Right at this moment the banking industry of the country is very shaky and upset with the Hall-Mark issue. At the same time, the banking system around the world is facing debt crisis, liquidity crisis, credit crunch etc., the ripple of which is also running through the local banking sector.

The Hall-Mark issue is different from the other crisis that exists in the financial sector today. Hall-Mark is a case of plundering public money through the legal banking channel in connivance with powerful people almost in the same manner that the MLM companies plundered the hard-earned money of unsuspecting clients.

The debt and other crisis which has engulfed the banking sector due to mismanagement, faulty system and improper monitoring may be removed by putting stress on correcting the present banking culture.

The banking profession is still one of the top career jobs and chosen by many brilliant and highly educated persons as a means of livelihood. A good corporate system and culture, attractive salary packages, and other facilities, including a good career progress, are the main attractions of the job. But for the same reasons it is also very competitive to get in and even harder to continue in the profession.

Today's young bankers are the leaders of the next generation of bankers. Just to cope up with the full life-stream of a banker one should chalk out a plan and learn the art of survival techniques from the start.

I am sharing a few tips from my several years of banking experience for the young bankers for a steady and stable career growth.

As the job is not only attractive but also very competitive, it is recognised that the starters are very meritorious and brilliant students but they should not be proud of their knowledge they had earned in their academic life through stereotyped learning. The knowledge acquired on the job is different and more useful. There are many different areas to perform in the banks like customer service, foreign trade, credit, syndication, structural finance, treasury, marketing, brand and communications, research and development, human resources, among others.

All these are separate in terms of operations and procedures but interrelated and not much different from one another. It has other areas to concentrate like regulations and banking laws. It is not that every one should be routed in every section. However specialisation in three or more departments may create confidence and one can run other portfolios if necessary.

In a few cases it may take time to get used to a position but it will never be an impossible task. Whereever one is assigned, the most prudent thing to do is to take the job by heart and wait for a switch to other departments by gaining the confidence of the management. Don't go for bargaining for any particular position. In banking, filing and entry in dispatch register are not a job of an officer. He/she can always ignore these by thinking all these are clerical jobs. A mistake in proper filing or entry in dispatch register may lead to loss of job. So it is recommended that one can maintain filing and register entry for a few days, as these skills may come handy some time. Punctuality, maintaining dress code, art of speaking and good manners are the gateways to acceptability in a corporate environment. Try to catch up with these promptly.

Lifestyle at home or student life will never suit the corporate culture. Personal life and the corporate style are not the same and the sooner you realise it the better. Our overall image is the reflection of the institution we serve. Institutions retain performers and discard non-performers without thinking twice. A banker should not read newspapers, magazines in the office. Paper files, tea cups should not be kept on the desk indecently. Seniors should not be criticised under any circumstances. They are experienced and responsible to make you smarter for the future.

Young bankers often overlook the fact that experienced bankers are instrumental in handling critical banking decisions. Non-performance in a particular area doesn't prove that a banker is obsolete for the banking job. Proper training, motivation, moral support can make them good assets and can be utilised in other areas.

It is not always possible for every one to participate in all important training programmes of the bank, but it should not be a matter of frustration. There are so many outsource institutions from where one can acquire banking knowledge. Some financial newspapers, magazines also publish useful articles on a daily basis, and the Internet can also be a source of knowledge. Read at least six to eight hours weekly. Don't go for memorising the contents rather pick up the concept especially of the analytical articles you will get benefit in the long run.

Good customers are most valuable assets for the bank. Keep constant touch with them. Only a pleasant smile is not enough for retaining clients/customers. Consultations, counsellings and product promotion are also parts of the service. Don't chase clients or customers for achieving your profit target and don't try to retain those giving undue privileges by violating rules and regulations, by non-ethical means or by over-financing. At the end you will lose control over the customers and they will start to dictate you for the sake of their interest. So it is most essential to learn good negotiation skills, for getting long-term benefit through creating a win-win situation for your bank and the customer.

Information technology is becoming the main tool to survive in the industry and it is presumed that the future CEO of banks will be from IT background. So rush to grab IT knowledge. Learn the art of correspondence from the beginning. Correspondence in improper language works as a barrier to good team building.

Switching from one bank to another is required for career development or for other reasons. But one should not move from one bank to another following a peer. Think if you are capable of handling a new management, a new environment or a new task.

Try to obtain professional degrees like banking diploma, CDCS, within five to seven years of your banking career otherwise you will get little chance to concentrate on study due to pressure of your responsibilities.

All these observations will be helpful to you to stay longer in the banking industry. So, young bankers get ready from now on.

The writer is EVP of Bank Asia Ltd. sharifkhan64@gmail.com

News: The Daily Financial Express/Bangladesh/18th-Oct-12