Top 5 misconceptions about Bankers people have in general

Banking is as complicated as it is boring… yes I know the fact and can attest for it really well since I happen to work in one. Believe me, I am a commerce graduate, a third generation banker (a state banker precisely) and with around 5+ years of working experience and an overall analytical mind, but even I still find it complicated (and also boring) at times.  

 Everyone from a college student to a software engineer and rickshaw-walla happens to use banking services but not many people have a clear idea of what it actually is. Now this isn’t a paper presented to simplify banking as a whole for you because those are available dime a dozen. But as with politics, women’s rights, caste system and secularism, in India we have this amazing tradition of making up misconceptions about things we barely know and having those stick for years to come, without anyone bothering to ask the experts or in this day and age- do a google search. I have met people with double degrees and 3 years foreign working experience under their belt ask dumb questions like “How do I know I am actually being charged 9.5% on my loan? I mean the bank could be charging me 12% and showing lesser…” Apparently the person hasn’t grasped the concepts of accountability, RBI regulations, automated software without manual intervention and general trust in the banking industry. Surprisingly or rather unsurprisingly, this guy was a software engineer (am sorry but seriously you guys need to start knowing about stuff other than your own jobs) working at TCS. The very company that has designed banking software for SBI (my bank and boss) and was also involved in implementation of the software in the bank.

Now am not one of those overtly proud of their jobs kinda people, my love for Banking and my job in general is the same way a non-mumbaikar feels about local trains when he has shifted to Mumbai. It is annoying, irritating and frustrating to the point of wanting to shoot a few people, but yes, if you have to go through it every day, might as well try to enjoy it. I don’t really have that much of an attachment to banking to get riled up whenever people criticize bankers, but I am really against ignorance, hypocrisy and preconceived notions. If you work in a bank to top it in a nationalized bank and God forbid in SBI, you might have heard the following misconceptions thrown at you at one point or the other. This is a simple attempt to clear things up for anyone (whether educated or not) having these popular misconceptions about banking in general –

5. “Banker’s get a lot of holidays”

First of all yes, I agree, on paper we do get a lot of holidays. And I am not gonna go into a bullshit argument about how they deserve it etc. In spite of this being an article about bankers, I agree that no job is easy, especially in the service industry. Also that each job involves its own pressures etc. If it was up to me, all jobs, (except politicians) would have all the fucking holidays they can get. I am so lazy, I feel irritated even if someone else is working hard.  But having said that, in most public sector banks many employees are still working behind closed shutters. Sometimes not even for any monetary compensation. Some do it because they are scared into it by their superiors, some do it because they are actually inefficient and/or married to their jobs but most do it because there is so much work to be done yet not enough time.

If you think the bank closes at 4 and everyone goes home after calculating your cash, then congratulations! You have just figured out what the 1970’s/80’s banking looked like. In the age of computerization and increased accountability, not only workload but pressure to perform has increased. It is no wonder that most old bankers have high BP or heart problems. SBI also has a 30-40% attrition rate, meaning 30-40% new recruits join SBI just to get a 3 year work experience on their resume and walk out.

So yeah, bankers do get a lot of holidays on paper but sometimes spend them working at places 200-300 kms away from their homes. It was only recently that banking got a 2^nd and 4^th Saturday off in a month. Crucial govt. offices which actually determine the flow of development and welfare of the country have had them off for a long time.  Also, I have to use this meme here (TDK Reference! )-

In a country where Justice and Governance (our Supreme court and parliaments) two pillars of our democracy can get an entire month off plus all other public holidays (155 days a year in case of supreme courts) then why can’t banking get a few days off too?  In this day and age of ATM’s, CDM’s (that’s cash deposit machines...oh you didn’t know those existed? Good, now you do) Internet banking and Mobile banking, Do you really need to sweat out in a hour long line just to transfer 5000 rupees to Leela maasi in your native town?

4 “Tumhare yaha line bahut hoti hai”

Coming from the foreshadowing of the last para-graph, this one is absolutely true. Especially in case of SBI, we have all seen photos or actually lines stretching from the bank to a street corner. This isn’t a misconception in the strictest sense, but it is self-created problem though. Let me explain, let’s assume you are in a line of 50 people and lets say you have to send money to Leela maasi for her medicines or something .You had planned to get it done by 11:00 and go back to your office.  You have been standing there since the morning, the AC is barely working and the line is moving at a snail’s pace. You finally go through the motions just to reach the counter and have the counter-clerk shut the window on your face saying he has to go for lunch. It’s exactly 2:00 pm and you even request the guy to please accept just this one payment, but he denies you and goes off. Your entire day is ruined and you sit there waiting for him to come back. Looking at your watch every 5 minutes, wondering why it takes so much time for a human being to have lunch.

