Credit Appraisal Memorandum Format: Downloadable Template for Indian Bank Loans

A credit appraisal memorandum format is a fixed sequence of blocks — gist, borrower, facilities, financials, limit assessment, security, rating, compliance, deviations, covenants, recommendation — each holding named fields with a defined data type and a single source document. This page specifies every field so you can rebuild the template in Word and Excel.

Key facts

• YuSight's sample CAM runs 28 minutes end to end and carries 142 citations. A template is only as good as the traceability behind it; 142 of those citations sit in fields this page specifies, each linking back to a source document and page number.
• Two files, not one. A working CAM template is a Word body document (12–18 pages) plus an Excel annexure workbook (7–9 tabs). Putting the spreads inside Word is the most common reason a template stops being reusable.
• Roughly 180 named fields. A mid-market Indian CAM template carries about 180 discrete fields, of which fewer than 40 are free text. Everything else is a date, an amount, a code from a list, or a computed value.
• RBI sets a clock, not a format. Credit decisions on MSE loans up to ₹25 lakh must be taken within 14 working days (RBI, MSME FAQs, 30 July 2025). A template that requires re-keying the same figure in six places is what breaks that clock.
• Classification fields move daily. SMA-0, SMA-1 and SMA-2 are stamped at day-end for every calendar date, with NPA beyond 90 days overdue (RBI Master Circular RBI/2025-26/13, 1 April 2025). Every classification field in the template therefore needs an as-at date field beside it.

Which of these three pages you actually want

This page is the empty template — a field-by-field build specification you can implement in Word and Excel today. If you want to see the same document filled in with a complete Indian MSME proposal and rupee figures carried through every section, go to the CAM report format walkthrough with a worked sample. If you are underwriting in the United States, the document is materially different — global cash flow instead of MPBF, 4506-C transcripts instead of CMA data — and the commercial credit memo template for US banks covers it. For the concept rather than the container, start with what a credit appraisal memorandum is.

What is in the downloadable CAM template?

[EDITORIAL] Attach the CAM template asset pack here — do not publish this page until the files are live. Pack contents as specified below: (1) YuSight-CAM-Template-IN.docx, (2) YuSight-CAM-Annexures-IN.xlsx. Add the gated download form and replace this marker with the download component.

The pack is two files, and they are deliberately separate.

The Word document holds conclusions and the arithmetic a committee reads. The workbook holds the arithmetic that produces them. If a number appears in both, it exists once — in the workbook — and is linked into Word.

How do you specify a field so someone can rebuild the template?

Each field in the pack carries five attributes. Use the same five if you are building your own.

Repeating rows use an .R{n}. segment — a proposal with four facilities produces FAC.R1 to FAC.R4. Computed fields carry a formula, not a blank, so a reviewer can see how the number was derived without opening the workbook.

Block 1 — Gist of proposal (fields GST.01–GST.24)

The one-page box the sanctioning authority reads first. It holds no original data. Every field restates a value from a later block, which means every field is Computed and none should be typed.

Validation that matters: GST.19 must equal the row count of the deviations table. A gist box showing "Nil deviations" over a deviations table with two rows is the single most common reason a note routes to the wrong sanctioning desk.

Block 2 — Borrower and constitution (BOR.01–BOR.19)

BOR.07 deserves a note. The MSME category field drives priority sector treatment, collateral norms and the decision clock, so it cannot be a free-text guess. Pull it from the Udyam certificate and store the certificate date next to it — classification changes when the borrower crosses a turnover threshold, and a certificate two years old is evidence of nothing.

Block 3 — Facilities table (FAC, repeating)

The facilities block is a repeating table, one row per facility. Nine columns, and every one of them is used by a later validation.

Validation that matters: Σ FAC.R*.04 for fund-based facilities must equal the limit derived in the assessment block. If a template lets you type ₹600 lakh into the facilities table while the MPBF working produces ₹548 lakh, the note will be sanctioned at ₹600 lakh and nobody will notice until the audit.

Block 4 — Financial spreads (workbook, tabs Spreads and Ratios)

The spreads do not live in Word. They live in the workbook and appear in the note as a linked table plus commentary.

Tab `Spreads` column structure: one column per period, in this order — FY-3 Audited, FY-2 Audited, FY-1 Audited, Current Year Provisional (with date), Current Year Estimated, Year 1 Projected, Year 2 Projected. Seven columns, fixed, always in that order, so that no two analysts read the same note differently.

