Application Review: How do I decline an application?

An application can be declined as the result of the underwriting decision or after the expiration of an approval offer. 

To decline an application as the result of the underwriting decision can take up to 4 steps in the following sequential order:

1. Pre-Underwriting Review (Optional)
2. Initial Review 
3. Final Review (Optional)
4. Notify Applicant with Decision

Click here for an overview of the application review workflow.

The Pre-Underwriting Review and Final Review steps are optional, and you can control whether to include them when customizing your application review process. 

The following are the two basic steps for declining an application that does not meet the underwriting requirements. 

Step 1. To Initiate Review: Make a Decision to Decline an Application

To begin the underwriting process, select "To Initiate Review" from the Credit Applications drop down or the Accounts drop down.  Find the application to review and click on the "Review" button to begin the process.

For loan, line of credit or credit card applications, use the "Credit Applications" drop down menu.

For account opening applications, use the "Credit Applications" drop down menu.

Upon clicking the Review button, you will see the Underwriting Summary page as shown below.  When all the underwriting standards on the lower half of the page have been completed, the decision buttons will activate, i.e. turning from gray to a vibrant color of red (Decline), yellow (Counter),  or green (Approve). The majority of the data inputs for the underwriting standards section are automatically filled. 

Here you can decline the application by clicking on the activated Decline button to select from the drop down menu all the reasons for declining the application in the pop-up window. When you have completed, click on "Submit Recommendation" to move this application to the next step.  If Final Review is part of the review process, the application will appear on "To Finalize Review" page.  After Final Review, the application will move onto "To Notify" page.  However, if Final Review is skipped, the application will move straight to "To Notify" page. 

Step 2. To Notify: Generate and Send Adverse Action Letter

In this step, you will click on "Declined" on the To Notify page to finalize the reasons selected for declining the application, which will be used to generate the letter explaining your decision, notify your applicant with the decision, and send the adverse action letter to the applicant for review and record keeping.  

Once you click on "Next" to generate the letter, you can review it before sending it to the applicant.  When you are ready to send, click on the "Send" button.  This will trigger an email and text message to your applicants notifying them of your decision. The adverse action letter will be available for your applicant to review and download from her customer login portal. 

The "Send" button also moves the application to the "Declined" page.  

Decline an Application After Offer Expiration

If the applicant does not respond to an approval offer by the specified expiration date, the approved application automatically moves from the Approved page to the Expired page.  On the Expired page, you have the ability to reactivate the application by resending your offer or move the application to the Declined page.  When you click on "Decline, the application will move to the Declined page, and an adverse action letter declaring that the offer has expired will be automatically generated and sent to your applicant.