Now I admit the manners and one way punctuality of counter clerks, especially in SBI is an issue. But barring a few born assholes, most people are …well people and they have the same number of good and bad qualities as anyone in any other profession. Most people just want to give the best at their work and see a satisfied customer. Also, they have the normal needs of a human being and peeing and wanting to eat on time are a part of that. Also, you think you hate lines? You know who hates lines more than the customer? It’s the bankers! And not just because many of us feel empathetic to your situation, but also because no one wants to see a fuck load of work standing right in front of them all day long. Plus, irritation is an equation that increases exponentially with waiting time. This applies both for you and the employee. 

But it’s for this very reason, the bank provides you with a number of FREE alternate channels for you to carry out your day to day transactions. If you still stand in line like a village illiterate or a 70 year old pensioner, then YOU are a part of the problem. Not the bank. Don’t ask the bank to increase staff, use the number of facilities it offers you, so that you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your home. Also, for all those people especially middle aged people, who say they cannot use all this new technology like mobile banking etc. Remember how you learned to download porn videos of hot Asian teenage girls in like 2 days even when you hadn’t seen a smartphone for most of your life? Yeah…learning is pretty easy when you have the right motivation isn’t it?

3. “My taxes pay your salary!”

You get to hear this especially in a heated argument in many places in SBI. I have heard this argument from a farmer and a senior citizen at different places, both of which belonging to groups which absolutely do not pay any direct taxes. But it’s a cool argument to make right? I mean a nationalized bank is just like any other govt. dept. right? Like the melodramatically corrupt and lazy ones you see in movies? The answer is a resounding fucking ”NO!” Am not saying the staff isn’t lazy or in some cases even corrupt (although the level of corruption in banking is miniscule because they aren’t run by politicians with coffers to fill), What I am saying is that no matter how angry you feel about not having your ego satisfied by the bank employee, you do not pay his salary.

Bankers’ salaries are paid purely out of the bank’s profits. Bank employees work hard to earn their salaries and pensions just like all of you. Although the govt. has a majority stake and hence things like pension and salary are almost guaranteed in nationalized banks. I say ‘almost’ because with the increasing competition, bad loan write offs etc. The bank won’t be paying regular salaries to its employees if it runs into losses. No contract guarantees that. So, feel free to use this dialogue in a govt. dept. if you wanna feel satiated about being a crusader against lethargy and corruption, just know that using it in a nationalized bank is as wrong as calling someone from North-East India- “Chinese”. Not only is it offensive but it shows your utter stupidity more than anything else.

2. “Bank’s are rich/have a lot of money” or “Bank’s print money”

Again, I have found this misconception amongst even highly educated people. It’s such a cartoonish idea right, that we have all this money and when the doors are closed we probably swim in it Scrooge McDuck style. I mean you see it when you come to the bank right? Crores of cash being dealt with as casually as masons handling bricks. Well, do you know where that money comes from? And I ll seriously shoot any educated person who said that we print it…because obviously the RBI (Reserve Bank of India for that one dimwit who didn’t understand) is the only ‘bank’ authorized to print money in India. SBI even though being a quasi-govt. bank does NOT print any kind of money. In case you aren’t aware, currency is not something which RBI or any central banking authority in any country can just print to make the country rich. Money has to be printed based on something right? Ever wondered who and how the amount of cash to be maintained in an economy is determined? At this moment, out of many of you reading this, even some with 20 lakhs an year packages or degrees from topmost colleges are giving it a thought…well for those who don’t know, I have got two words – “Gold Standard” (Google it, am not gonna spoon feed you)

Also, if we don’t print money, you know who all that money belongs to? It belongs to you! I mean not you individually, you couldn’t manage to have earn that much unless you get into politics. But by you, I mean You- the people. See we don’t put our money on the line when we give a loan, some of it is ours, but without complicating it too much, let me tell you the simple formula of core traditional banking summed up in one line, stripped of all its confusing terms and jargon – We take your money and give you some interest on it (deposit accounts) and we lend someone else money and charge interest at a slightly higher rate on it (loans). The difference between the two interests is our profit. So the money you see just belongs to all of you. Also, there are specific branches of nationalized banks, called- Currency chest branches, where RBI deposits its minted cash, to be circulated among general public. That cash, is the RBI’ property, not ours. To put it in a simplistic manner, Bank’s are rich in the sense jewellers are rich. Although, Jewellers have a lot of gold, it’s just a product that they sell. (Disclaimer- Yes I know that analogy isn’t completely accurate, because jewellers can actually own that much of gold etc etc. I just had to finish this entry with an analogy, so whatever)

