How Data Visibility is Rewriting the Rules for Credit and Lending Leaders

Fifteen years ago, leading a loan portfolio meant managing growth, following policy, and minimizing losses. Working under a zero interest-rate policy, there wasn’t much pressure to rethink that model. Rates didn’t move. Margins held. Reports came in at month-end and — for the most part — that was good enough.

This was true throughout my time at my community bank, but that environment is now gone. The stakes have changed. Most all leaders have recognized this, less are proactively finding ways to stay competitive amidst it.

Today, margins are tighter. Risk is rising. Banks no longer have the luxury of waiting for the month to close out before finding out how they did. The top-performing CLOs and CCOs know this. They aren’t just managing credit, they’re managing people who manage credit. That shift requires a new level of visibility and a new kind of leadership, one that prioritizes data, agility, and visibility.

Putting the Relationship Back in Relationship Manager

Proactive portfolio management means paying attention before something goes wrong. But that can only happen if the data is visible — daily, not monthly (and definitely not quarterly).

The best officers aren’t just reacting to past-dues or maturing credits. They’re watching deposit behavior. They’re flagging loans priced well below average for the same risk profile. They’re noticing missing financials, overfunded lines, and industry-specific risk trends. And they’re doing something about it.

This shift — from reactive cleanup to proactive engagement — is what separates good lending and credit teams from great ones. It’s also what allows officers to step more fully into the role of relationship manager. They’re no longer stuck in the cycle of chasing documents and fighting fires. They’re advising. They’re anticipating. And they’re adding irreplaceable value.

Coaching at the Speed of Change

The banks seeing the strongest returns right now aren’t overhauling their pricing strategies. They’re making smarter decisions, more often.

I had one CLO tell me (who is a KlariVis client) that his team saw a 50-basis-point lift in loan yield without hitting their volume goal. That wasn’t an accident. It was daily visibility at work paired with a leader who valued coaching his team.

He didn’t have to wait until the end of the month to make changes. He saw pricing behavior in real time (as did his officers). He spotted trends and coached his team while deals were still in progress. That’s the difference. It wasn’t about a giant overhaul that the team may or may not have been able to carry out. It was about making incremental shifts every day that added up to real performance gains.

This kind of coaching doesn’t just protect yield. It shapes culture. The most effective leaders are hands-on — not with approvals, but with development. They’re using data to mentor their teams and tighten execution, making small pivots when necessary or when looking to try something new. They know that waiting to correct at the end of the month means missed opportunities and margin left on the table.

Make it Rain (For Everyone)

Transparency isn’t about control. It’s about clarity. One of our bank clients had a strong producer everyone referred to as the “rainmaker.” After putting KlariVis in place, they found out just how much more rain he was making.

It completely changed the dynamic across the team.

When officers can see how they compare — on yield, volume, portfolio performance, risk metrics — they show up differently. They’re more engaged. More disciplined. More accountable. And not because someone’s breathing down their neck, but because they can finally see what works and when.

That’s what data visibility does: It completely removes ambiguity and empowers officers across the board. When everyone sees the same truth, accountability gets baked into new processes and decisions start being made with that return in mind, not just production.

Visibility Over Hype

There’s a lot of talk right now about predictive models and AI in banking. Yes, it’s here (to be specific, it’s been here for decades), but more banks are beginning to implement AI in a more public way. I believe, however, that before we all run into the future, we need to make sure that our present reality is in working order.

Banks aren’t starving for more data – they’re starving for visibility. Cleanly. Clearly. Daily. I still remember the struggle of trying to pull a simple report that tied loans and deposits to the same customer.  That level of friction is still too common. And until that changes, all the talk about automation and AI needs to take a back seat. I’m not saying stop innovating, but know what you’re solving for first.

Because strategy should always come before execution.

Real transformation starts when visibility is part of your daily rhythm, not something tacked on after the fact.

Don’t Flip the Table

You don’t need to blow up your org chart or rebuild your tech stack to lead differently. But you do need to understand how your bankers are engaging with your customers — every day. There are other financial services companies that do this extremely well. We have an opportunity to not only keep pace, but gain the advantage.

It starts with data visibility. Not just into portfolios, but into the behaviors driving it. That’s where proactive data management gives leaders an edge: You can’t coach what you can’t see. And in this market, coaching matters more than ever.

The fundamentals of leadership haven’t changed. What’s changed is how clearly you can see them in action.