The most recent instance came last week, when I caught up again with a friend after several years. In that time, he had climbed through the ranks of corporate banking at his firm. But it appeared his weight was directly related to his career ascent, because the fellow had piled on more than a few pounds since we last met.
We go back a long way, so he didn’t mind when I prodded him about this, but he had a ready and convincing explanation for his latest bout of weight gain.
This fellow and his team had spent the last three months working rigorously on a syndicated loan for a first time client — a leading producer of cheese crackers in its home country. And the minute my pal sank his teeth into the company’s best known offerings, he knew the customer was worth it.
To fuel the bankers through the gruelling hours of work that went into readying the financing, the borrower gave them generous amounts of cheese crackers, many which found their way into my friend’s stomach.
The hard work paid off and the debut loan was a huge success. The proof was certainly in the pudding — and also in my friend’s rising waistline.