Tab `Spreads` row structure: the seven CMA statements mapped to standard captions. If you are building the workbook from scratch, take the row order from the CMA data format in Excel and keep it; the whole point of a common format is that the caption in row 34 means the same thing in every file.

Tab `Ratios` computes from Spreads by cell reference only — never by retyping. Minimum ratio set, each with the numerator and denominator visible in adjacent cells: current ratio, TOL/TNW, TNW, debt–equity, interest coverage, operating margin, net margin, inventory days, receivable days, payable days, working capital cycle, return on capital employed. The ratios that actually change decisions are covered in credit analysis ratios.

Three fields in the Word block are free text and cannot be automated: FIN.21 auditor qualifications verbatim, FIN.22 contingent liabilities with the analyst's view on which are real, and FIN.23 the turnover reconciliation between audited sales, GST outward supplies and bank credits. Field FIN.23 is the one reviewers read first; the method is in GST return analysis for lending and, for the TDS side of the reconciliation, Form 26AS analysis for lenders.

Block 5 — Limit assessment, and the validation the template must run

This is the block where a template earns its keep, because it is the only place a spreadsheet can catch an error a human will not. The workbook computes the working capital limit by two methods and refuses to agree with itself silently.

Worked example — the template's built-in cross-check. A small enterprise projects accepted turnover of ₹1,140 lakh for the coming year and holds a fund-based working capital requirement below ₹5 crore, so the turnover method applies alongside MPBF Method II.

Turnover method (Nayak Committee basis) — workbook tab `MPBF`, rows 40–45:

Accepted projected turnover 1,140.00 Working capital requirement @ 25% 285.00 (1,140.00 × 0.25) Minimum margin from borrower @ 5% of turnover 57.00 (1,140.00 × 0.05) Permissible bank finance 228.00 (285.00 − 57.00)

MPBF Method II — workbook tab `MPBF`, rows 12–22:

Projected total current assets 612.00 Less: other current liabilities 118.00 Working capital gap 494.00 Route A: WCG less 25% margin 25% of working capital gap 123.50 (494.00 × 0.25) MPBF (A) 370.50 (494.00 − 123.50) Route B: WCG less 25% of total current assets 25% of total current assets 153.00 (612.00 × 0.25) MPBF (B) 341.00 (494.00 − 153.00) MPBF Method II = lower of A and B 341.00

The cross-check the template runs:

Turnover method result 228.00 MPBF Method II result 341.00 Divergence 113.00 (341.00 − 228.00) Divergence as % of the higher figure 33.1% (113.00 ÷ 341.00)

A divergence above 20% fires a mandatory comment field, ASM.14, which the analyst must fill before the note can be finalised. Here the projections imply a working capital cycle far longer than the turnover method assumes — so either the holding periods in the projection are not supported by audited history, or the turnover projection is optimistic. Both are worth a sentence in the note. The full method sits in MPBF calculation explained, and the monthly drawing power that governs actual availment is in the drawing power calculator.

For term loans the same tab computes project cost, means of finance, promoter contribution percentage, a year-by-year repayment schedule, DSCR per year, average DSCR, and two mandatory sensitivity cases — sales down 10%, and interest rate up 200 basis points. Both sensitivity cases are fields, not options.

Block 6 — Security, deviations and covenants (repeating tables)

Three repeating tables, and each has one column that templates usually omit.

Security (`SEC`, repeating): description, ownership, basis of charge, valuer name, valuation date, market value, realisable value, insurance sum insured, insurance expiry, CERSAI registration date, ROC Form CHG-1 filing date. The two bolded columns are the omissions. Drawing power and provisioning both run on realisable value, and a valuation carried forward from a sanction three years ago is not a valuation.

Deviations (`DEV`, repeating): policy clause reference, policy norm, actual position, quantum of deviation, justification, mitigant, competent authority for this deviation. Seven columns, one row per deviation, never a paragraph. Column seven is what routes the note.

Covenants (`COV`, repeating): covenant description, defined formula in words, test frequency, first test date, cure period, consequence of breach, monitoring owner. The formula column is the one that prevents the argument described in covenant testing for DSCR and leverage.

Validation across blocks: every mitigant recorded in DEV.R*.06 must appear as a row in the covenants table. A mitigant that is not an enforceable condition is a sentence, not a control.