1.“Banking job is easy” or “There isn’t much work to do in banks”

This is the number one misconception regarding Banking industry and has been so since a long time. But actually this one isn’t just about banking. This is the “hell is other people” or “grass is greener on the other side” of the working industry, everyone thinks the others have an easy job. While some undoubtedly do have easier jobs where they don’t have to answer to anyone and still earn money without actually doing anything like being a corrupt politician or Rajdip Sardesai. But everyone’s job come with their own set of challenges and pressures. Just because someone has more holidays or better financial compensation doesn’t make it any bit easier. They get better financial compensation because more often than not they are taking more of a risk to do so.

Let’s tackle this notion bit by bit. First of all, what do we think of as an “easy” job? One that involves least hard-work? Let’s look at what hard-work means…when someone says the word – Hard-work, what image comes to your mind? I bet most of you thinking about someone toiling in the fields, or lifting some heavy load, or working in a mine or a factory. See the thing is, we as a species still associate the idea of ‘hard’ work with physical labour…because it’s easier to picturize and hence relate to. Is it any wonder that all over the world, we have these romanticized images of the farmer toiling in his field or a miner hacking away at impenetrable rock as symbols of hard-work?  Images so idolized that they became a part of the iconography of the whole socialist revolution. Even today in our movies and books etc., accountants, lawyers and bureaucrats are presented as those pen pushers who don’t actually do any kind of actual work.

Now am not saying that the life of a civil engineer designing a building in an AC office is as bad as the sweeper who cleans it, what I am saying that his life isn’t complete heaven too. There is a reason that one of them is paid more. And that reason is not just dumb luck. One of the reasons is specialized knowledge, the engineer’s skills are not easily replaceable and secondly it’s that he has to take the risk in designing a building and if he makes one mistake, multiple lives, including those of many other sweepers like the one in that office will be in danger. The worst the sweeper can do is misplace the mop or miss a spot. Although his work is gruelling and tiresome and his salary is not enough to sometimes pay college fees of his children, the engineer could get arrested and thrown in jail if the buildings fire standards are not up to date or it crumbles due to wear and tear earlier than expected.

So, there is a reason why the general is paid more and given more comfort than the soldiers he commands…his skill and the stake of his decision making are much higher than others. 
In the same way, if you feel Bankers are paid higher for a seemingly easy desk job, it’s the risk involved that justifies the salary. To that lecturer who feels that banker’s just count money and go home, tell me the next time you have to authorize a one crore rupee cash withdrawal or when political activists surround you in your office demanding that you finance one of their people under a govt. scheme (when you clearly know who is really gonna benefit from it) or when you have to move from village to village to recover Rs.3000/- or so from ‘debt-ridden’ farmers (with SUV’s parked in front of their houses). Bankers have to have knowledge of any manufacturing process and its related market before financing a loan or they are personally accountable. If your job doesn’t involve getting charge-sheeted because of a mistake you might not even have committed 20 years ago, then your job is pretty damn easy. If the worse you can do is fuck up a line of software code, then your job is actually less risky.

If you think Bankers are paid all these allowances like house rent etc. Just know that they have to be transferred from one place to the other every 2 years and most spend half of their lives being around 300-500 kms away from their families. The two Saturday’s per month banks started getting off from last year? Those came in place because not only do all banks world over have 5 day weekends but also because the bank employees fought for their right to take a little time off. Also, if you still think bankers are overpaid, just know that a railway counter clerk with no other job than issuing tickets earns more for limited working hours than a scale 2 bank officer with the loan sanctioning power of upto 10 lacs and no set working hours. 

I agree that without farmers, workers, soldiers etc. The economy won’t exist. And neither would banking and the need for it. But since we are here, don’t forget that if you are able to buy your own house or car before you are 50 years old it’s only because the banking industry gets you a loan. The farmer is free of atrocious debt of the zamindars only because bankers incur losses to still finance them. So, next time you see a tired, counter clerk with his shoulders down and miserable expression on his face, it may not be because bank employees are just like that, it may be because being in the service industry in general is hard, and dealing with relationships, with people is far more complicated than dealing with crores of rupees...

Ok at least banking isn't this bad