Sanction Routing Under a Delegation Matrix: Four Proposals, Three Days
The Bhopal circle office has four proposals on the table on Monday, 22 September, and every sanction must be captured in the quarter-end review. The delegation matrix is: up to ₹25 lakh - Branch Manager; above ₹25 lakh up to ₹1 crore - Circle Head; above ₹1 crore - Zonal Head, supported by a technical appraisal from the circle credit cell. Any proposal with a CIBIL score below 650 is escalated one level above the amount-based authority. Internal policy adds two conditions: CGTMSE cover is not available where the promoter's CIBIL score is below 650, and any exposure with CIBIL below 620 needs collateral worth at least 100% of the limit or must be returned to the borrower.
P1: ₹22 lakh term loan, CIBIL 712, registered mortgage offered. P2: ₹78 lakh, CIBIL 638, CGTMSE cover proposed, no other security. P3: ₹1.35 crore, CIBIL 690, supply-order linked, disbursement required by 30 September. P4: ₹18 lakh, CIBIL 604, gold jewellery valued at ₹24 lakh pledged.
The Zonal Head visits only on Wednesday; the circle credit cell is on leave until Wednesday; the Circle Head sits in the branch on Tuesday.
1. Route each of the four proposals to the correct sanctioning authority, showing the amount test and the CIBIL escalation test separately for each.
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| Proposal | Amount test | CIBIL test | Final authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 ₹22 lakh | ≤ ₹25 lakh → Branch Manager | 712 ≥ 650, no escalation | Branch Manager |
| P2 ₹78 lakh | > ₹25 lakh, ≤ ₹1 crore → Circle Head | 638 < 650 → one level up | Zonal Head |
| P3 ₹1.35 crore | > ₹1 crore → Zonal Head + technical appraisal | 690 ≥ 650, no escalation | Zonal Head (with credit-cell appraisal) |
| P4 ₹18 lakh | ≤ ₹25 lakh → Branch Manager | 604 < 650 → one level up | Circle Head |
The two tests are independent and both must be applied; a common error is to escalate on CIBIL and then stop, without checking whether the amount already placed the file higher. Here no proposal is escalated twice, but P2 and P4 each move one level above the amount-based authority.
2. Which proposal cannot be sanctioned in its present form, and what would make it acceptable? Address P4 as well.
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P2 (₹78 lakh) cannot be sanctioned as submitted. Two rules interact: CGTMSE cover is not available with CIBIL below 650, so the proposed structure provides no security at all, and the file has already been escalated to the Zonal Head on the amount test. Without a guarantee, the exposure is clean and unsecured above ₹25 lakh, which the policy does not permit.
What makes it bankable: tangible collateral covering at least the limit (registered mortgage, hypothecation of machinery with adequate margin), or a third-party guarantee acceptable to the circle, or a reduction of the limit to a level the borrower can secure. Once security or a reduced limit is in place, the Zonal Head can sanction on Wednesday without further escalation, since the CIBIL escalation has already been absorbed.
P4 is compliant. CIBIL 604 is below 620, so 100% collateral is mandatory: ₹24 lakh of gold against an ₹18 lakh limit is 133% cover, and gold is a liquid, easily realisable security. The collateral condition is satisfied, and the Circle Head can sanction on Tuesday after fresh valuation and purity certification.
3. Set out the sequence in which the four files should move during the week, and justify the priority order you choose.
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Monday: P1 is sanctioned by the Branch Manager - no external dependency, so clearing it first removes a file from the queue.
Tuesday: P4 goes to the Circle Head, who is in the branch that day. Do the gold valuation on Monday so the file is complete when he sits; a valuation done on Tuesday delays the sanction by a week.
Wednesday: both Zonal Head files fall on the same day, and both depend on inputs that arrive only that morning. Priority to P3, because it is supply-order linked with a 30 September disbursement and a missed date risks the borrower losing the order - and with it the repayment source. Also, P3 needs the credit cell's technical appraisal, so lodge that request first thing on Wednesday. P2 follows, but only if the security gap has been closed in writing; otherwise record a deferment rather than let it consume the Zonal Head's limited time.
The general principle: sequence by hard external deadlines and by the scarcity of the approver, not by file age.