Respect

I am very respectful person. I respect everything there is to respect, people, religion, creed, race, views etc. I make it a point to be very polite, on all situations whenever necessary.

If there is one thing I can’t respect are bank officers who don’t have a pedigree in banking, never started as clerks, barged into because they know somebody or for any other reason, make it appear they know everything, and worst, throw their weight around.

I have lots of experiences of this kind back then. Since I was a neophyte, I can’t complain. Now that I am an officer myself, they’ll have a hard time pulling strings for no real reasons whatsoever. They gotta show me some logic on their acts before they can make a believer in me. They gotta earn it first.

Take this instance.

I was interviewed by an SVP for Consumer Finance, a lady almost my age, maybe a few years older, of a big rural bank based in Makati. She came from a bankrupt rural bank (she told me the name of the bank, she didn’t know I have an inside track) bought by a big commercial bank, assets only, not including personnel and prior to that, in a motorcycle marketing company.

She told me that she finds my resume very thin. Working in 3 commercial banks, one global bank, 2 savings banks and a foreign financing company, that comment left me perplexed. If she has either Bank of America, Citibank, MBTC, UCPB, BPI or BDO work experiences in her back, I wouldn’t mind. But from a rural bank in Laguna, though I mean no disrespect, and a bankrupt at that, I take offense!

I told her that I am proud of my pedigree in banking, having spent almost 20 years of my professional life, practically all of it. And if this conversation is taking too much of her precious time, I’d be happy to leave her in peace.

Sensing my displeasure, she backed out a little. She told me that for the years spent in banking and finance, I should have done better. I should be the one asking that question. “Where are you now, Madam? What have you done for the growth of the banking industry, lately?” But from thereon it was already too late; she got me riled up by now.

She sensed that I am no longer interested in joining the bank much less her team, so she told me to ask her a question. Bad move! Especially if a banker asks a not-really banker but acting like one. I said ok, shoot!

“What is the first and foremost product of the bank?” She said it was too easy a question. She also said it depends on the type of bank but it can be categorized into 2 main products-deposits and loans. Wrong!

Now her true bearings are showing up, she doesn’t know her Banking 101. I told her that if a greenhorn bank employee was asked and answered that way, he might get away with it. But coming from a Senior Vice President who seems to throw her weight around, that’s sacrilege! 

Any good banker worth his salt would tell her that neither one is the foremost product of banking. Far from it though very correlative. The first product of the bank is neither counted, touched nor visible, just felt. Indeed you just feel the product, without it or if you doubt it, you’ll never transact in a bank. It is called TRUST. Simply put, if you don’t trust the bank, why would you put your money in there? That’s the main reason why some banks are named METROPOLITAN BANK & TRUST COMPANY (or simply Metrobank), Manufacturers Hanover Trust Bank (that’s in NY), Mitsubishi Trust Bank, and so on.

Red in the face, the SVP was flabbergasted. She couldn’t believe I’ll lecture her on the finer or basic things of banking. She could probably accept some from other higher ups but definitely not from this guy whom she, just a few minutes ago, thought to have a very thin work experience. She should have been polite, even to lower level officers. That’s called respect. Tactlessness has definite demerits.

Then I bid her goodbye and so is my application. I don’t mind. I’d be an anomaly there, in their corporate culture anyway.

Learn your lessons well, madam. Not every thin is really thin. They could even be heavyweights, for all you know.