FSDF e-Campus | Certified Expert in NPLs

Distressed debt recovery and corporate turnaround

The unfolding shocks in the world economy have defined a new risk environment for financial institutions. Banks, regulators and investors may soon need to tackle a new wave of distressed debt and non-performing loans (NPLs).

As a Frankfurt School Certified Expert in NPL Management & Investment you will be equipped with key skills to manage loan defaults. You will learn to recognise debt distress among households and enterprises and to design best-practice restructuring solutions that recover loans and return borrowers to financial health.

What Do We Offer?

The learning track will give you access to:

An interactive e-learning course made up of 9 learning units, including video lectures, PDF scripts, examples, practical exercises, online tests and case studies
A discussion forum for course-related issues as well as for exchange of opinions and experiences with peers, tutors and the FSDF e-Campus team
Personalized support from your e-Campus team
The possibility of attaining a Frankfurt School Certificate after passing the final exam or a confirmation of course completion after completing the course. After passing the final exam, you will earn 6 ECTS (academic credit points of the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System). The points can be credited to other academic learning programs.

Tuition Fees*

Regular Tuition Fee: EUR 1,900

Early Bird Fee: EUR 1,600 (by January 15)

Discounts:

10% group discount (for 2 or more participants working for the same institution, informed to us before by an email)
10% for FS Alumni
for company package discounts, please contact us

Payment Options:

Bank Transfer (bank fees to be covered by participants)
Credit Card
PayPal

Payment in instalments is not possible.

*subject to change

Dates

Course Start	Course End
Sept. 1	Feb. 29
Mar. 1	Aug. 31
Registration Date	Early Bird
Jun. 1 - Sep. 30	By Jul. 15
Dec. 1 - Mar. 31	By Jan. 31

Target Audience

Bank management and staff, financial supervisors, and investors who are working on developing a strategy for managing distressed loans and NPLs. All who need to develop a comprehensive understanding of recent regulations, and the institutions and legal context that will govern NPL management and debt restructuring. Consultants and other insolvency professionals will also benefit, as on the basis of this course they will command the strategic and regulatory framework that promotes the resolution of private sector debt distress.

Workload

The course takes approx. 6 months assuming 5-6 hours of self-study per week. It consists of 10 units which build upon each other. You will take the units in sequence and will need to pass an online multiple choice test before accessing the next unit.

You are not sure if you manage to complete the course within 6 months? No worries! You can apply for a course extension (6 more months) against an administrative fee.

Registration

Registration for the March intake will open in December 1. Get notified by subscribing to our newsletter.

Course Details*

The course NPL Management & Investment covers hands-on restructuring techniques, including numerical exercises and case studies, alongside discussions on best practices in bank-internal workout units and recent regulatory trends. Real-life restructuring scenarios from Europe and emerging markets are studied, as well as corporate turnaround case studies. Investment in NPL portfolios and distressed debt opportunities are explored. Participants gain fluency in engaging with supervisors, insolvency professionals, and investors in complex distressed situations, equipped with negotiation skills crucial for navigating creditor committees and insolvency court proceedings, enhancing their organization's capabilities for the future.

Unit 1

Course introduction, and the context for NPLs and private sector debt

Course plan and objectives
Course organisation and logistics
Private debt and NPLs as multiple crises evolve
The context for NPL restructuring

Unit 2

Debt distress: the early warning signs

Overview
Arrears, default, and the NPL life cycle
Corporate debt distress: setting up an early warning system
Recognizing household over-indebtedness
State-sponsored borrower relief measures

Unit 3

Impairment and defaults

Overview
Why bank asset quality definitions vary so widely
Reporting problem loans
Standards in the EU
The accounting framework: IFRS and expected credit losses
Integrating three perspectives on bad loans and flexibility in a recession

Unit 4

Supervision and NPL management

Overview
Why supervisors care: high NPL banks are weak banks
The response from supervisors: NPL guidelines from the ECB and European Banking Authority
Best practice: the ECB guidance to banks on non-performing loans
Conclusions: is the bank ready?

