TO STRIKE OR NOT TO

THE Writing on the Wall
“ Learning through others’ experience is desirable;
Learning through one’s own experience is avoidable;
Non learning is deplorable
Learning is excellent”
When the Big Cat struck, the entire country had its nerve centre affected and the numbness started spreading all over the system. That was the strike dispensation of SBI’s to its dependent Clientele and the state-its owners.

Whether justified? Whether the method was right? Could this have been averted? Why there was a hurried settlement? Why the expectation of the public that the Government would go in for breaking the strike’ was not given a try? Who is to be fixed the accountability for the financial disaster that took place? (No one dares to quantify these losses) There are several such debatable substances. At last, one should draw the lessons arising out of the entire episode. The lessons learnt are not only for the Government- the direct owners of the State Bank of India, unlike the other Public Sector Banks; but also for the other Banks be it public sector or private sector and the Users irrespective of Bank tags attached to their accounts and their extent of attachment.

The emerging points:

The aftereffects of the strike, though tolerated by the majority, have left scars in the minds of the Bank users-including the Government departments and also the huge army of dedicated customers-consisting of PENSIONES of the lesser Gods!

A Logical derivation of the net

1. Putting too many eggs in one basket leads to a level of enhanced risk perception.
2. The emerging facets of difference between the ONE LEADER and the remaining potential leaders(other Banks)
3. The total helplessness and also spectatorship response displayed by its owners-coupled with a poor display of the Management Timber.
4. The preparedness of the rest of the Banking System in countering/continuing such an event, especially when all Banks are claiming their technological supremacy!
5. The empathy of the other Bankers during the strike. Perhaps the reasons well known are not the real discussion points. Haplessness, as you would describe, could have been due to their allegiance to the Unions/Organizations, or their overdependence on the State Bank.
6. Poor response and apathy displayed by other Banks when their customers started feeling the "real-time" pinch of the event.
7. Uncertainty due to Political clouts/lobbying
8. The real meaning and power of collective bargaining system
9. The extent of the damage to the system affecting every link
10. The future demands and the future trend, to adopt, "time-tested" means, by the rest of the Banking Industry

Through SBI strike, a variety of implications/discussion points are to be noticed/noted by the Controllers who have the concern for the Nation’s economy and its people.

• Governmental operation or accounts should be at the pleasure of more than a Single Bank, largest or smallest or weakest.
• In this electronic age, ATM’s should be interlinked and all the ATMs should go in for a Common Gate way. Common ATMs would prove to be a substitute to the Customer for 8 to 8 Banking and also 24/7/365 Banking
• If the client is within one’s own financial limits, and within Indian Network, he should not be charged and taxed for his ATM operation-if he is using his DEBIT CARD.
• Like Rural Branches, the Authorities should insist Rural ATMs- purely to carry technology to rural areas. In ATM dispensation, HITS should not be the only criteria for assessing the success or failure.
• Per ATM data should be made compulsory and the ATM sharing should emerge and to be encouraged by the Government and other Managements of the Banks. In other words, there should not be duplication of ATM efforts by various Banking Companies.
• Currency Chest options should be spread to all the Banks or more Banks based on their share of business in a particular place or state.
• Clearing Operations beyond certain Sum of Money should be put only through the RTGS and slowly even smaller transactions should go through the RTGS as envisaged by the scheme.
• In the meantime, the monopoly role of any single Bank in clearing operations in a State, District should be curtailed and replaced with an alternative Bank.
• Like Disaster Management, there should be Financial Disaster Management as vigorous as that of Relief operations, as the damage is much more than natural disasters.
• BIG CATS tribe should increase such that they could handle volumes, while breaking the monopoly.
• ATM replenishment and ATM handling should not be centralized with one Banking Institution.
• Like sending the Security Forces, Financial Services Restoration Actions should reach the desired destinations with least efforts by the Government /RBI
• It is also high time; that many uncommon/uneven/ areas of the INDIAN BANKING SYSTEM are to be addressed, pertaining to the TECHNOLOGY BUILD UP.

The writing on the Wall is very clear: It is no longer Mass Banking where the masses never went against their Bankers. To day, when the Class Banking system is reemerging, it is an important task to safeguard the system from major players.*