Block 7 — Recommendation and signatures (REC.01–REC.09)

Nine fields: recommendation text (free text, one paragraph), recommended limits (computed, must equal Σ FAC.R*.04), recommending officer name and employee number, date of recommendation, sanctioning authority as per delegation of powers, committee reference where applicable, date of sanction, and a conditions-precedent list carried from COV.

REC.02 being computed rather than typed is the last defence against a note that recommends a different figure from the one it assessed.

Where should each field live: Word, Excel, or your LOS?

The rule the table encodes: identifiers and limits come from the system of record, arithmetic comes from the workbook, and judgement comes from the analyst. A template that lets any of the three be typed in the wrong place is how two versions of the same number end up in one sanction file.

What should you change before you use this template?

• Delegation of powers. Replace the REC.05 code-list with your own authority grid. This is the single most lender-specific element.
• Rating grades. Replace the RAT.01 code-list with your internal scale and add your model version field.
• Margin norms. FAC.R*.06 validation thresholds must come from your loan policy, not from the template's defaults.
• Priority sector logic. CMP.03 classification rules follow the RBI Master Direction on Lending to the MSME Sector, most recently updated 9 February 2026, plus your own PSL policy.
• Non-fund-based assessment. LC and BG limits need their own operating-cycle workings; the pack ships a single generic tab, and most lenders replace it with two.
• Field count. Delete fields you will not populate. A template with 180 fields where 40 are always blank trains analysts to skip fields, and eventually they skip one that mattered.

For the surrounding process — who fills which block and when — see the credit appraisal process in Indian banks, and check the finished document against the 47-item credit memo checklist.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I download a CAM report sample format in PDF or Excel?

The template pack on this page is a Word body document plus an Excel annexure workbook, which is the pairing most Indian lenders actually use. Avoid PDF-only samples from document-sharing sites: they are usually a single bank's internal form, undated, with the arithmetic flattened, so you cannot see which cell fed which figure.

What sections does a credit appraisal memorandum contain?

Eleven blocks in the template on this page: gist, borrower and constitution, facilities, financials, limit assessment, security, risk rating, regulatory compliance, deviations, covenants, and recommendation. Some lenders split management and group exposure into their own blocks, which takes it to thirteen or fourteen.

Is there a standard CAM format across Indian banks?

No. RBI prescribes what must be assessed and reported — exposure norms, asset classification, priority sector treatment, MSE decision timelines — not the section order or the field names. That is why the content is nearly identical across lenders while the headings and numbering differ.

How many fields should a CAM template have?

Around 180 for a mid-market proposal, of which fewer than 40 are free text. If your template has more than about 200, some of them are never filled; if it has fewer than 120, something is being written as prose that should be a structured field.

Should the spreads sit in Word or in Excel?

Excel, always, with the Word note carrying a linked summary table. The moment a spread is retyped into Word it stops recalculating, and the next revision of the projections leaves the note quietly wrong.

What is the difference between a CAM template and CMA data?

CMA data is what the borrower submits — seven statements of financial history and projections. The CAM is what the lender writes about it. CMA data feeds the spreads tab of the CAM workbook; it is an input, not a section.

Can the gist box be generated automatically?

Yes, and it should be. Every gist field restates a value that exists elsewhere in the note, so any manual re-entry creates a chance for the summary and the body to diverge after a review comment.

How do you version-control a CAM template across branches?

Put the field codes in the template itself and never renumber them. When you add a field, append it — BOR.20, not a renumbering of BOR.06 onward — so that a note drafted on last quarter's version still maps cleanly to this quarter's.

Key takeaways

• Two files, not one. Word for judgement, Excel for arithmetic, and a link between them rather than a retyped number.
• Every field needs five attributes: code, label, type, source, validation. A field without a named source document is a field that will be guessed.
• The gist box holds no original data. Generate it, do not type it.
• The limit assessment block should cross-check itself by two methods and force a written comment when the two disagree by more than 20%.
• Every mitigant in the deviations table must reappear as a covenant row, or it is decoration.
• Delete the fields you will never fill. An unfillable field teaches analysts to skip fields.

See your first CAM in 30 minutes — [book a live demo](https://yuverse.ai/yusight).

Sources

• RBI, Frequently Asked Questions — Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, updated 30 July 2025
• RBI, Master Circular RBI/2025-26/13 — Prudential norms on Income Recognition, Asset Classification and Provisioning pertaining to Advances, 1 April 2025
• RBI, Master Direction — Lending to Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) Sector, updated 9 February 2026