Guest Lecture on Practical Aspects of Retail Banking by RMM Department

On 29th August 2020, a guest lecture was organized by the RMM Department in collaboration with the Alumni Department of ITM Business School. It was on the topic of Practical Aspects of Retail Banking and was held via online mode on Google Meet. It was an impactful session, with the students learning about the various aspects of retail banking, as well as the prospects and the means to reach there in the banking sector. It was a great learning experience, learning from someone who has made a successful career in banking. The guest speaker was Mr. Ankur Pagariya, who is currently the Deputy Vice President, Affluent Banking, IndusInd Bank. He is an ITM Alumni, from the 2009-11 Financial Markets batch. He has a track record of exceeding his performance benchmarks throughout his career, a wealth of experience for about 9 years at banks such as ICICI, Standard Chartered, HSBC, before holding his current position at IndusInd bank.

An interactive beginning:

The session started with the speaker relating his experience at ITM. He spoke about his professors at ITM, reminiscent of the times where they had a student teacher relation, and how it taught him a lot of lessons which helped him advance and reach his current position in his career. ITM is a brand The speaker spoke about how ITM Business School gave him his start in his career, getting placed at ICICI Bank, giving a boost to his career at the beginning itself. ITM gives all its students a grand opportunity to learn as well as get placed in reputed companies at great salary packages. ITM gives students the exposure required to make their career. The speaker spoke about how in his career of 9 years, he has received a promotion every 1-2 years, and has so far attained the position that he currently holds at IndusInd Bank.

What is banking:

The speaker asked the audience what banking is, to which the students gave several answers, including lending money, to saving money. The speaker gave an overview of banking, dividing it into three aspects:

• Liabilities (Current accounts, saving accounts, term deposits)
• Assets (Loans)
• Free Income (Forex, Trade)

These are the three classes which are the sources of income for a bank. Banking is all about lending. It is a noble profession. In no other profession helps a client meet his financial goal, be it their children’s education, to their marriage, to a loan as well as wealth management.

Retail Banking:

Retail banking is the fastest growing sector in banking. A lot of freshers are afraid of facing people; thus, they lose out on job opportunities. Sales profile has the fastest growth in the banking industry. You get to learn the ins and outs of all the products in the bank. Sales is much more than selling products. It is about helping the client meet their goal. A Retail Manager is a fabulous profile to have, you learn about all the financial products offered by the bank. A front facing profile, such as a Retail Manager, gives a push to the various opportunities you can get a hold of once you start.

Where to begin in the banking industry:

Do not let go of campus placements. Give as many interviews as you can. Take the offers you get placed for, gain experience from that role, meet clients and learn about them and their needs. Thus, you will be in touch with a variety of people, both clients as well as your colleagues and superiors. Identify where the bank is making money. Growth in the banking industry is only where there is revenue. A relationship manager profile is better for a fresher. Here you identify the need of the client, and not just push loans to them. Analysts do not have much of a profile in the banking industry. Front facing jobs have a better profile in the industry. Freshers should apply for front facing jobs as much as possible. Then later they can shift to their desired position once they have gained experience.

Courses to apply for to gain an advantage:

Mr. Pagariya shared a wealth of knowledge regarding courses that one should apply for in order to have an edge over others when you try to enter the banking industry. These courses help you get placed easily, as well as change the judgement of your interviewers. Also, they are compulsory to complete, by banks as well as by security and mutual fund companies. Thus, completing them before sitting for the interview gives the candidate a competitive edge over others. A candidate’s chances of getting placed increase by about 60-80% after completing these courses. The courses cost about Rs. 1000-2000 each, depending on the course.

• AMFI NISM V A Mutual Fund Distributor Module
• IRDA I C 38 Composite License
• IIBM Digital Marketing and Fraud Course
• JAIIB (Increases chances of getting placed in a nationalized bank)
• After JAAIB, you can go for the next level in the course, called CAIIB

Make the most of college life:

Mr. Pagariya enlightened the students on several aspects that one needs to focus on while in college. He spoke about making ones resume on their own, not through some other person. 95% of the questions an interviewer asks you are based on your resume itself. So, creating it on your own gives you the opportunity to present your answers in your own words. The speaker spoke about discipline in college. Being punctual makes the opposite person respect you and not take you lightly. Being well dressed is a huge part of any corporate person. And starting from college itself imbibes those qualities, be it while attending lectures at home, or attending lectures in college, a student should be well dressed. It helps build professional behaviour amongst your peers and creates a meaningful impact all around. One needs to keep themselves fit. Working out for about 30-40 minutes a day keeps the mind and body fresh, increasing productivity and concentration. The speaker also spoke about his achievements at ITM, including achieving 2nd place in the entire batch. He also spoke about how he took the course seriously, and absorbed the knowledge imparted by his faculty.

Brainstorming with the audience:

As impactful as his session was, Mr. Pagariya wanted to interact with the students. He was eager to listen to their questions and try to answer them as best as he could. With a wealth of knowledge that he has, the students were more than eager to ask him their doubts, coming across from different specializations, in order to gain insights into what is the scope of marketing or fintech students in the banking sector? How does one switch from retail to investment banking? Mr. Pagariya’s experiences with IndusInd Bank as well as how does IndusInd Bank cope with the current Covid pandemic? How to learn trading? The speaker was happy to share his knowledge with the students and praised them all for asking such excellent questions.

He was pleased to answer all their questions. The speaker spoke about how to not limit one’s potential in one profile, rather diversify into lucrative prospects such as sales. Be interactive and learn from the senior management. After all, creating a network is a big boon for any corporate person. Improving communication skills, quantitative skills, gaining knowledge from the aforementioned courses, were some of the topics the speaker touched upon. With banking in the Covid pandemic, he shared his bank’s strategies to cope with the pandemic, which included increasing their reach to rural areas, banking for bigger customers, which mean tie ups with HDFC Bank to disperse business loans. He spoke about how IndusInd Bank has less than 1% NPA, to how the management in the bank reduced fixed costs as well as the management taking a cut in their profiles.

The students were enthralled by the experience and insightful edge that Mr. Ankur Pagariya had, and towards the end thanked him for taking time out of his busy schedule to address the students. The students were given enough inputs to be better equipped to handle their career, and that is the most valuable takeaway that Mr. Ankur Pagariya gave.

The students are grateful to the RMM Department as well as the Alumni Department for arranging such a wonderful session with someone as successful as Mr. Ankur Pagariya, whose knowledge and insights are only seconded by his encouragement and eagerness to help not only the students of ITM Business School to grow, but also to become successful in their respective careers. We look forward to attending more sessions like these in the future.