Absa Accelerates Credit Risk Reporting Through Automation

Absa has dramatically reduced the time needed to generate credit risk reports. The bank says reporting cycles that previously took weeks can now be completed within hours following the deployment of a new automated system.

The lender has implemented a model governance platform built on SAS Viya and hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS), enabling automated monitoring of more than 500 credit risk models used in its retail banking portfolio. According to the bank, the system has reduced reporting timelines by between 80 and 90 per cent while allowing new credit risk models to be approved and deployed 50 per cent faster, in under six months.

The technology upgrade is aimed at improving the speed and accuracy of lending decisions, enhancing loss forecasting capabilities and strengthening compliance with regulatory requirements. By automating previously manual processes, the bank is also seeking to improve efficiency across its risk management operations.

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To support the transformation, Absa established a center of Excellence and collaborated with SAS to replace fragmented reporting processes and manual scripts with standardised reports, automated execution tools, shared dashboards and real-time insights accessible to both business and regulatory stakeholders.

The changes have also reshaped the work of risk analysts. Tasks that previously required up to four weeks to produce a single report have been significantly reduced, allowing staff to focus on strategic analysis and other higher-value responsibilities.

Meanwhile, the use of AWS infrastructure enables the bank to scale computing resources according to demand, helping avoid the costs associated with maintaining underutilised server capacity. Absa says it plans to extend the same data-driven and artificial intelligence-powered approach to other areas of its operations as it continues its digital transformation journey.