Products come to the Bank

There are experts in all walks of life. "Learn something of everything and everything of something" was an oft quoted adage when we were in school. A person should have a general idea of all aspects of life, but should also have deep knowledge of at leat one aspect of life, was its import. Thats why curriculum in schools and colleges had "general subjects and optionals or major subjects". All students studied general subjects like General Mathematics or Social Studies. At higher classes level, students could choose specific science subjects like Physics, Chemistry, Botany or Zoology etc if they wanted to learn more in science area. Similarly they could choose History, Geography, Civics etc. among arts subjects. At the post-graduate level they could specialise even further like studying Physical Chemistry or Organic Chemistry or Inorganic Chemistry etc. if one was a student of Chemistry. A scholar (now that he has attained some acceptable level of deep knowledge in some aspect of a full subject) at doctorate studies could even narrow down further his area of deep research.

A trader in a certain commodity should know about the entire life cycle of that commodity, in addition to the general principles and skills of business. A manufacturer should have a good idea of all aspects of his raw-materials, manufacturing process, market dynamics and customer behaviour. Similarly, a transport operator should know about vehicles, roads, handling his staff etc. So also for an importer or exporter, agriculturist, and so on. Skills in handling staff, customers and situations is required in all fields.

Banking is a very special field. A banker is expected to know about something of each type of trade, business or agricultural activity to which he lends funds to. He should also know about the life-cycle of movement of funds in all activities so that he can identify sources for mobilising funds (raising deposits) as well as deploying (lending or investing) them. Many times he has to learn about the activity then and there and take decisions. That is why we find successful bankers as a storehouse of knowledge and skills in various fields. 

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We often have a very poor opinion about Government departments and undertakings. There is a general perception of bureaucracy being totally inefficient and corrupt. Equally, there is a perception that many government undertakings are white elephants and a drain on taxpayers money. The reality is not so. The administration is carried on mostly by senior level officers who are honest and committed to their jobs. That is why there is a semblance of stability irrespective of changes in the political masters! 

The decade of 1970s was a watershed in the history of independent India. There were many upheavals at the political level with the real post-Nehru era coming into focus. Though the large part of the decade was under the leadership of Smt. Indira Gandhi, the stamp of post-Nehru era was very clear. Nationalisation of 14 major banks in 1969 opened up the economy to some extent. There were the good and bad of populist schemes at one level. At another level there were many stories of development. Many sections of people had access to bank funds for the first time. Green Revolution, piloted by C Subramaniam at the political level and M S Swaminathan and Dilbagh Singh Athwal at the field level, was a roaring success. White revolution or Operation Flood, led by Amul and Dr Varghese Kurien, was another great success story that changed the life of millions of Indians. National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and development of high milk yielding cow breeds enhanced milk production to record levels. These two developments solved the problems of shortage of food and low economic activity in the thousands of villages in the country.

Being first generation of bankers after nationalisation of banks and fortunate to be working with banking stalwarts of that period, we are witness as to how the lives of farmers and rural population changed in those years. Recruitment of young and forward looking direct recruitment officers (popularly known as Probationary Officers) brought down the average age of bankers. Banks recruited specialist officers in many areas, especially agriculture and industry officers. These officers brought in a whiff of fresh air to the arm chair dominated banking. Field work became vigorous and pulse of the vast population was heard by the bankers. It is a well known fact the future and fate of the banking industry in India was decided by these officers. Many of the specialised officers rose to very senior positions in the banking industry and headed many banks in the next two or three decades.

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Those who heard the All India Radio programs on agriculture in those days would have heard the terms IR 5 and IR 20 paddy. Most of them do not know what these terms are. International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) started by Ford and Rockefeller Foundations headquartered in Philippines  did wonderful work in improving the quality and yield of paddy in cultivation. Government of India actively partnered with this Institute and the benefits were reaped by our farmers. IR series of paddy was developed by this institute and extensively cultivated in our villages.

National Seeds Corporation Limited (NSC) started in the year 1963 also became very active during these years and worked in close coordination with the state agriculture departments and banks. Banks started adopting villages and forming Farmers Service Societies (FSS) in the adopted villages. The concept of Indirect Agriculture Lending took firm shape. FSS were co-operative societies established under the relevant acts of the states and were managed by the farmers themselves Banks lent funds to the societies and societies gave loans to individual agriculturists. This prevented the farmers from having to go banks many times for loans as the issues were settled at the village level itself. Banks placed one of its officers, usually the Agriculture Officer himself, on the board of the FSS for better coordination and control.

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We were a young generation of bankers working in the bank in this phase of development. Those who showed interest were actively involved in visiting the villages, formation of societies and interaction with the farmers. The sight of a full farming cycle, starting from just tilled fields to harvest festivals, was a very educating and fulfilling exercise. 

After one such harvest in the adopted village, farmers moved their produce to the city for selling in the markets. One tractor containing the produce contributed by all the farmers of the village village was brought to the bank and each staff member was given a bag of vegetables grown there. As a bachelor at that time, I told the AO that this is not fair to us as we were unable to use the vegetables. I also suggested that we should finance more for growing fruits. The AO smiled and said, "Wait for sometime Sir. Fruit harvest is round the corner".

In a few days, another tractor came to the bank and a bag was again to all staff members. This time it had Watermelons, Grapes, Guava, Sapota, Banana  and other fruits!

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Products grown or manufactured visiting the bank is not a very new idea. Many manufacturers bring and show their produce to the bankers. Those involved in field work know these already, but for those confining themselves to the bank premises get an idea of what is happening in those units. 

A recent development in Kerala takes the cake as far as products visiting the bank is discussed. Federal Bank, Cochin, Kerala sanctioned a loan to a Robot manufacturing company. A Robot manufactured by the company actually came to the bank, thanked the bank authorities for sanctioning the loan, and received the loan sanction letter! Robot receiving the sanction letter video is given below:

If you are unable to view the video here, Please copy and paste the link given below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96biXoNN650

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Wonders never cease! Future of mankind appears to be in the hands and minds of Robots!