It was almost final and we were expecting a final “yes” from the girl side when our finance minister presented the budget. In the budget, the finance minister proposed the privatization of two banks and she would also not tell which banks are going to be privatized as if it is a matter of national security. I was the first victim and my “could be” in-laws are in doubt now. They wanted someone in government service and now my marriage is on hold.
I
am working as a manager in a nationalized bank and it could be my bank that is
going to be privatized. In that case, I’ll have to “apply” to some other girl
for the marriage and qualify for the family entrance test. The worst part is
that in this case you even don’t know the syllabus. I don’t think there is much
difference in the working conditions of public and private sector bank
employees except the fact that people feel that government employees are
getting “Son-in-law” treatment at their working places. They don’t know that
our working conditions are no better than private-sector employees and we are
also underpaid. It is only the demand of family and society for a government
job due to which we end up here.
As
my uncle (Vichola) was pressing hard for the marriage, my “could be” father-in-law
Sh. Anmol Ratan said that he’ll visit my office as well as a branch of private
sector bank and will then decide. He might be thinking to use the same formula
as we use in our work that in the end, he will say that the competent authority
(his wife) is not agreeable to the proposal (marriage).
We
reached the branch of a private sector bank that had just released its
quarterly results. With the same amount of business (Deposits + Advances) as our
bank, this bank had made almost ten times the profit of our bank. While our
bank had made good operating profits, most of the profit had gone into
provisions for bad loans.
We
were greeted by a well-dressed young lady at the entrance. Her name was “Ms.
Rosy”. Sh. Anmol Ratan likes to be well dressed and it makes the staff more
interested in him. The staff can see their branch achieving the business
targets for the month. Ms. Rosy requests us to sit while she was talking to
some other customer.
The Customer: But Mam, I have been told that I can
avail Modi Loan from any bank and this branch is near to my home. (I observed
that he was talking about “Mudra loan”, a Government scheme, in which no
additional security is required)
Ms. Rosy: Sir, this scheme has been launched by
the government and you can avail the loan from government banks. The Government
has already provided money to the government banks. I request you to
immediately contact any government bank before the amount is exhausted.
It
made sense for him and he left the branch in a hurry as he was going to miss a
train. I thought now he will demand the loan from a government bank as a matter
of right and if the loan goes bad at a later stage the bank will have to make substantial
provisions for it. Then the government will say look the private sector banks
are making profits and are managing NPA’s well and more banks shall be privatized.
Ms. Rosy: How may I help you, Sir?
Anmol
Ratan: My name is Anmol Ratan and I want to shift my saving account and FDRs of
Rs. 50 lacs to some other bank as I am not satisfied with my existing baker.
Further, I want to inquire about a business loan.
I noticed the look in
the eyes of Ms. Rosy as she was thinking that your name represents what you mean
to us, Mr. Anmol Ratan.
Ms. Rosy: Sure Sir, we offer the best interest
rate and best services in the industry. You will get a dedicated relationship
manager who’ll take care of all your needs. First, what'll you like to have tea
or coffee?
Anmol Ratan: No Thanks. What is the minimum
balance requirement in a Savings account?
Ms. Rosy: Sir you are required to maintain a quarterly
average balance of Rs. 10000.
Anmol Ratan: But the same is Rs. 1000 for
Government banks.
Ms. Rosy: Sir it shall be waived if you
maintain a minimum deposit of Rs. 1.00 lac and as you shall be maintaining the
deposit balance of above that amount you will not be required to maintain QAB
of Rs. 10000.
Anmol Ratan: So how do students and poor people
maintain such a high balance.
Ms. Rosy: Sir they mostly deal in public sector
banks although we offer some no-frills accounts. Further, it helps us to serve
valuable customers like you well.
I knew what no-frills
they shall be offering after what happened sometime earlier in the case of the “Mudra
account”
Ms. Rosy: Also as you shall be maintaining a
deposit account you shall get a complimentary “Credit Card”.
Anmol Ratan: But I do not require a credit card. I
mostly use Debit Card.
Ms. Rosy: Sir, it is free with no charges till
you maintain a minimum amount of deposit. Further, you can pay your bill before
the due date without any extra cost. You also get offers on our credit card.
I can see that Sh. Anmol
Ratan was getting impressed. He has never been treated that well. He decided to
shift his FDR’s to that branch. As Sh. Anmol Ratan was not holding complete KYC
documents, Ms. Rosy said that she’ll get them collected from his residence.
Further, I can see relief in the eyes of Ms. Rosy as it will help her in
achieving the monthly targets. I had been told by one of my friends from a
private sector bank that the bank has fired many employees for cost-cutting and
those who have not achieved the targets were the first ones. Job security is a
major concern in the private sector.
