PNC executive: Finance sector must rethink lending strategies

Financial institutions must lend more, but according to a balance of consumer credit risk management, says PNC Bank executive vice president Gordon Cameron. Banks need to rethink their approach to lending and adapt to a fast-changing marketplace that is increasingly risk-focused and strapped by regulations. "We must lend - waiting out this difficult period is not an option," Cameron said to a sold-out audience at the FICO World Conference. "But to lend safely, we need to change the way we measure risk, understand consumers and make credit decisions. As the recession showed, the systems most banks use today simply aren't ready for the new lending environment." Chiefly, lenders and financial institutions need to jettison static estimates of consumer risk and customer behavior, instead employing systems that rapidly identify changes in behavior and estimate future trends. They must also change decisions accordingly. Risk management has been a top concern among lenders and investors of all kinds in the currently volatile economy. Both regulators and organizational chiefs are moving to ramp up their risk management policies to rein in unnecessary or exorbitant losses.