Unit 5

Arrears analytics in retail credit

Descriptive portfolio statistics to track arrears
Household loan restructuring and arrears management
The bank’s rights in a personal insolvency
Mortgage restructuring and borrower protection
Arrears management and responsible collections
Efficient and targeted arrears management

Unit 6

Policies and institutions in NPL crises

Overview
Past debt crises in Asia and Europe
Lessons from past crises
Asset management companies
Rules for state aid to banks
Asset transfers and bank resolution

Unit 7

Insolvency regimes and asset recovery

Overview
How the insolvency regime shapes creditor rights
Elements of effective insolvency regimes
Assessing insolvency regimes in practice
Pre-insolvency restructuring in Europe

Unit 8

Out-of-court workouts

Overview
The path to the out-of-court workout
Organising multi-creditor workouts
The restructuring plan
Deciding between alternative options
Case studies

Unit 9

Loan sales and securitisations

Overview
Loan sales in the workout strategy
The valuation of a distressed loan portfolio for sale
The secondary loans markets in Europe and emerging markets
The regulation of loan transfers and external servicing
The distressed asset transfer process
NPL securitisations

Training Approach

The flexibility of our courses offers you the opportunity to follow your own schedule and to combine daily work with professional development.

The high quality offered will immediately improve your daily job performance as well as the performance of your institution.

This program is flexible and self-paced. It offers some online live sessions, such as introduction and final exam preparation sessions. These sessions will be recorded for those who cannot attend live.

Training Material

Video Lectures

Introduction videos: After viewing the lectures, participants will have a basic understanding of each topic and will be able to classify importance and relevance of different techniques and aspects in a broader context.
Web-based Presentations: Web based presentation complement the scripts and give additional input on important topics.

Online Tests

Each unit ends with an online test comprising a set of 10 - 15 multiple choice questions. Only after having successfully completed an online test you will gain access to the next unit.

Reading Material

A PDF script is for most of our courses the main studying material. This reading material provides basic concepts and principles applicable to the subject of each unit.

Assignments

The key to successful learning is the immediate use of newly acquired knowledge and the transfer of theory into practice. Our online courses are therefore supplemented by mandatory assignments.

Discussion Forum

A course discussion forum enables the interaction between participants and trainers and facilitates the exchange of experiences as well as possibilities to ask questions or get clarifications.

Suggestions & Recommendations

While you decide on the timing and pace of your learning experience, we would like to give you some recommendations on how to get the most out of this course:

Your schedule: We will provide you a course schedule including voluntary and mandatory deadlines. The course schedule serves as guideline for your personal learning schedule and will help you completing the programme within the given time frame.

Exercises: Even though the exercises in the script are not mandatory we strongly advise you to use them as an opportunity to check your knowledge and to prepare for the final exam.

Assignments: With the assignments you will learn how to apply the knowledge learned during the course. It is important that you take time to read the necessary material and to solve the assignment.

Networking Opportunities: Use the forum to introduce yourself your peers and start interesting discussions.

Final Exam

Passing a final examination is a requirement for obtaining your certificate.

Location: The final exam takes place online.
Duration: The final exam takes 2 hours.
Cost: An additional final exam fee will be charged for the second and third final exam attempt

If you do not wish to take the final exam, you will receive a confirmation of course participation after completing the course.

Course Lecturers

Dr. Joachim Bald

Dr. Bald is Frankfurt School’s most senior international advisor and a recognized expert in Treasury, Risk and Asset Liability Management. He serves as lead consultant at the Frankfurt School Competence Center in Risk Management and regularly manages complex implementation assignments in Europe, Asia and Africa. Joachim maintains a large portfolio of advisory mandates including recent and ongoing interventions with EIB, EBRD, KfW, African Development Bank, as well as at Cairo Amman, Etihad and Ahli Bank in Jordan, HKL and PRASAC in Cambodia, XacBank and Khan Bank in Mongolia and many more. More

Further course trainers and experts

Prof. Jan Adriaanse

Roland Kupka

Course contributes to UN SDGs

This course will enhance your knowledge in the following SDGs. The SWA offers professional and executive courses dedicated to the advancement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

All our courses contribute to the following SDGs

Beyond your Certificate

Master of Leadership in Sustainable Finance

The Certified Expert in NPL Management is an Elective Module of the Master of Leadership in Sustainable Finance. Join our Master programme after completing the CENPL course and waive one elective module. Also, the amount you paid for the course will be deducted from the final tuition fee of the Master programme.

Diploma in Financial Inclusion

The Certified Expert in NPL Management is part of the curriculum of our Diploma in Financial Inclusion. Enroll to our Diploma after completing the CEMI course and waive one module. Also, the amount you paid for the course will be deducted from the final tuition fee of the Diploma.