Maximizing Efficiency: How Automation Helped a Leading Bank Save $13M

The Challenge: Optimizing Debt Collection for Retail Lending

With over $10.5 billion in assets under management, this universal bank offers a full range of financial products and services for both corporate and retail clients. Bank set an ambitious goal for 2023: to transform its retail debt collection operations and significantly reduce provisioning costs. As the bank expanded from corporate to retail lending, it faced challenges in optimizing collection strategies, improving call center performance, and automating processes to maximize efficiency.

The Goal: Enhancing Debt Recovery While Reducing Costs

The RunRule Solutions team was tasked with modernizing the bank’s debt collection system to:

• Increase provisioning savings, initially targeting $9M but ultimately reaching $13M.
• Automate and optimize collection strategies for greater efficiency.
• Improve call center operations to reduce wait times and increase agent effectiveness.
• Streamline interactions with regulatory agencies through automation.

The Solution: Implementing an Advanced Debt Collection System

RunRule Solutions collaborated with the bank’s team to develop a comprehensive debt collection framework tailored to its retail lending operations. Key improvements included:

1. Establishing an Automated Resolution Factory

A key initiative was the creation of the automated Resolution Factory, covering:

• Pre-trial debt resolution by offering personalized restructuring options.
• Automated judicial collection, streamlining negotiations for early settlements.

This led to a substantial increase in successful customer agreements, acceptance rates rising from 25% to 64% across various segments.

2. Enhancing Call Center Performance

The bank’s call center efficiency was significantly improved by:

• Reducing the average wait time from 55 seconds to 1-2 seconds.
• Implementing a dynamic dialogue module, providing agents with real-time, personalized customer interaction recommendations.
• Introducing a call prioritization system, ensuring more effective resource allocation.

These improvements resulted in a 20% reduction in call center workload and faster onboarding of new agents, cutting training time from two weeks to just four days. 

3. Automating Regulatory Interactions

With plans to automate 80% of interactions with enforcement agencies by 2024, the bank aimed to further streamline operations and reduce manual workload related to legal proceedings.

The Results: A Game-Changing Transformation

By leveraging automation, the bank achieved:

• $13M in provisioning savings, exceeding initial projections.
• A significant increase in customer engagement, leading to higher recovery rates.
• Optimized internal processes, reducing operational costs and reliance on manual interventions.

With these advancements, the RunRule Solutions team has once again demonstrated its expertise in transforming debt collection operations for financial institutions, paving the way for continued innovation and efficiency in the industry.