Like any wounded animal, a bank can be dangerous. More dangerous than usual, that is. The fact is that the army of bank employees usually carries out their superiors\u2019 orders without question, whether out of a lack of ethical concern; or out of a desire to climb the bank\u2019s corporate ladder; or simply out of a survival instinct as an employee who cannot afford to be sacked; or a very sad combination of all three.<\/p>\n
.<\/span><\/p>\n Today we bring you a real-life example of what a Spanish bank like Banco Popular was capable of doing in the final months of its existence, before being \u00absold\u00bb for \u20ac1 to virtually the only entity capable of taking on such a financial black hole.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/p>\n The events we are about to describe were, as always, perpetrated against an inexperienced small business owner, who in this case applied for a loan to start up his small business. We are talking about a loan of around \u20ac100,000, for the approval of which the bank asked the customer for all the necessary personal and financial details of the business. So far, so normal. The bank employee, a friend of his (of course), gave him high hopes that the loan would be approved, as his personal credit history was good and the business viable, so the customer began to set up his business despite not having the final go-ahead.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/p>\n The surprise came a few weeks later, when his friend\u2014the branch manager\u2014confirmed the bad news that the delays had already led him to suspect: his loan application was not going to be approved, despite meeting the usual reasonable criteria. \u00abOrders from above\u2026\u00bb At that point, the problem for the client was enormous, as he would have to rush to another institution to secure financing and meet the commitments he had already made for his fledgling business. He also had to start the whole bank loan application process from scratch with unfamiliar bankers (not friends), and with no guarantee that the application wouldn\u2019t also be rejected by that other bank. Nerves and insomnia took hold of the client and his family that first night, as you might expect.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/p>\n The next day, the chummy manager at the branch called them in again and told them there was a chance of getting approval under \u00abcertain conditions, which I\u2019ll explain when you come in\u00bb. The client discussed this with his partner, feeling noticeably relieved, and they agreed that they could expect the loan terms to be tightened at their next meeting with the banker. They immediately took out their laptop and, together with their partner, began to recalculate the business plan in anticipation of a rise in the interest rate, a reduction in the loan amount to just \u20ac75,000, and a shorter repayment term. With their homework done, and having accepted these new, manageable red lines for themselves and their business, the couple headed to their meeting with the manager full of hope.<\/p>\n .<\/span><\/p>\n The surprise came when their friendly manager told them that, for their application to be approved, the loan couldn\u2019t be for \u20ac100,000 or \u20ac75,000, but would have to be for the staggering sum of \u20ac150,000! \u2018How is that possible? Does the bank want to lend us more money than we need for our business?\u2019 asked the couple. \u2018That\u2019s right,\u2019 replied the manager, \u2018but on the condition that you use that surplus of 50,000 euros to buy shares in our bank. If you don\u2019t accept these terms, unfortunately no loan will be approved.\u2019<\/p>\n