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Thus started my banking career!

Discussion in 'Cheeniya's Senile Ramblings' started by Cheeniya, Oct 7, 2015.

  1. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear syamala
    I never knew that SBI gave any rosy picture to outsiders if we went by the number of complaints received everyday. Any well appointed office with plush interior and air conditioned to boot will draw youngsters like a magnet no matter if it is a Bank, IT company or real estate promoters. Recent statistics reveal that youngsters have a marked preference for offices fitted with split air conditioners to window ACs. The only attraction people might have for a Bank job is the 'job security'. Once you complete your training schedule satisfactorily, nothing can affect your career unless you indulge in large scale fraud or connive with fraudulent customers!

    When I joined the Bank, the Staff College was functioning in an old but beautiful bungalow in Banjara Hills. Later we built our own complex in Begumpet. I was also a faculty member there for a while. The husband-wife rule came into force after a lot of deliberation. In most of the cases, the husband was a fairly senior officer handling important portfolios and his wife was invariably from the clerical cadre. That was how Cupid shot his arrows at the Bank's staff. This being so, the Bank took a view that it would be less cumbersome to transfer the lady who was doing only routine jobs. The male being engaged in specialised jobs was invariably spared.
    Sri
     
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  2. surekhap

    surekhap Platinum IL'ite

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    I had no idea about the work in the bank at that times ignorantly wrote that your are lucky to retire in 1990 . By your post i came to know how difficult to work in a bank in those days then today.
     
  3. iyerviji

    iyerviji Finest Post Winner

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    My dear Anna

    I had to take VRS as our Company merged with another Company and we staff were given VRS , anyway I did not lose much because I would have retired in June 2003. I worked in a Company in Hyderabad for two years and came to Bombay in 1965 in August , on the 2nd day only I got a job in a Company who were the related to the old Company in Hyderabad and through my boss's recommendation I got ajob as a Typist immediately. In 1991 I was promoted as Stenographer though I had not given exam for Steno but only had learnt shorthand, thanks to my boss and the Vice President I got promotion as Steno. Then I think in 1989 I was again promoted as Senior Assistant and was given the job of Bank Reconciliation of the whole Company . I was not a Graduate also and I did not know anything about accounting but they had confidence that I will do my job better. After becoming Senior Assistant I was full time busy in the office especially during month ends. When computer was introduced I had to do Bank REconciliation through computer , in the beginning it was very difficult and it was difficult to tally the reconciliation. All the staff in Accounts department helped me out and somehow tallied the accounts . OurFinance Director who was a lady, told everyone dont worry she will take care . So I worked two years in Hyderabad and 36 years in the same Company. Our Company was like a family and I was very happy when our Vice President wrote in my autograph Most like by all and ever smiling. The only problem they had with me was they did not like me taking leave but since I was married to a large family , so many marriages used to be there and me being the eldest daughter in law had to take leave. In my 36 years service in Mumbai I had so many bosses young and old but permission for leave our Vice President only used to give. For one boss I worked for a long time but since he left the Company I had many bosses after tha time

    Glad you are getting pension and that too a good amount. I am happy for you
     
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  4. jayasala42

    jayasala42 IL Hall of Fame

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    Recognition was the last word ,the meaning of which our bank knew.
    It was a Government Salary Day.Heavy payments over the counter.The cashier by mistake paid 3 bundles of Rs 100/ instead of Rs 10- That is instead of Rs 30,000 Rs 3 lakhs was paid. But he has noted the correct figures in the ledger.After the counter was closed there was a shortage of cash Rs 2,70,ooo/
    Meanwhile the Clerical staff of the Communication Dept , who received the money ,on his way just felt that he had received extra money.Had he wished he could have simply taken away Rs 2,70,000.There was absolutely no way it could have been detected.In those days a big flat could be purchased with the amount.
    The fellow was very sincere.He handed over the money to the boss. The boss in turn informed our bank. The cashier was relieved of the anxiety.He was left out with a warning.

    The Govt Dept felt that the clerical staff who returned the money should be awarded promotion out of turn and they wanted a letter of recommendation from our bank narrating the incident.It was within manager's powers to issue such letter of recommendation.
    But he referred the matter to Central office In Bombay who referred the case to legal division.
    After nearly six months we received a letter from Central office in the following lines;

    " In terms of Indian Penal code No----, any person who is in possession of money ,not belonging to him, has to be penalised.The clerical staff has done only his duty.In the circumstances his act of returning the money cannot be considered anything extra ordinary and does not deserve any commendation.'
    By a simple two line letter, the manager would have paved way for the promotion of a clerk with integrity.It was well within his powers.
    This is how banks recognize their own people and others.

    Undeserving recognition also was on its way.One of the officers paid exam fees for writing exam conducted by Indian Institute of bankers.As he was not well, he could not appear for exam. To his great surprise the Institute of bankers gave him a pass in all the six subjects and despatched a certificate. .He sincerely wrote to the institute Pat came the reply" Insitute's decision is final". He was lucky enough to get two increments and also the promotion. This was an open secret.

    Jayasala 42
     
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  5. Srama

    Srama Finest Post Winner

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    Dear Cheeniya sir,

    Those last-benchers I tell you! I would have said, it is not the benches themselves but the people/kids who sit on them but time and again I have myself as an example to prove otherwise. I used to sit not in the last but the last but one bench but all the teachers usually behaved as if the rows of benches ended where I sat! Thus my conclusion. Now my class room has tables arranged in a rectangular fashion/ circular way :) No last benches any more!

    What an amazing statement that is sir and not necessarily applicable to just banks. This morning when I woke up and read your blog, with whatever else is happening in life, I had to allow myself to smile and make a decision to move on and remind myself the premise on which I do what I do ....you know the usual introspection stuff and lo! I do feel completely satisfied.

