Did anyone see this article about Merit Financial? I’m gonna be glad when the likes of these guys all get flushed away, at least until the next ridiculous speculative boom…
Merit Financial, says Rhodes, was run more like a frat house. Its employees were recruited from the Kirkland area bar scene and were turned loose on unsuspecting borrowers after about an hour of training.
It was an environment where 18-year-old know-nothings outnumbered and worked side by side with the experienced loan officers. The beer flowed freely and the boss often provided two kegs for company meetings. Employees were even free to bring in six-packs on Friday.
The article quoted loan officer Sunny Hoppe saying, “It was young, hip, drugs and drinking.”
And young, drunk hipsters pulling credit reports and selling mortgages wasn’t the only problem. Predatory lending tactics and outright fraud were also at work at Merit.
