Case Study: Wescom Credit Union achieves millions in charge-off savings and 50% more accurate lending decisions with SAS Credit Scoring and Forecast Server

Forecasting helps Wescom Credit Union save millions of dollars

Wescom Credit Union needed a smarter, more cost‑effective way to assess credit risk, meet regulatory requirements and align lending with a dollar‑based risk appetite approved by its board. Historically limited to loan‑level analytics, the credit union wanted portfolio‑level forecasting to reduce losses, improve decision making and demonstrate accountability.

Using SAS Credit Scoring and SAS Forecast Server, Wescom implemented rolling 60‑month forecasts that incorporate 2.5 million records and 350 economic indexes, moving from a six‑month ramp to initial results in two weeks. The analytics-driven scorecards and econometric modeling improved lending decision accuracy by at least 50%, doubled some marketing acceptance rates (from 3.4% to as high as 6%), enabled 65% pre-approval on auto loans with just 0.24% delinquency, and saved the credit union millions while keeping risk consistently within its appetite.

Wescom Credit Union

David Gumpert-Hersh

Vice President of Credit Risk & Econometrics