How the loan approval ladder works
Every loan in Ustawi moves through an approval ladder whose length depends on the amount requested. Small loans may clear at the branch; larger loans escalate to a credit committee or the board. The ladder is enforced in software with segregation of duties, so it is not something an officer can quietly skip.
Amount bands set the path
Each loan product defines amount bands, and each band maps to the approvals it needs. A micro loan under the branch limit needs only branch-officer sign-off; a larger loan crosses into a band that requires the credit committee; a very large exposure crosses into a band that requires board sign-off. The application is routed automatically to the tiers its amount demands.
Maker, checker and the tiers
- 1Branch (maker)The originating officer submits. They are the “maker” and cannot be a checker on the same loan.
- 2Committee (checker)For loans above the branch band, the credit committee reviews affordability, CRB result and documents, then approves or refers back.
- 3Board (amount gate)The largest exposures escalate again for board sign-off before they can proceed to disbursement.
Why a loan is routed the way it is
Because the routing is driven by the product's amount bands, two applications for the same product can take different paths purely because of size. If you expected a loan to clear at the branch and it went to committee, check the amount against the product's branch band.
Every approval, referral and rejection is recorded with who acted and when, so the full decision history of a loan is reconstructable for an examiner or an internal audit.