Case 3.

Mutual Ending: Help Yourself

The job of Ms. Juliana Sarangaya was to solicit borrowers for the branch office of Mutual
Lending , a financing firm. The branch had just open seven months earlier and was still struggling to
justify its existence. So far, Ms. Sarangaya was able to develop a profitable group of clients, she was still
not satisfied, however. She knew that for the branch to survive, it must have a bigger portfolio clients.

Ms. Sarangaya’s opportunity came when a longer-time friend mentioned a possible prospect.
She was assured that with the help of the prospect, she could get a sufficient number of qualified
borrowers. The prospect held a high position in a large university and he could arrange an exclusive loan
agreement between the university’s emp0loyees and Mutual Lending. A meeting between Ms.
Sarangaya and the prospect was scheduled.

During the meeting, the prospect told Ms. Sarangaya that a facilitator’s fee was required for the
deal to push through. From Ms. Saranagaya’s point of view, the was only possible if the interest charge
was jacked-up. Ms. Saranagaya thinks that this would cause inconvenience to the borrowers who were
mostly low-income earners. She relayed the information at once to her superior who prodded her to go
ahead. Ms. Sarangaya was adamant. “I consider the facilitator’s fee as a bribe and I don’t think it is
morally right for me to agree to such a condition.” Ms. Sarangaya thought.

Tom between clinching the agreement and her moral duty, Ms. Sarangaya’s mind wandered
from one option to the other.

Rephrased