Monday, December 29, 2008

Power of Yes-Not So Funny in Real Life

I liked Jim Carrey's latest movie "Yes Man" in which a bank employee changes his life by always saying "Yes."

The real life picture of always saying yes isn't so amusing. Washington Mutual's slogan was the "Power of Yes." (http://newsroom.wamu.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=189529&p=irol-newsArticle_Print&ID=695871&highlight=)

And, they were true to their slogan! They always said Yes to loan applicants just like Jim Carrey's character. Unfortunately, they were one of the largest mortgage lenders in the country and the effect of this policy was to bankrupt the company. The losses from the "Power of Yes" policy have been staggering.

Some of Wamu's personnel now say that the company's loan officer's didn't want the bank to check as to whether loan applicants had the income and assets that they claimed because their salary was based on how many loans that they wrote. And appraisals were false as well. These were criminal acts and should be approached from that perspective. It's time to put these clowns in jail where they belong.

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