    Banking world! Oh how much I think of my dad when you speak like this! My dad was also a big fan of super white clothing - must be the thing of that generation. What was that 'blue' used to keep the whites white? Ranipal or some such thing. I remember my mom soaking the whites making sure they were really white and not blue. Our uniforms followed suit soon! I do have to say that my dad seemed very content with what he was doing, always happy and joyful! Perhaps banking world has that effect on people - turns out they write humor or look at life with a sense of humor and spread joy. Now if only we apply that to all vocations. What a happy joyous life/world would it be.

    As you talk of Banking, last benchers and wise cracks, let me also share some experience I have had trying to get my foot into a Bank. Oh yes, been there too. I was hired to train the employees on a new banking software and I was required to train with them on their software. I have to confess with my experience with last benches, like a very good girl, I chose the first bench (row) and began my process of looking at the program and was deeply involved in it in no time. Soon it was time for lunch and I was back sooner than others continuing with my work when the "lead" who was training all of us walks in and says "S, I can understand what you are doing on your computer. Unfortunately you and your screen are being a big distraction to others. I believe you are confusing them. Would it be terrible if I asked you to move to the last row and errr to the corner most spot in the room?" I have tried a lot sir to fit in, but! I am sure now you understand as to why there are no last benches in any of the classes I teach!

    You did not expect me to write a feedback to your snippet did you? It had to be my story!! But I do want to thank you for bringing my dad to mind first thing in the morning. Now that smile will stay plastered on for the day.
     
  6. PushpavalliSrinivasan

    PushpavalliSrinivasan IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Mr Cheeniya,

    we feel happy if we get the first job we had applied for. I too got the first job which I had applied for in Madras Telephones.

    My brother got the probation officer job in Indian Bank in the year 1953 as soon as he completed his graduation at the age of twenty. He retired at 1994 as the DGM. In between he held many posts and he also took class at staff training college.

    Each job has its own advantages and disadvantages. My son after doing his MBA at IIM Ahmadabad took a job at IDBI, Bombay, but resigned and took up a job in a private company as he felt he couldn't continue there as a straight forward person.

    Nationalized Bank job is considered as a plum job as it has job security and good perks.

    I think our job has got nothing to do with our literary aspirations.

    PS
     
  7. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Priya
    When ATMs were first installed in Banks, a friend of mine felt very unhappy about the development. He put it simply as another instance of aping the west! He was of the view that ATMs have killed the joy of the human aspect of banking. He went to the Bank not only to transact his business but to interact with the staff. I am saying this to drive home my point that the Banks too have some interesting people. On line business first took its root in SBI. The ladies of the clerical cadre were the ones who pioneered this activity. They sold through phone calls anything from sarees to stainless steel kitchen ware! There was a guy called Pena Ganesan who sold home made pens with an ink tank of almost 100 ml capacity specially for the ledger keepers. Another guy had special liaison with the officials of Madras Port Trust and had built up a good stock of imported liquor, perfumes and cigarettes. Sri T.S.Balakrishna Sastry who was a well known Harikatha exponent was an Accountant of the Bank. His son Mouli is a well known dramatist and cine star. But I must concede that humour was a hard to find commodity in Banks though there was no dearh of jokes. All the jokes related to the bungling of staff members. No classy jokes ever made their way into the portals of SBI!
    Thank you for your concluding sentence. I do feel elated!
    Sri
     
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  8. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    My dear Viswa
    Thank you for your interesting response. I had also fallen initially into the loathsome habit of adding numbers wherever I saw them, calenders, telephone directories etc. It was with great difficulty that I wrested myself out of this pointless habit. You are probably talking about Probationary Officers working in despatch section as a waste of resource on the basis of the current scenario. But five decades back, nobody looked upon us as more resourceful than the clerical cadre and not an eyebrow was raised seeing us working in that section. Initially we wore ties to drive home the point that we were special but no one took notice of it! Further when we sat slouched over the desk in the performance of our duties, we tended to soil our ties with rubber stamp ink and so gave up this practice slowly.

    You have gone up several notches in my estimation by mentioning your clearing of the CA exam in one attempt. I also cleared both parts of the dreaded CAIIB exam in a single sitting for each part. For some reason, Banks keep this CAIIB as a prerequisite for being considered for any promotion. I have never understood the reason for it. Many of those who took this exam did not even know what the five letters really represented!

    That was an interesting interview with Ferguson! For a while, I was crazy about all the ratios. Balance sheets of companies were like a James Hadley Chase novel for me. But very soon I understood that the ratios meant nothing if the borrowers were dishonest. I am sure you know many such cases that landed the Bankers into great difficulty. I know of cases where the heads that rolled included those of the Chief Executives of Banks because of such unscrupulous businessmen.

    I am happy that you are on the right track and the career that you have chosen for yourself is the 'in thing' in financial management. I see the huge 'take-overs' that get reported everyday and start wondering about the kind of fortune that the facilitators of such take-over will be making. I can now put a face to such facilitators. The face of Viswa!
    Sri
     
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  9. Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    My dear Viji
    I am surprised to hear that you were in the habit of taking a lot of leave. You would have been happy working in a Bank with such necessity for taking leave often. Banks are a paradise for leave-takers! You never take leave from IL. Shows how much you love the ILites!
    Sri
     
  10. iyerviji

    iyerviji Finest Post Winner

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    My dear Anna

    That time I had to take leave because I was the eldest daughter in law and I was married to a big family and so many marriages and we had to be there , also for other functions and then leave for children I had to take. But now I am retired plus children are settled and only we two are there, so I dont take leave in IL. True I love ILites and IL a lot and cant be without IL any day
     

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