We’ve been hearing the same recycled phrases for half a decade now: “turbulent times,” “market uncertainty,” “volatility.” These aren’t excuses anymore. This is the market. Adapt.

At a recent leadership roundtable, a broker asked how to handle lenders quoting 12–16% on standard deals. The room practically exploded. Everyone agreed: Those rates were out of line unless the deals were riddled with risk. They weren’t.

So, how was the broker supposed to know what’s typical?

That’s exactly the problem.

Fortunately, several AAPL members were in the room. They pointed to the tools, standards, and education we’ve spent more than 15 years building—tools this broker should have already had access to. Tools we’ve been pushing so loudly and for so long, I didn’t have to open my mouth. The work spoke for itself.

But education isn’t enough. Enforcement matters just as much.

Doing the right thing when business is booming is easy. When things get tight, the cracks show—and lately, they’re looking more like canyons. We’ve seen a sharp rise in Code of Ethics complaints in the past two years. In fact, more than we saw in the entire decade before that. That tells us something: Some of you aren’t handling pressure well.

Even lacking poor intentions, the gunslinger way many operators respond to a crisis creates opportunities for negligence and outcomes that unjustifiably affect borrowers, investors, and other industry partners.

We’ve carefully refined our processes to handle complex situations where both sides may walk away dissatisfied. Fairness, impartiality, and transparency remain our priorities, especially when the market is anything but steady. We don’t step back when things get tough. Today, AAPL continues to stand as the industry’s only organization to comprehensively provide education on best practices—and enforcement of the same.

So, here’s the bottom line:

Your carrot: We’ve got your back. Real resources. Real support. Real accountability.

Your stick: If you fumble this “new normal” hard enough, don’t be surprised when you can’t make eye contact with us at the next conference.