Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Power Promotes Corrupt Culture , Flattery and Bribery


I am furnishing two illustration below to substantiate the fact that officers who do not flatter to bosses, who do not extend personalized services to the bosses, who do not sit late to say YES and YES SIR on all right or wrong orders of bosses , who are not ready to work for family of the bosses , who do not earn bribe and share with bosses,are to face the music, are to face losses in career, low marking in Annual appraisal Reports, low marks in Interview ,posting at critical places and what not. 

Non-flatterers are punished even for petty faults and flatterers are not even verbally cautioned even when they cause losses in crores and even when they indulge in corrupt practices or indulged in fraudulent activities.

On the contrary those who are perfect YESMAN are promoted out of turn even amending policies and always given cream posting .Handsome marks are given by appraiser to only those officers who are completely YESMAN and who honestly share bribe earned money and gifts with bosses. Otherwise not only less mark is given in APAR or in Interview but such obliging officers have to face several charges on flimsy ground.

Hardly a few of bosses are really interested in safety of the organization, in quality of assets created by lending or in quality of service extended by a subordinate officer to customers. Only few bosses award marks in APAR and Interview as per potential and as performance of the officers.

In such position it is suicidal for an organization to give powers to top executives to recruit, promote and post an officer as per his whims and fancies. 

It is always desirable to have transparent seniority based promotion and posting and any violation should be based on written justification that too collected by different assessing authorities.

Following two examples of treatment given to senior officers by top executives will prove eye opener for persons who advocate continuance of Interview And who advocate importance of marks in APAR during promotion processes and more discretionary powers for making fresh recruitment. 


When officers of the rank of General Managers found failing in expected level of flattery to their bosses are taken to task, one may imagine the pitiable position of junior level officers. there are many Deputy General Managers who were taken to task only because they could not extend grand hospitality to visiting officials like ED and CMD at their location.There are several instances of many Regional Heads who were punished by seniors only because they failed to obey illegal advice of bosses given verbally or on phone.There are many such Branch Heads who were transferred to remote and critical places and given poorest marks in their APAR only because they could not make 5 star  staying arrangement at their location during the visit of top executives. Similarly there are many junior branch level officers who were taken to task , who were given poorest marks in APAR and who were rejected in promotion processes only because they did not support their branch Head in bribe led lending.

Inspite of several protests and complains of fraudulent act in recruitment of officers in scale II or scale III, a few public sector bank has come out with advertisement for recruitment of officers in scale II and scale III. 

It is fun that officers who worked in credit department and who worked Branch Head for two or three decades are not found fit for Scale III promotion but a person without any experience is chosen for scale III post from outside to handle credit department as a specialist. 

In fact it is found that such scale III or scale II officers are doing same work as normally recruited scale I officers and promoted scale II and scale III officers have been  doing since long and for decades together and who are awaiting promotion for decades together.. 

Obviously recruitment of officers directly from outside in scale II and scale III is direct loss to officers who have been serving for decades in the same bank. 

What is vested interest of bank management , one can imagine.

Health of any bank cannot improve until due respect and importance is given to serving officers.

Top bank executive cleared of corruption after 24 years

Mumbai, Aug 16 (IANS):

He lived with humiliation for a quarter of a century, lost his wife and saw his career going down the hill. But M U Kini, a bank executive accused of corruption charges in 1986, was finally cleared of all the alleged crimes after fighting an agonising legal battle for 24 years.
Seventy-eight-year old Kini served as executive director of the Union Bank of India (UBI) during 1986-1989. Despite the major legal victory, Kini betrays no emotion but is bitter about how his future prospects in the banking industry were sabotaged by a handful of disgruntled elements within the UBI.

Kini's greatest regret is that his wife Rajaramani is not alive today to share his victory - heartbroken, she succumbed to cancer around four years ago.

Shortly after he took over as UBI's executive director, Kini was slapped with internal memos by the then chairman, J.S. Bhatnagar, accusing him of making several "improper" advances worth a few crores  of rupees.

"I had replied to those memos, clearly stating the position and the matter ended there. Suddenly one day, bypassing norms, the bank handed over the matter directly to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)," Kini told IANS.

The CBI ruthlessly pursued the matter and summoned him regularly for "inquiries and investigations", taking him away from his responsibilities as executive director.

Meanwhile, Bhatnagar retired in December 1988, paving the way for Kini to take over as the next chairman.

"This was the strategic time that Bhatnagar and his coterie hit out. Even as my file was pending clearance at the centre for appointment as chairman, the CBI raided my house in Cuffe Parade - nearly three years after the case was registered against me and just four days before my tenure as executive director was to end," Kini said, recalling the murky politics in the upper echelons of the banking industry.

Kini's stunned family members handled the CBI raids since he was away on an official visit to New Delhi, but these drew a blank, both at the official residence and at his private residence in Chembur in northeast Mumbai.

He pointed out that it is not unusual for people to make all kinds of anonymous complaints and allegations against top bank executives because of vested interests, especially when they are in queue for bigger responsibilities.

"However, it is surprising that a respected and feared institution like the CBI fell into the trap and acted as an instrument of these vested elements to ruin my spotless banking career," he said.

