Banking that I don’t know

Thanks to liquidity crunch, Banks are vying with each other to attract more short term deposit from public by offering higher interest. Like any senior citizen and shrewd investor, I am no different and was in search for a bank offering good but safe return. Let me share some ‘sweet & sour’ experiences during this search.

The other day I walked in to a nearby branch of a bank to collect fixed deposit opening form which is facing the axe of merging with State Bank of India in near future. As the sole employee at the counter was busy and surrounded by many customers, I made my way towards the accountant/officer with the hope of a service with a smile. She was tensed up and upon my asking her the FD form made her more uncomfortable. She looked around for sub staff but no one was around. She asked me to wait and again started looking around. Instead of going herself to fetch the application form, reluctantly she drew the drawer, took out a pink colored form and handed it over to me. On going through the contents, it looked like a pay in slip for depositing cash or cheque (Challan No. 1024 to be precise). I asked her if this was a FD opening form. Without looking at, she confirmed that, it was the application form.

Not satisfied, I took the form to the Manager but he turned out to be the Chief Manager. He too confirmed it to be so. When I pointed out to him that there are no columns to furnish my address, mode of operation, photo, PAN card details and similar numerous information, he simply asked me to furnish on a plain paper if I so desired! Overwhelmed and clean bowled by this knowledge, I thought it better to walk out rather than walk in.

Moved to another bank branch for Industrial sector, not a Nationalized bank but owned by Government of India offering a very attractive and highest returns amongst all other banks. While collecting the FD application form from “May I help you counter”, I doubly ensured from the helping hand that they shall remit the interest to my a/c maintained with some other bank. Next day when I went to submit my duly filled up form, the person at the help counter had changed and informed me that my request for transfer of interest to other bank can not be carried out! The matter again went up to the Manager who suggested me to open a SB a/c with them as interest can not be remitted as per my wish. In short, at the end of my persuasion, they relented to send the interest cheque to my residence.

But this was not the end to my ordeal. On perusal of my application, they found that I had not signed the nomination form. I told them that it is a joint account with the option of ‘payable to either or survivor’ and it is advisable but not mandatory to sign nomination form if the applicant so desires. But nothing doing, I had to relent and sign NIL nomination at the end.

As a banker, one has to take decisions in the interest of the Bank and to be successful in the field risks have to be taken. As is said ‘Boss is the king’, the new gen bankers are no less fussy over trivial matters when it comes to knowledge of systems, procedures and above all common sense.

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