Founded in 1908, Kitsap Bank is a community bank providing a full range of financial services to businesses and individuals at 18 locations throughout the Pacific Northwest. Kitsap’s focus on long-term sustainability applies to their relationships with customers, employees, and the community. You can learn more about them here.

The Challenge

As a leading lender in the region, Kitsap has a 230% capital ratio for CRE and conducts regular NOO CRE stress tests as part of the risk management initiatives. The Board and Management Team reviews a set of consistent stress factors annually, as well as unique stress factors customized for current economic conditions. The team had thus far evaluated these stress tests manually, spending valuable time and resources gathering and analyzing data.

Complicated Risk Assessment Process

The bank needed testing that was filtered through different criteria and scenarios to accurately assess risk. This process was inefficient as employees spent weeks manually creating spreadsheets. This scattered approach and lack of a centralized data bank made the transfer of knowledge difficult.

Lagging Reporting Capabilities

As economic factors shifted, so did the bank’s focus and required stress criteria. New spreadsheets were constantly being created and old spreadsheets had to be updated individually. This manual process required the use of lagging data, as opposed to real-time information. As complexity increased, so did the likelihood of breaking spreadsheet formulas and the risk of crucial errors.

The Solution

Input all data into the Qualtik platform to increase the efficiency and flexibility of reporting

Kitsap implemented our CRE Stress Testing in June 2021. We added their collected NOO CRE loan data into the Qualtik system and they began generating reports on that same day. When comparing the new stress test reports to the manual reports, Kitsap discovered they could run more tests in a single day than they had previously run in an entire week. This accelerated system was easily filtered and customized, providing valuable data to their board and management team.

Establish an organized structure and system for improved knowledge sharing and analysis

Thanks to our intuitive software, Kitsap established a clear structure for stress testing, centralizing all their documentation in an accessible location. In 2022, when the Kitsap employee responsible for stress testing was promoted and stress testing duties were reassigned, the handoff was seamless. Instead of dedicating time to manually configuring tests and organizing spreadsheets, Kitsap’s team is now able to focus their time on analyzing data and understanding results.

The Results

After setting up on the Qualtik platform, Kitsap Bank was able to:

• Streamline data to increase knowledge accessibility
• Enhance customization capabilities for filtering reports
• Accurately and efficiently analyze data in minutes
• Rapidly refocus on new priorities and gain instant insights

Now Kitsap Bank enjoys centralized data, fast and flexible stress testing for the criteria they need, and is positioned to pivot at a moment’s notice to address shifting market changes. Additionally, Kitsap Bank is looking forward to expanding their stress testing to include all CRE.