"Zippy Cheats & Tricks," with Zippy being Chase's in-house automated loan underwriting system. It recommends three "handy steps" to loan approval.

A memo that circulated at JPMorgan Chase provided a menu of options for fooling the banking giant's computer system into approving risky mortgages, according to a story in The Oregonian.Here are some details from the story:<br />The memo was called "Zippy Cheats & Tricks," with Zippy being Chase's in-house automated loan underwriting system. It recommends three "handy steps" to loan approval.<br />1. Lump all of an applicant's compensation as the applicant's base income, rather than breaking out commissions, bonuses and tips.<br />2. Do not disclose use of gifts for down payments.<br />3. If all else fails, simply inflate the applicant's income.<br />"Inch it up $500 to see if you can get the findings you want," the memo says. "Do the same for assets." The memo deals specifically with so-called stated-income loans, which require little or no documentation of income. Chase no longer makes any stated-income loans.A Chase spokesman confirmed the memo was e-mailed from within the bank but said it did not reflect corporate policy. <br />Chase fired Portland account representative who sent the e-mail days after discovering she had sent it.<br />Chase wrote down $1.3 billion in nonperforming mortgages at the end of 2007.

"Zippy Cheats & Tricks," with Zippy being Chase's in-house automated loan underwriting system. It recommends three "handy steps" to loan approval.

A memo that circulated at JPMorgan Chase provided a menu of options for fooling the banking giant's computer system into approving risky...

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