Rajan Singh’s Rules
When Rajan Singh Bhandari quit Nepal Rastra Bank after 26 years of service and joined the Citizens Bank International Ltd. as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), some doubted of his ability to run a commercial bank. They thought his experience as a regulator at NRB was not enough for this new job in the private sector as the popular belief is such that even the brightest of people become more lethargic with each passing year in public sector job.
But Bhandari (48) is determined to prove the critics wrong. "In four-five years, I will make Citizens Bank International one of the top five banks of Nepal," he says, adding, "There are lots of qualified people in the public sector who are not only at par but above their private sector counterparts in terms of performance."
He thinks his job as the CEO of a private sector bank is mostly the same as it was while with the central bank, but with a different role . "Even at NRB, I used to work from early in the morning till late in the evening. I do the same here," he says. "Only difference is that at the NRB, the customers would come to me, now I have to go the customers," he clarifies. "And the positive response I have been receiving from the market proves that I had served the customers well during my NRB job." Though the salary he gets from the new bank is much higher than what he used to draw from NRB, he says his total earning is more or less same. "While in NRB, I had some other businesses too and used to teach in colleges from which I used to get a steady income over what I got as salary from NRB," he says.
Then why did he leave NRB? In answer he notes down a rule by which he goes: "One should quit the job if he is uncomfortable/ dissatisfied with the job " However, he refuses to say anything against his former employer, which can be regarded as his another rule. "As a private sector banker now, I may find a number of decisions of NRB against the interest of banking sector. Still I promise you that I wouldn't complain in public against NRB. If I have any complaint to make, I will go straight to NRB and put my view squarely before the officers concerned," he says.
To the critics of NRB, his simple answer is this: "NRB can't be seen in isolation. In a country where the constitution is changed twice a year, then there is nothing surprising if the NRB rules and regulations are changed thrice a year. "
Till recently, almost every banker used to describe Bhandari as a very stubborn central banker who would not listen to any logic coming from the other side of the table. Some of them even would go the extent of terming him a "corrupt". But Bhandari takes that criticism as his strength. "Only those people criticize me like that who came to me with demand for undue favour which I naturally rejected."
In his personal evaluation of himself, Bhandari says he never boasted of his status. "Even as a senior officer of NRB, I used to greet the people first, which I think is quite rare among the employees of the government sector offices."
His experience at the NRB has given him an advantage of knowing both the private and public sector bank from close quarters. And according to him, this was not the first time that he got an offer to be the CEO of a commercial bank. "Once (immediately after leaving NRB) the promoters of a bank offered me higher salary than the present one. But I rejected that because I did not want to take the job of the person who was already working there. I said that I wanted to create my own market," he adds.
Personal side
l Born in a Hindu family, he visits Bagalamukhi temple (located in Lalitpur) every Thursday.
l Believes in astrological fate. "Earlier, I used to think that one can script his or her fate but these days I have started believing on luck or something predestined. Those who have good luck, have good intellect by virtue of the providence whereas those who do not have good luck don't have good intellect either."
l Hobbies: Likes to read the major newspaper of the day and banking reports, watches television (mostly the news, sports, music and comedy programs because he doesn't want to feel emotional by watching serious movies).
l Habits: Though he has not gained control over his weight, he works out regularly. Runs on treadmill and plays badminton for an hour everyday. Avoids sugar in tea but tempted to have sweats.
l His strengths on his own evaluation: clarity and cooperative posture.
l His weakness on his own evaluation: Soft spoken. "At times, you need to rebuke others but I can't do that. When customers repeatedly beg with me, I feel like waiving interest on loan though I know I can't do that."
l Doesn't believe in love.
"In my dictionary there is no word of 'love'. Had there been such thing as love, when one of the couple dies, the shock should be overwhelming enough to cause instantaneous death to the other." To him, the relationship between the husband and the wife is simply that of living together.
l Non vegetarian.
l Attends parties, drinks two pegs of liquor. If someone cajoles him to have more than two pegs, he never mingles around with that person. Prefers to have dinner at home.
l Always happy, optimistic and thinks of himself as a good person, "Though I still have a long way to go".
l Cherishes a dream of poverty reduction in the country. "After full retirement, I may go for that." |
Achieving success for the Citizens Bank International is crucial for him also because, as he says, "I want to win the confidence of the investors of the Bank by my performance." It has given him an opportunity to prove his worth in the totally new atmosphere of the private sector. "It's a challenge for me because if I can't deliver the desired results nobody else will keep me in this position," he admits. And the target he has set for himself is to take Citizens Bank International to the position of the top five commercial banks in NRB's rating.
For that end he has brought various deposit and lending products with additional features not available with the products of the competitors and, he says he will come up with more new products and services in future as per the market needs.
Though Bhandari is yet far from achieving his goal at Citizens Bank International, as it has been only five months since the bank came into operation, but he is confident he is moving in a right direction. The bank has published the quarterly financial report for the period ended on mid-July 2007 (which is the first quarter of operation of the bank), during which, the bank was able to achieve operating profit. "The Bank has already raised and utilized more than Rs. 4 billion of resources to date and will be able to post impressive profit during the current fiscal year," he assures.
The reason for his optimism, according to him, is the strong team of the promoters, the directors and the management. "As a rule, I think it is not the person but the system that is fundamental for the success of an institution. We have a very strong system set up in our bank. Therefore, I have full confidence on its future performance," he adds.
Born in a simple Terai village (Aurahi VDC) of Mahottari district, Bhandari started working first and continued his studies while in the job. He joined NRB as an assistant and over the 20 years of service gradually rose to the position of Executive Director of the Bank from where he resigned in December 31, 2006. During the period, he received Master's degree in Economics from Tribhuvan University and completed Chartered Accountancy course under the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).
An avid player of volleyball and Badminton, Bhandari strongly exhibits a sportsman's character - go by the rules, never lose hope and try to win the game until the last minutes.
Regarding the debate about whether the country has too many banks, Bhandari says the survival of the fittest should be the mantra also for the banking sector. "Only the competitive banks should survive, those that can't, should be allowed to die," he says and argues in favour of a free-entry and free-exit system in the banking sector so as to ensure competitiveness.
What would have Bhandari become if he was not a banker? "An army man," he says. He actually had tried to join the army, but he abandoned the quest very soon when he had to make three trips to the office just to put a signature. "That very day, I decided that I would never let the same thing happen to the general people when they have to come to me for their job. And I think I have done that," he says.
