Question

You have a co-worker at work that you are also friends with. One day, a borrower comes in and meets with him. You overhear the borrower tell your co-worker that he has a loan with his mom and dad for about $10,000 that he pays $300 a month. Your co-worker proceeds as if he didn’t hear your borrower at all. Once he has taken the application, he tells the borrower that he qualifies for maximum financing for a $250,000 home. However, that does NOT take into consideration the $300 a month the borrower pays his parents for the loan.

• Did your coworker do anything unethical in this transaction?
• Assuming you feel this was an unethical situation, how do you handle this? Remember, this is your friend and co-worker.

Answer 1

As a friend, I would advise him on ethics and morals. I would tell him that if he doesn't put down all data on paper before analysis, it is a wrong he commits to himself, the borrower as well as the employer-lender. In case of a default, he would have to assume the blame.

As a co-worker, I would tell him that unless he corrects his mistake, he could be pulled up legally. The employer-lender may lose money, the borrower may lose his house and he could lose his job.