At a Glance

• The dealer relationships that produce the most flow are also the ones most likely to erode a financier’s objectivity, precisely because they are the most valuable.
• Familiarity slides into deference: exceptions get easier to grant, questions get softer, and the file stops getting the scrutiny a newer relationship would.
• The failure is rarely dramatic; it is a slow accumulation of small accommodations no single decision would have justified.
• Survey data shows many professionals recognize a relationship that clouded their judgment only after a loss or a near miss.

How It Starts