{id}/cases — list assigned cases.
• POST /cases/{id}/assign.
• POST /cases/{id}/notes.
• POST /cases/{id}/query — raise query.
• POST /cases/{id}/deviation.
• POST /cases/{id}/recommend — analyst’s recommendation.
• POST /cases/{id}/approve — checker approval.
• POST /cases/{id}/decline.
• GET /cases/{id}/audit-log.

Events emitted

• case.assigned / case.unassigned
• query.raised / query.responded
• deviation.requested / deviation.approved / deviation.declined
• recommendation.submitted
• approval.granted / approval.denied
• risk_memo.generated
• sanction_memo.finalised

Edge cases

• Analyst leaves mid-review — case re-assigned automatically.
• Borrower data changes mid-review (e.g., new bank statement) — re-decision triggered; analyst notified.
• Deviation auto-escalation — if approver fails to act within SLA, escalate.
• Multi-analyst conflict — only one can hold the case at a time; checker can override.
• Withdrawal during review — clean close, no decline; CIC enquiry policy considered.
• Sanction letter regenerated after minor edit — version controlled.

Compliance touchpoints

• Digital Lending Guidelines — credit decision authority documented.
• Fair Practices Code — decline reasons clear, non-discriminatory, written.
• Audit MD — full audit trail must be inspectable.
• Outsourcing MD — if any underwriting support is outsourced, governance applies; final decision stays with RE.

MVP vs production

Feature	MVP	Production
Queue + assignment	✓	✓
Case view	✓	✓
Maker-checker	✓	✓
Query workflow	✓	✓
Deviation approval matrix	✓	✓
Credit committee workflow	(Phase 2)	✓
Risk memo automation	Basic template	Full template per product
Productivity dashboards	(Phase 2)	✓
SLA alerts	✓	✓
Mobile analyst view	(Phase 3)	✓

Related: 3.E Underwriting engine, 3.H Loan documentation, 13.6 Underwriting backlog.