CMA Data Report for Bank Loan
A CMA report is the set of financial tables your bank uses to fix, renew or enhance a cash credit, overdraft or term loan. It puts your past results, current-year estimates and projections into the bank’s format, with ratios worked out. We build it from your books and GST returns.
What it is
CMA stands for Credit Monitoring Arrangement. It is a set of tables a bank uses to judge how much working capital a business needs and how much of it the bank should fund.
The system grew out of the Tandon group’s 1974 recommendations and came into banking in 1988. Each bank now uses its own version of the format, but the logic is the same. A project report for a bank loan explains a new project in words and numbers; the CMA is the numeric core a credit officer checks. For an existing business renewing its limits, it is often all the bank asks for.
Who it applies to
You want a new cash credit limit
A trader, manufacturer or service company asking for a fresh cash credit, overdraft or working capital demand loan.
Your limit is due for renewal or a raise
At renewal, and every time you ask for a higher limit, the bank wants fresh CMA data with the latest audited figures.
You are borrowing for machinery or a new unit
The bank wants projections showing you can repay. The CMA carries the debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) and repayment schedule.
Why it matters
It decides the size of your limit
The assessed limit comes straight out of the CMA tables. Understate your stock or debtor days and the limit comes out lower than the business needs.
It speeds up the credit decision
A file whose figures match the audited balance sheet and GST returns leaves the credit officer fewer questions to raise.
It shows you your own numbers
Working out the current ratio, debtor days and stock turnover tells you where cash is getting stuck.
Documents required
Financials
- Audited balance sheet and profit and loss account for the last two years
- Provisional figures for the current year to date
- Income tax returns for the same years
Working capital details
- Latest stock statement and debtors ageing list
- Creditors list with ageing
- Existing loan sanction letters and repayment schedules
- Bank statements for the last 12 months
Business and plans
- GST returns (GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B) for the last 12 months
- Udyam registration certificate, if any
- Sales plans and machinery quotations, if any
What goes into a CMA report
| Part | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Existing and proposed limits | Your current fund-based and non-fund-based limits and what you are asking for |
| Operating statement | Sales, costs and profit: actuals, current-year estimate and projections |
| Analysis of balance sheet | Liabilities and assets regrouped the way banks read them |
| Current assets and liabilities | Stock, debtors, creditors and other current items, with holding periods |
| Assessment of working capital | The maximum permissible bank finance (MPBF) |
| Fund flow and ratios | Where long-term funds came from and went; current ratio, debt-equity, DSCR |
Banks usually work out MPBF by the Tandon group’s second method of lending: you fund at least 25% of total current assets from long-term sources, and the bank funds the rest of the gap.
In practice, debtor and stock days drive everything. Take a Faridabad auto-components supplier whose buyers pay in 90 days. Its gap is far wider than that of a trader who collects in 30. The CMA has to prove why, from the debtors ageing, or the bank trims the limit.
How it works
Collect and check your figures
We check that sales in your books match GST turnover, and that stock and debtors match the last statement you gave the bank.
Agree the assumptions with you
We sit with you on sales growth, margins, customer credit and stock levels. Every projection must be one you can defend across the table from the branch manager.
Build the tables in your bank’s format
We fill the bank’s own CMA template where it has one. Then we work out MPBF, current ratio, TOL/TNW and DSCR, and flag any ratio below the usual benchmarks.
Hand over the file and handle queries
You get the CMA in Excel and PDF with a short note on the assumptions. If the credit officer raises a query, we answer it with you.
Timelines
Preparation time
A few working days once we have your accounts and current-year figures. Missing provisional numbers cause most delays.
Start a month before renewal
Limits are normally reviewed once a year. Begin the CMA a month before the renewal date in your sanction letter, so the limit never lapses.
Bank’s decision
For loans up to ₹25 lakh to micro and small enterprises, the RBI expects a decision within 14 working days of a complete application. Larger limits take longer.
What happens if the numbers don’t hold up
Lower limit than you need
Weak projections or ratios below the bank’s norms mean a smaller limit or more margin money from you.
Queries and delays
Figures that do not match the audited accounts, ITR or GST returns lead to queries. Each round adds weeks.
Trouble at the next renewal
Project 40% growth, deliver 10%, and next year’s renewal starts with that gap.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a CMA report and a project report?
A CMA report is the numeric tables a bank uses to assess working capital; a project report describes a new project in full. A project report adds the business background, project cost, means of finance and market to those tables. For renewing a cash credit limit, most banks ask only for CMA data. For a new unit, you usually need both.
How many years of data does a CMA report need?
Usually two years of audited actuals, one year of estimates and two to three years of projections. A new business without history starts from an opening balance sheet and shows projections only. Your bank may ask for more years for a large term loan, and we follow whatever its template requires.
What is MPBF in a CMA report?
MPBF is the maximum permissible bank finance, the most the bank will lend for working capital. Under the second method of lending suggested by the Tandon group, you fund at least 25% of total current assets from long-term sources, and the bank funds the remaining gap after other current liabilities. Your CMA works this out for every year shown, so you can see the limit the numbers support.
What current ratio do banks expect?
Many banks look for a current ratio of at least 1.33 under the second method of lending. That number is simply what you get when 25% of current assets come from long-term funds. Here is the catch: a lower ratio is not an automatic rejection, but the bank may ask for more margin or a smaller limit. We point out the ratio before the file goes in, so you can plan for it.
How do banks fix working capital limits for small businesses?
For micro and small enterprises, the RBI asks banks to compute working capital limits at a minimum of 20% of projected annual turnover, for limits up to ₹5 crore. So a small unit projecting ₹2 crore of turnover can expect the assessment to start at ₹40 lakh. The bank can still fix a higher limit using the MPBF method if your cycle needs it.
Do I need collateral for a working capital loan?
Not for small amounts to micro and small enterprises. The RBI has told banks not to take collateral for loans up to ₹10 lakh to units in the MSE sector. Larger loans can be covered by the CGTMSE guarantee scheme without collateral, for credit up to ₹10 crore, at the bank’s discretion. An Udyam registration helps you show that you qualify.
Can a CMA be prepared before the audit is done?
Yes, the current year is always shown on provisional figures. For past years banks prefer audited accounts, though some accept unaudited figures with the books while the audit is pending. We mark each year as audited, provisional or projected, so the credit officer knows what they are reading and the file is not sent back.
Is there a government fee for a CMA report?
No, there is no government fee. A CMA report goes to your bank, not to any government department. Your cost is our fee plus any processing charge your bank levies on the loan. We quote our fee before we start, based on the number of years and the size of the business.
What it costs
Our fee plus the government fee that applies to your case, quoted before you commit. Tell us the situation and we will price it exactly.
No government fee applies to a CMA report.
Ready to begin?
Send us your last two years’ accounts and the bank’s format, and we will build CMA data that the credit officer can check line by line.