The CBI raid ensured that Kini was out of the reckoning for the bank chairman's post - and he was reduced to attending the Special CBI Court in Mumbai every month for 24 years. He, however, continued to work with the UBI till 58 after which he retired.

"Earlier, I could manage it since I had the burning spirit to fight to prove my innocence. But in my 60s and 70s, it became a tiresome affair. It was virtual punishment for an innocent person and I was made to sit on benches for long hours among hardcore criminals," Kini said.

Finally, in April this year, the Special CBI Court Special Judge Vijay R. Sikchi exonerated Kini of all the charges pertaining to cheating and corruption, proving an embarrassing setback to the CBI's efforts to nail him for 24 long years.

Special Judge Sikchi acquitted Kini and six other co-accused of all the offences under Section 420 and Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code.

Kini ended on an absolutely clean slate - he was additionally acquitted of charges under the stringent Prevention of Corruption Act, Section 5(2) and Section 5(1)(d).

"I was unsure whether the vendetta would continue; so I   waited for a full four months to see if the CBI went for appeal in a higher court. Apparently, after 24 years, even they are tired of harassing an old, innocent and ill man like me," said Kini, who underwent three major surgeries for urological problems in the intervening period.

Even as an ailing Kini struggled to prove his innocence in the court for two and a half decades, his juniors and contemporaries rose to become national or private bank chairpersons, some were even appointed to the Reserve Bank of India and other top financial bodies.

Asked about his future plans, Kini said despite having occupied such a high post in the banking industry, there is no provision for any compensation in India.

"I plan to simply dispose of my private flat here and settle down in my hometown Chennai. I shall engage myself with some of the charitable institutions I have been working with for the past five-six decades.. For me, this is the end," Kini trailed off.
usiness..

Locked out of car, Indian Bank CMD slams door on regional head

MANU PUBBY

Posted: Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 0244 hrs IST
New Delhi: Being locked out with car keys inside may be a common mistake, but a senior executive of a public sector unit (PSU) bank could pay with his job for it — for the person left stranded was his boss.
The Mumbai Zonal Manager of Indian Bank, Banabihari Panda, has been suspended for failing to provide “minimum basic courtesies” to the bank’s Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) T M Bhasin on his arrival at Mumbai airport from Chennai last Thursday night.
The charge faced by Panda, who holds the rank of General Manager, is that he kept the CMD waiting at the airport for over an hour as the keys got locked in when luggage was being loaded into the car.
Panda has apologised for the incident, explaining to the Executive Director of the bank in a May 20 letter that the car got locked accidentally, resulting in the CMD being stranded for“about 25 minutes”. In the detailed reply, Pande also writes that he made alternative arrangements, hiring a taxi and arranging “two sets of new dhotis and towels” for Bhasin through a friend, and later running around till late in the night to organise a duplicate key. Finally, he says, he was able to deliver Bhasin’s luggage at the guest-house by 1 am.
The manager cites his 34 years of experience as an officer and pleads that he has always been sincere in his duties, and never took even the matter of the locked keys casually.
Panda and a junior executive had gone to the airport to receive the CMD on Thursday night. While they were overseeing loading of Bhasin’s luggage into his car, the vehicle got locked. The keys were in the ignition as the air-conditioning was on.
“...Our CMD could not enter the vehicle to proceed to guest house. CMDwas made to wait for more than of hour (sic) at the airport and could leave in alternative taxi arranged without baggage,” the detailed suspension letter, sent by V Rama Gopal, Executive Director of the bank, reads.
By failing to extend “minimum usual basic courtesies” to the CMD, the suspension letter says, Panda had “failed to discharge” his duty. The letter also accuses Panda of not handling things properly and displaying behaviour “unbecoming of official in the Top Management cadre of the Bank”.
On May 21, Panda sent another letter, this one addressed to the CMD himself, recalling how the latter had asked for a two-minute silence at a meeting of general managers and zonal managers on March 23 as respect for Panda’s dead wife. “When the same Chairman and Managing Director ordered for my suspension, I could fathom the gravity of the event leading to the decision.”
Despite several attempts,Bhasin could not be contacted for a reaction. The CMD’s office staff declined to put him on the phone and dismissed the issue as an “internal matter” of the bank. The Chennai-based corporate communications manager of the bank also declined to comment.



The curious case of suspension of Indian Bank's GM

The somewhat unusual instance of the Indian Bankchairman and managing director TM Bhasinsuspending his general manager is the buzz among bankers these days. During Mr Bhasin's visit to Mumbai on May 19, GM Banabihari Panda went to receive him at the airport. After the luggage was loaded in the car, unluckily for Mr Panda, the keys got locked in the car, and Mr Bhasin had to take another vehicle. 

But the matter did not end there, miffed by this incident Mr Bhasin suspended Mr Panda because he failed to provide 'minimum basic courtesy' to the CMD. But as this news became public, Mr Bhasin decided to salvage his reputation and reinstated the GM but transferred him to Chennai. A risk management officer said: "Ideally, RBI should ask Indian Bank to set aside more capital as reputation risk, which is infact one of the critical elements of Basel II!" 

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