Dr Bidhu Bhusan Samal lays down office as the chairman cum managing director of Allahabad Bank on Monday. During his seven years of association with Allahabad Bank as its executive director and CMD, he has steered the bank to a position of strength.
On the eve of stepping down from the chairmanship of Allahabad Bank he talks about the health of the bank and the industry in general and also his future plans with Dillip Satapathy
What are the major accomplishments of the bank during your tenure as CMD ?
When I joined Allahabad Bank in 1996 - the bank was considered as a relatively weak bank with a net profit of meagre Rs 5.62 crore and gross NPA of 23.81 per cent. The bank has come a long way since.
Some of the important achievements during the period are -
Do you have any dreams unfulfilled ?
Although the bank has taken a number of IT initiative to expand technology base of the bank up to remote corners, I wish we could have achieved more in the area of inter-connectivity of the branches. The process has already been set in motion and I hope that my dream will be fulfiled by my predecessor.
Another area that always troubled me is the high level of unemployment in the country, specially in the rural areas. I had a dream that every year each branch will provide opportunity for self-employment to at least five unemployed youths. A lot has been accomplished through self-help groups and NGOs, but I wish I could have done more.
What are your views on the current banking sector reforms ? Is it moving in the right direction ? What is required to push forward it ?
Economic reforms in any country is a very painful exercise. However, in India - the reform process has been carefully planned and it progressed by inflicting relatively lesser pain to the public and institutions.
So far, the banking industry, specially the PSU banks have successfully encountered the challenges of liberalisation as is evident from their remarkable turnaround.
The next phase of the reform process centres around bringing the Indian banking system at par with international standards. It will also focus on competition consolidation and stability. Implementation of the proposed Basel II norms will pose tremendous challenges in terms of technology and resources.
How is the performance of Allahabad Bank in the current year compared to the previous fiscal ?
The bank is on a growth path and we are hopeful that the current year's performance will be better than that of the previous year with all-round improvement in key parameters.
How is your foray into commission business, particularly, marketing of insurance and non-interest products going to impact the performance of the bank ? What are the major deals proposed by the bank in this regard ?
The bank has plans to leverage its vast network of branches and over 260 retail banking boutiques for generating fee income. The major initiatives taken in this regard include Quick Collection Service , Depository services and more recently - marketing life and general insurance products.
We have tied up with ICICI-Prudential for distribution of its life insurance products through our branches under "Referral Mode". Under the tie up with National Insurance Company, the bank will sell the general insurance products as its corporate agent.
The response we are getting is very encouraging and we expect that these arrangements will give substantial boost to the bank's fee based income in times to come.
What in your opinion should be the future focus of the bank. What is your advice to the employees of the bank ?
I think future thrust areas of the bank will be improving corporate governance, risk management system and technology reach. And of course, a bank can never ignore customer service and product innovation if it has to withstand competition.
We will also have to continuously improve financial performance to meet elevated public expectations - now that the bank has gone public. I would advice my colleagues to take pride in the organisation and confront the future with confidence. Success is assured if we have faith in ourselves and work diligently.
What are your post-retirement plans ?
I am a firm believer of the principle of Karmayoga as propounded in Gita. As such I don't believe that a person ever retires until he breathes his last.
I intend to utilise the knowledge and wisdom gained during my long career in social service involving NGOs and academic institutions. I will be so happy to discharge any other responsibility assigned to by the society and/or the government from time to time.
