The Network Member's Role in a Governed Referral

In an unmanaged referral, the referring institution's role ends when it gives the customer a name and a phone number. The institution has no visibility into what happens next, no record of the outcome, and no protection for the relationship it has just exposed.

In a governed referral, the referring member's role is more structured — and more durable. The referring member identifies the opportunity, confirms that it falls within the scope of the applicable product schedule, and submits it through the Network's controlled workflow. The submission records the source institution, the permitted credit need, and the relationship protections that apply.

The referring member does not make the credit decision. That responsibility belongs to the receiving institution. But the referring member retains the right to be informed of the outcome — and the obligation to be available for the customer conversation that follows, regardless of whether the credit is approved or declined.

If the receiving institution does not proceed, the outcome and applicable reason are recorded as part of Final Disposition. Any subsequent action by the source institution occurs under its own direction and the applicable agreements and schedules.

Applicable schedules may define restrictions on customer contact, solicitation, data use and other protected relationship fields. Those protections remain subject to the applicable agreement's enforcement, dispute-resolution and remedy provisions.

The governed referral model asks more of the referring member than an unmanaged referral does. It requires documentation, process discipline, and follow-through. In exchange, it provides something the unmanaged referral never can: a record of what happened, a defined set of protections, and a documented position when the credit relationship ends.