This course covers Operational Stress Signals, which involve assessing indicators that suggest operational challenges, disruptions, or weaknesses within a borrower’s business that may lead to increased credit risk within Credit Monitoring & Portfolio Surveillance workflows. It focuses on identifying signs such as production slowdowns, supply chain disruptions, management instability, workforce issues, declining operational efficiency, regulatory challenges, or business continuity concerns that may adversely affect the borrower’s financial performance and repayment capacity. The course examines how operational stress monitoring supports the early identification of emerging borrower vulnerabilities, strengthens risk oversight, and enables proactive portfolio risk management through timely intervention and escalation. It evaluates key dimensions such as control lapses, early warning signal identification, risk trend analysis, and proactive portfolio risk management, with each requiring independent validation and documented rationale before any credit action is finalized. Particular emphasis is placed on operational performance monitoring, business risk assessment, exception identification, stress signal evaluation, and governance oversight of borrower operating conditions. It is distinct from broader credit management processes, as it focuses specifically on identifying and responding to operational stress-related indicators within existing credit exposures, rather than broader credit origination, portfolio strategy, or administrative activities. Within Early Warning Signal Identification, the senior credit leader sets portfolio limits, governs exception criteria, and drives strategic alignment across the Credit Monitoring & Portfolio Surveillance function, shaping escalation scope, risk priorities, and portfolio management decisions through effective monitoring of operational stress signals and emerging borrower risk conditions.