Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
When a new head loan officer took over at a bank branch, borrowers who shared the same culture as the officer and became the "in-group" gained access to more generous credit. Meanwhile, the "out-group" -- people with different backgrounds -- either had no change or declined as a share of new debt. The chart below shows what happened when a new officer arrived at a branch of a large Indian bank. The shaded area represents the change in leadership.