The type of fraud ranges from individuals who skip out on bank loans after the down payment to corporate loans and credit lines designed to fail. If banks and savings and loan associations are to survive, they will have to learn to protect themselves. Financial institutions should conduct careful background checks of potential employees, officers, and directors, concentrating on their financial responsibility and previous business transactions. Periodic checks of the business interest also should be conducted to identify possible conflicts of interests or fraud. In examining recent bank failures, regulatory agencies are scrutinizing directors and officers to determine if they acted prudently and properly or used the institution to promote their own business interests or those of associates. Where fraud or insider dealing is discovered, civil and criminal charges are considered against the responsible parties, including officers and directors who permitted the failure to occur. Managers have an obligation to protect the assets of the institution, and failure to do so is a violation of banking regulations. Careful reviews of business and loan files and other actions are essential if financial institutions are to survive.