"Therefore, the debtor who does not redeem his credit to the point of exhaustion, who when embarrassed or insolvent does not give to his creditors all that is theirs, who retains for himself something which is not his, is unethical, and deficient in character, the most important element of the credit relation."

ROBERT MORRIS ASSOCIATES

Membership selected from banks and commercial bankers belonging to Nat. Assn. of Credit Men. Adopted 1916; revised 1921:

CREDIT DEPARTMENT ETHICS

The first and cardinal principle in credit investigation is the sacredness of the replies.

Any betrayal of the confidence implied when credit information is given brands the offender unworthy of consideration or confidence.

Indiscriminate revision of files, when there is no real need of information, is unnecessary, wasteful, and undesirable.

Every letter of inquiry should indicate in some definite and conspicuous manner the object and scope of the inquiry.

When more than one inquiry on the same subject is sent simultaneously to banks in the same city, this fact should be plainly set forth in the inquiries.

If form letters are used in making inquiries, it is good practice to have them bear the manual signature of the inquirer to establish responsibility.

In seeking information, the name of the inquirer, in whose behalf the inquiry is made, should not be disclosed without permission.

The recipient of a credit inquiry who urges his correspondents to make plain the object and scope of their investigations, fails in his duty if he neglects to read carefully each special letter of inquiry and to answer frankly specific questions therein.

In answering inquiries, it is advisable to disclose all material facts bearing on the credit of the subject, because full understanding is always necessary and because all paper offered should be of the same description as that held by the borrower's own bank.

In answering inquiries the source of the information should not be disclosed without permission.

It is not permissible nor the part of good faith, in soliciting accounts from a competitor, to seek information from the competitor without frankly stating the object of the inquiry.

CREDIT, RETAIL

RETAIL CREDIT MEN'S NATIONAL ASSOCIATION

Adopted June 1923:

CODE OF ETHICS

Recognizing the fundamental truth that helpful service. is the chief function of any business and that all the activities of business should be governed in accordance with this principle, the members of the Retail Credit Men's National Association, whose duty it is justly and efficiently, to control the extension of individual credit throughout the Nation and to assist in the accumulation and dissemination, as well as in the analyzation, of such information as rightfully serves as a basis for such extension, are hereby cordially invited and urged to cheerfully subscribe to the following tenets to be designated as "The Code of Ethics of the Retail Credit Men's National Association," to-wit:

(1) To hold that the profession of retail credit granting is one of honor, of opportunity and of grave responsibility and that it demands our highest service, and that, as such, it is entitled to adequate recognition and recompense.

(2) To acknowledge that real service is the chief function of all business and that justification for its existence is dependent upon the measure of its service to the community, or the territory, which its activities embrace.

(3) To further acknowledge a clear and definite responsibility to render that service, not only with justice, but also with the largest measure of efficiency of which we are capable, in order that the merit of our service may be the greatest, and with the utmost degree of true economy, in order that the cost of our service may be the lowest.

(4) To believe that the adoption of a recognized standard of business principles and practices upon the part of those who assume the responsibilities of retail credit extension will serve to promote a more helpful and profitable service.

(5) To recognize that the practical application of the Golden Rule-All Things Whatsoever Ye Would That Men Should Do Unto You, Do Ye Even So Unto Them-is the foundation and that education and co-operation are the chief corner stones upon which to build.

(6) To seek to establish upon this foundation a profession which will increasingly serve as a constructive factor in

the development of the Nation's business and an avenue for the development and maintenance of those high principles which must be the basis of all right action.

CREDIT SERVICE EXCHANGE DIVISION

of Retail Credit Men's Nat. Assn. Promulgated 1924; only selections given:

CODE OF ETHICS

III. 1. The Credit Service Exchange is a semi-public institution. Its management is charged with a responsibility, that of aiding in the maintenance of a proper credit balance in the business transactions of the community and the country as a whole. Realizing this responsibility a Credit Service Exchange executive shall never knowingly permit unfair, biased, inaccurate or untruthful reports to issue from his office. When errors are made they shall be promptly rectified.

2. The Credit Service Exchange is custodian for accumulated files of credit information. The Credit Service Exchange executive should consider this information as held in trust to be used only for the purposes for which it was given.

3. The Credit Service Exchange shall be conducted so as to enable merchants and credit grantors to properly pass on credit transactions, thereby assisting the merchant in both conducting his business in an economical manner and in offering a better service and better values to the buying public.

4. Credit Service Exchange executives shall assist in giving general publicity regarding the advantages to the consumer of his having a clear credit record, kept in a central office, such records to be instantly available for use in determining proper extensions of credit.

IV. 1. The standard for a report shall be the standard report adopted by the Credit Service Exchange Division of the Retail Credit Men's National Association.

2. All the facts on which a report is based shall be established beyond question, or so stated in the report.

3. An honest effort shall be made to secure all the facts necessary for making each report complete.

4. All reports shall be made promptly; provided, that if for any reason a foreign inquiry can not be answered on the day of receipt or the day following, a post card shall be sent to

the sender of the inquiry giving reasons for the delay and probable date when the report will go forward.

5. When upon request or otherwise the reporter states his opinion regarding the desirability of a credit risk, the reporter's statement should be given as an opinion only, with the reasons upon which the opinion is based.

6. Each exchange shall maintain a uniform price schedule for all local users of information and reports.

7. Equally prompt, courteous, attentive and efficient service shall be given to all users of information and reports.

8. The Credit Service Exchange executive shall adopt some rational and efficient system of bookkeeping, so that the business of the Exchange may be conducted in an orderly, business-like manner.