Mr. Goodhair

[eltf177]

Then today, he handed me a fundraiser flyer for some local person's cancer benefit and told me to write them a $25 check. I know how the folks at the main branch complain whenever we do anything independently, so I said, "that normally goes through <main branch>." Goodhair told me to just do it. I said "ok."

Do _NOT_ sign it, let him take the flak from the main branch!

I agree, getting out of this disaster zone ASAP is a good idea. I really see Goohair setting you up to take the rap when his chickens come home to roost...

[Tama]

It really smells like he's trying to set you up for the inevitable fall while simultaneously stealing credit for any GOOD work you do.

[ADeMartino]

There's a scene in the original POSEIDON ADVENTURE where the bridge crew sees the tidal wave, and they sound ALL the alarms. Just this incredible cacophony of bells, sirens, and horns.

THAT'S what's going on in my head right now, reading about this. Didn't you say that others got fired with Goodhair at his last job? That wasn't a coincidence, I promise.

[Ghel]

Didn't you say that others got fired with Goodhair at his last job? That wasn't a coincidence, I promise.

I'm not sure about that. There was at least one other employee that left that bank at the same time as Goodhair, but I have no idea what the circumstances were.

[eltf177]

I'm not sure about that. There was at least one other employee that left that bank at the same time as Goodhair, but I have no idea what the circumstances were.

Might be worth your while to research this, just to CYA...

[paxillated]

Ghel, send him an email, copying yourself and the Official Donation Approver, saying something like, "I just want to make sure that you want me to write a check donating $25 to So-and-So, on behalf of the Bank." Use BCC!

Yeah, my hinky meter is really pegged, now. If the central office asks why this check was written, they'll be asking YOU, not Mr. Goodhair. And if you say he told you to do it, he'll throw you under the bus. E-mailing him as above, and keeping a copy (and a copy of his answer), will prevent that.

This guy is a... a... Just distance yourself from him as far as possible. And ask some other loan officers how they were trained.

[Ghel]

I'm not so worried about the $25 check as the statement he made about "things are going to change."

I talked briefly with my old boss this morning about how I haven't officially been offered the job yet. She's disappointed (that may be an understatement) with the way they've been handling it, too. They re-did the Loan Policy, which lists who the loan officers are, and took her off the list. Temporarily, anyway. They put her back on when she complained. If they took away her lending limits, every loan done in our branch would have had to be signed off on by Goodhair. He who isn't registered with the NMLS, so can't approve personal mortgage loans.

Also not on the list of loan officers and lending limits was, you guessed it, me. So my former boss said she would talk to upper management, even threatening to quit in a month instead of a year if they don't do something. Since she's the one who has held this branch together the past 4 or more years, that's a significant threat.

[Kittykat]

Seriously talk to a lawyer, show him/her EVERY document you have and make sure he/she has copies. This is NOT going to end well, I never worked in loans but I did teller work for a while, and this sounds like RICO waiting to happen.

[KatherineB]

And I would forget worrying about your current situation and focus ALL your attention on getting a new position somewhere while your former boss is still around to act as a referee for you. Get. Out. Now.

[ADeMartino]

Seriously talk to a lawyer, show him/her EVERY document you have and make sure he/she has copies. This is NOT going to end well, I never worked in loans but I did teller work for a while, and this sounds like RICO waiting to happen.

Too late. This is a RICO in progress.

[eltf177]

Too late. This is a RICO in progress.

I'm wondering just what the government officials looking into this will think - payoff, blackmail, sheer incompetence?

Well, doesn't matter - you're still going to the pokey!

[Ghel]

So, here's the plan, for the moment. The FDIC is going to be at the main branch doing their every-18-month review at the end of the month. I want to hold out until at least then, just to see what they say about the loans Goodhair has done. I very much doubt the FDIC will insist that Goodhair not be allowed to make loans, but I expect them to classify at least one of them as substandard.

Meanwhile, I'm going to update my resume and start looking for a new job. I think a full month is plenty of time to wait to be offered the position that I'm already doing. Once I've got a new job in the works, I'll start pushing for a raise, title, etc. If they don't see the value in treating me as I deserve, I'll walk.

[eltf177]

Sounds like a good plan. I see most if not all of Goodhair's loans getting the stinkeye if the FDIC is doing their job.

And I agree, if they don't offer you a promotion with a raise I would walk. Especially as you're not getting paid enough to deal with this crap, not to mention the fallout when this mess falls apart!

[Silent-Hunter]

I agree with what everyone else is saying, you should bail. and if it even starts to look like Goodhair is going to throw you under the bus, I'd send all those docs you have to whatever organisation they should go to.

[Ghel]

The problem I've been having with collecting documentation is that it's nothing obvious. It's just a series of questionable and potentially unethical business practices. The most damning things have been things he's said, so I don't have them in writing. All the exceptions to the loan policy have been documented in the loan files and approved by the head loan officer at the main branch.

I'm fairly certain that those at the main branch (mostly the bank president and the head loan officer) are either aware of what's going on with these loans or they trust Goodhair's judgment. (Why, I can't fathom.) It makes it very difficult to approach anyone internally to bring it to their attention.

ETA: Regarding the loan program for the tribe members, this week marked the first of those loans that was paid off normally by the customer. We've had at least two dozen that have defaulted and been paid off by the tribe, but this was the first that was paid as it was supposed to be. Granted, the shortest term on any of these loans is 6 months, so they're just now getting to the point of normal maturity. But on the other hand, we've only done about 100 of these loans, so that's already approaching the 35% default rate that Goodhair said we should expect.