In a previous newsletter, Michael Dennis wrote about the importance of a credit policy manual. Don’t you think that rigid policies stifle initiative, and efforts to look for creative solutions to complex problems?

Answer: There may be some merit in this argument. We believe that the benefits of having a credit policy and procedures manual including consistency, the ability to refer back to a central repository of company policies, the use of a credit policy manual as a training tool, and the fact that a well written credit policy manual tends to help control credit risk when used correctly outweigh the negative factors referenced in your question.