Executive Summary
- Credit committees scan in a specific sequence, not start-to-finish
- The Executive Summary and financial ratios are checked before the narrative is read closely
- Internal consistency between sections is checked actively, not assumed
- A DPR structured to match this scanning pattern gets through review faster
The Actual Scanning Sequence
A credit committee member, often reviewing multiple files in a single sitting, does not read a DPR the way a novel gets read. They scan the Executive Summary first, jump to the financial ratios, check promoter background, then return to specific narrative sections only if something in the numbers raises a question. A DPR written purely as a linear narrative, expecting to be read start to finish, is fighting against how it will actually be reviewed.
Why the Executive Summary Gets Read First
The Executive Summary is the single page that determines whether the rest of the DPR gets a careful read or a skeptical skim. It needs to state, clearly and immediately: project cost, means of finance, projected DSCR, and the core business case — not as a teaser building to a later reveal, but as the complete picture compressed to one page.
Ratios Before Narrative
After the Executive Summary, the next stop is almost always the financial ratio sheet — DSCR, TOL/TNW, current ratio. These numbers either clear the bank's internal thresholds or they don't, and that single check often determines how much attention the rest of the document receives. A DPR with weak ratios buried under twenty pages of strong-sounding narrative does not compensate for the numbers — it just delays the moment the weakness is discovered.
The Cross-Document Consistency Check
Experienced credit officers actively cross-check figures between the DPR narrative, the financial projections, and the CMA data statement submitted alongside it — they are specifically looking for inconsistency, since it is one of the clearest signals of either carelessness or manipulation. A revenue figure that differs by even a small margin between two documents is enough to trigger a query that delays the entire file. See our companion guide on DPR versus CMA data for how these two documents need to align.