Ms. Rosy: Sir you also wanted to enquire about
a business loan?
Anmol Ratan: I own a Jewellery shop and I am
availing Cash Credit limit of Rs. 5.00 Crore from Janta national bank. I want
to know the interest rate you can offer. Further one of my friends is setting
up a new housing project.
Ms. Rosy: Sir, I don’t think I shall be able to
help in the case of the new business venture of your friend. The bank, at
present, is not taking exposure in Greenfield projects (New Projects). However,
I will inform you if the situation changes. We may offer a better rate in case
of your existing CC limit. I’ll ask our credit manager to discuss the proposal
in detail.
I knew that the
situation shall never change as the private banks are very selective in
financing “Greenfield projects”. A neighbor of mine did not get financing from
any private sector bank when he decided to set up a new venture. The project
was later financed by our bank. After successful implementation and when the
business started earning good profits, the account was taken over by a private
sector bank by offering lower pricing.
The
Credit manager then discussed the details of the business, the existing rate of
interest, security in the loan, etc for 15 minutes and gave in-principle
approval for the proposal. He discussed on phone with his controlling office
and offered a one percent lower rate of interest than the same charged by the present
banker of Sh. Anmol Ratan. Mr. Anmol Ratan was mesmerized by the treatment he
got at the branch. He was sure that the private bank employees are working in a
good working environment and are also paid well.
Now
we moved to a branch of a public sector bank. Mr. Anmol Ratan took me along
with him on one condition that I’ll not disclose my identity. There were almost
50 customers at the branch. Many old-age pensioners were inquiring about their
monthly pension. Some of the daily wage earners, pensioners had come for cash
withdrawal. The person looking after deposits told us to visit the next day as
he was on an alternate arrangement today.
We
asked for the loan section and he pointed towards a person in his fifties. We
moved to the pointed place and sat in front of Mr. Ranjit Khurana, the loan
officer. Mr. Khurana was on a call probably from the circle office and he was
informed that the branch has done five Mudra loans. The person on the other
side of the phone was very angry as the branch was not able to achieve the
target of 25 mudra loans during the ongoing campaign. Sh. Khurana assured that
they will surpass the target and they have a sufficient number of leads.
(I knew that the finance
minister has called the heads of public sector banks for a review meeting this
week and the pressure for loans is due to the meeting. Further, if FM is not
happy then the future of CMDs of banks may get affected. They may get rewarded
with positions in RBI/IBA/Ministry if FM is happy with their performance. Then the
bank shall get a new head for 3-4 years who will implement his systems and
policies while scrapping the systems of the predecessor.)
Sh.
Anmol Ratan was already frustrated after the treatment he had got in the
private sector bank. After waiting for 5 minutes I started the conversation.
Me: Good Afternoon Sir, we want to enquire
about a business loan.
Ranjit Khurana: What kind of loan?
Anmol Ratan: I own a Jewellery shop and availing a
Cash Credit limit of Rs. 5.00 Crore from Janta national bank. I want to know
the interest rate you can offer.
Ranjit Khurana: This is the list of documents. Submit a
complete set of documents and we’ll process the loan.
Anmol Ratan: But I just want to know the rate of
interest.
Ranjit Khurana: Sir, I cannot tell the rate. It
depends upon the rating by the concerned department. The rating shall be done
after the submission of documents.
Anmol Ratan: How much time it shall take?
Ranjit Khurana: First submit the complete set of
documents then I’ll check and inform. We’ll require to get a valuation, legal
opinion of security.
(While the conversation
was going on, I remembered an incident about a loan proposal I had submitted to
the controlling office. After submission of the proposal, we held a customer meet
and the DGM from the controlling office assured the customers that they shall
get sanctions within 7 days. After 3 months we held another customer meet and
till then the same credit proposal was still under process at the controlling
office. The DGM again assured that the proposals shall be sanctioned within 7
days of submission of “Complete documents”. They had added the word “complete
documents” to the statement. The documents are never complete for them even
after asking for the same through various observations.)
We
left the branch and Sh. Anmol Ratan was very angry. He abused government
employees and government organizations. I dropped him at his home and left for
my office.
It
has been two weeks since we had visited the branches. Mr. Anmol Ratan has
shifted all his dealings to the private bank but my marriage is still on hold
as Sh. Anmol Ratan is now waiting for my bank to be privatized to say yes to
marriage.
1 Comments
You should not marry that type of partner who only interested in your job.she is not right for you and your future
ReplyDelete