Commercial Lending Schools:  building leadership, rebuilding commercial lending success.

The Commercial Lending Schools take a leadership approach to the complex challenges you face each day.

American Bankers Association
Commercial Lending Schools
Southern Methodist University
Dallas, Texas

American Bankers Association
Financial Statement Analysis
Southern Methodist University
Dallas, Texas

Enhance your capacity to underwrite profitable loans and manage aggressive portfolios—all while prudently monitoring risk—by attending ABA’s Commercial Lending Schools. Both the Foundational and Advanced schools are conducted in association with the SW Graduate School of Banking (SWGSB) Foundation and both schools are hosted at SMU’s prestigious Cox School of Business in Dallas, Texas. The schools are designed to propel bank loan officers and commercial lenders to the top of their field.

With a pre-session workshop, built-in time for peer exchange and in-depth analytical content, this professional development experience will take your career, business acumen and portfolio to the next level. Unique to the Foundational Commercial Lending School is SWGSB's exclusive Bank Loan Simulation (Loan Sim) program designed specifically for loan officers. The Loan Sim program give students the opportunity to compete and bid on loan opportunities in a real-world, simulated environment so that you’re in the thick of the action, learning the “do’s and don’ts” that will make you successful.

Whether an experienced lender or new to the lending profession, ABA’s Commercial Lending Schools will give you the necessary lending knowledge and skills to successfully compete in the highly competitive commercial lending space.

American Bankers Association
Foundational Commercial Lending School

American Bankers Association
Agricultural Commercial Lending School

American Bankers Association
Advanced Commercial Lending School

American Bankers Association
Financial Statement Analysis Workshop

Edwin L. Cox School of Business
Southern Methodist University
Dallas, Texas

"Wonderful experience at ABA Commercial Lending School and real new insight on most relevant concurrent topics related to commercial lending. Many thanks to all the speakers."
- Shukla Yogendra, Assistant Vice President, Indus American Bank

The ABA Commercial Lending Schools are offered as three distinct programs:

• The ABA Foundational Commercial Lending School is for lending officers with 1 to 5 years commercial lending experience. It is also suited for lenders who have been away from commercial lending for a period of time or whose training has been inconsistent. This program focus on lending analysis and loan transactions. If you are looking to brush up on your credit analysis skills, please consider the Optional Analysis Review offered prior to the start of the program.
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• The ABA Agricultural Lending School is perfect for lenders working with agricultural business loans, students will hone their skills in building reliable projections in an environment of commodity price volatility, and employing agri-business-specific inspection techniques.
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• The ABA Advanced Commercial Lending School is for lenders with 5 or more years commercial lending experience as well as portfolio/staff management responsibilities. The ABA Advanced Commercial Lending School is also for those who have completed the ABA Foundational Commercial Lending School.
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• The Financial Statement Analysis for Lenders is a companion course to the ABA Foundational Commercial Lending School program. It is specifically designed for those bankers, regulators, auditors and bank lenders who have been away from commercial lending for a while, want to 'brush up' on their financial statement analysis, or are new to the field.
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"I had been in lending for years prior to attending the School. Having previously worked for larger organizations, the calculations (ROE) covered in the schools provided me a different way to look at pricing relationships. For those who come from smaller organizations, the Schools provide a manageable way to look at how they are pricing deals based on risk and return."
- Billy Weiland, Senior Vice President, Commercial Credit Manager, UMB Bank, NA