Who knows where it started, but there’s a misconception that putting on a suit will make you more likely to get a loan. Movies show this all the time! Someone is in desperate need of cash, so they put on their Sunday best and head to the bank (or credit union, but movies almost always show banks). Does that really make the loan officer think, “Would you look at that suit! They’ll obviously pay us back. Let’s get that loan paperwork going.”
Nope. Not really how that works… or at least not here.
I can remember one guy who was particularly self-conscious about coming in to sign his loan paperwork. (This was back before signing electronically was a thing.) We’d done his loan application over the phone, and everything was approved. All he needed to do was stop in and sign on the dotted line. The problem was, he worked long hours and the only time he could get to the credit union was straight from work. He explained that, as a welder, he comes home from work sweaty, dirty, and smelling like metal dust… I assured him that none of that mattered, and we just needed his autograph. So, after work the next day he came in… And do you know what happened?
He signed the forms and got the loan. He was the same person I talked to on the phone – a hard working guy who wanted to remodel a couple rooms in anticipation of child #2.
There is no “dress code” for getting a loan or anything else. Go ahead. Wear those sweatpants with pride. And if that’s not true where you go, you’re welcome to come see us.