SkillsSkill 2 of 5
Explain the decision in words a customer can use
Name the factors that drove the decision, how much each mattered and what could change it, without promising.
Worked example
Explain a credit decline the model made
“The system decided” is not an explanation. Say which factors mattered, by how much, and what could change them.
The question
Fernmoor Bank, a fictional regional bank, scores small-business credit card applications with a model. The owner of a 14-month-old bakery was declined and has called her branch.
| Applicant | Points against | |
|---|---|---|
| Revolving utilization | 85% | 22 |
| Time in business | 14 months | 12 |
| Credit inquiries, last 6 months | 6 | 9 |
| All other factors | — | -3 |
| Net shortfall | Score 610; line 650 | 40 |
Invented scorecard. 22 + 12 + 9 − 3 = 40 points, the gap between 610 and 650. Other factors slightly helped her.
We are unable to approve your application at this time due to your overall credit profile.
- The ownerI was shopping around for rates, that’s why there are so many inquiries. So if I wait six months, it’ll go through, right?
“The owner asks why she was declined and whether waiting six months will fix it. What do you tell her, and what should the letter say?”
Your turn
Say your answer out loud, or jot notes below. Both work. Or skip to the worked answer.
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A strong answer, step by step
Open each step in turn. This is one strong answer, not the only one.
Step 1: Replace the generic reason
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Send the template letter: “overall credit profile” covers every factor at once.
Tempting, but it misses something. It tells her nothing she can act on. Utilization at 85% and 14 months in business cost 34 of the 40 points; the letter should name them.
Tell her the model is proprietary, so the bank can’t share its reasons.
Tempting, but it misses something. The bank owes her the specific principal reasons whatever model it uses. Here they’re known: utilization and time in business.
Name the principal reasons: revolving utilization at 85% and 14 months in business.
The strong move. Specific reasons help her and are what the notice is for. Together they cost 34 of the 40 points.
See how a strong candidate says it
““Overall credit profile” isn’t a reason she can act on. The principal factors were revolving utilization at 85% and 14 months in business, and the letter should name them.”
Why it works: Specific reasons help the customer and are what the notice is for.
Step 2: Correct her theory, kindly
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Agree the inquiries were the problem and that waiting six months should fix it.
Tempting, but it misses something. Inquiries cost 9 of the 40 points. Without them she’s still 31 short, so this sends her away with false hope.
Show her inquiries cost 9 of the 40 points; without them she’d still be 31 short, and utilization is the biggest factor at 22.
The strong move. It corrects her theory with the bank’s own numbers, kindly, and points at what moves the score.
Skip the details and say the decision was a combination of factors.
Tempting, but it misses something. It dodges a fair question. Utilization alone is 55% of the gap, the most useful thing she can know.
See how a strong candidate says it
“Inquiries cost 9 of the 40 points. If they all aged off, she’d still be 31 points short. Utilization is the biggest factor: 22 points, 55% of the gap.”
Why it works: Agreeing with her to end the call would send her away with false hope.
Step 3: Say what could change it, without promising
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Say lower balances against her limits and more time trading move this score, and offer a smaller limit or secured card if it fits, with no promise.
The strong move. Utilization costs 22 points and time in business 12; both can change, but nobody can promise how a future application scores.
Promise to approve her if she pays her balances down below 30%.
Tempting, but it misses something. No one can promise a future decision. Paying down helps, but she’s 40 points short and time in business still costs 12.
Override the model for a good local customer and approve a small line now.
Tempting, but it misses something. An override on goodwill, with no documented credit reason, is the inconsistency examiners look for. She’s 40 points short on factors that matter.
See how a strong candidate says it
“Lower balances against her limits and more time trading are what move this score. I can’t promise an approval later, but I can tell her what we’d look at, and whether a smaller limit or a secured card fits now.”
Why it works: It gives her a path that is honest about what the bank controls.
Step 4: Make it defensible to an examiner
What would you do here? Open the move you’d make.
Keep the call notes private; the letter is the only record that matters.
Tempting, but it misses something. The record should show the reasons match the model’s top factors for this file. A missing trail turns a fair decline into a finding.
Write her a fuller, friendlier reason than other applicants get.
Tempting, but it misses something. Reasons must come out the same way for every applicant. Special wording for one customer breaks the consistency the notice depends on.
Check the letter’s reasons match the model’s top factors and are produced the same way for everyone; send a doubtful factor for review first.
The strong move. If one of the six inquiries isn’t hers, the decision changes before the letter goes.
See how a strong candidate says it
“I’d check that the letter’s reasons match the model’s top factors for this file and are produced the same way for every applicant. If a factor looked wrong, like an inquiry she didn’t make, I’d have the file reviewed before the letter goes.”
Why it works: The same explanation has to survive the customer and a review of the file.
The answer, in short
- Decision
- Send a letter naming revolving utilization and time in business as the principal reasons, and tell her honestly that inquiries were the smallest of the three.
- Because
- Utilization and time in business account for 34 of the 40 points. Inquiries account for 9, so waiting them out alone leaves her 31 short.
- What would change it
- A data error in one of the factors, such as a misreported balance, would mean re-running the decision before any letter goes out.
Common traps
- Sending the template reason.
- Blaming the model.
- Agreeing with the customer’s theory to end the call.
- Promising an approval later.
Check your answer
- Did I name the principal reasons specifically?
- Did I use the numbers to correct the customer’s theory?
- Did I say what could change the outcome without promising one?
- Would my explanation survive a review of the file?
Want feedback on how you’d answer? Practice “Explain the decision in words a customer can use” with an AI interviewer on Socratify.
Last reviewed Nov 9, 2026