By Madan Lamsal

These days, if you encounter any crestfallen wo/man with faded pulchritude and desperate to reach somewhere sooner, s/he could easily be a banker. With the collapse of BFIs in a row, even the CEO of healthiest of these institutions is sacred to the hilt. Simply because, before one could explain the robustness of his or her institutions, things are seen going out of hand of these expert managers.

 

Except those under the government raincoat, almost all BFIs are feeling the pinch of acid-rain, some term it liquidity- and others lucre-dity-driven crisis. And every crisis is a god-sent lottery to some, and so called older and large banks are now enjoying the unprecedented deposit flow when their smaller and younger fellows gasp for life.

 

The lifestyle, personality and approach of the CEOs of many of these BFIs have completely changed. They have ceased to wear tie. Harrods tweed has been replaced by Bangkok boutique. Razor sharp creases of the dress have disappeared and, instead of driving individual cars, many senior executives of an institution are seen stacked in single vehicle. They are not doing it for their security by feigning move-incognito, but all of them are putting these sincere efforts to support the Nepal Rastra Bank Governor's objectives to bring down the national inflation to a single digit. In cocktails, they hardly speak. Even if they do, they just mew. Their eyes are anxious not to bump with any guy from Baluwatar, by chance. Who knows, a prestigious banker today may be arrested by the police on the criminal charges of elbowing a central banker in a cocktail party?

 

Early in the morning, these CEOs dread to read the newspapers. They feel the unusual urge to pee while reading the news about the rampage and killings by wild elephants in the districts like Jhapa. They hallucinate that snores and roars of the Jhapali animals is also coming out of the Baluwatar woods, perhaps without knowing the Jhapa influence in the present day Nepali financial sector. Some CEOs are also scared that, regardless of the financial credentials of their institution, they would be chased by one powerful Jhapali to apparently to install another Jhapali in the CEOs position, in addition to a couple of peripheral advisors to add the operational cost of the purportedly crumbling institution.

 

But there are more than one solutions to these woes of poor CEOs. First, they must confess that they didn’t know any previous governor or deputy governor of the central bank to vindicate an unflinching loyalty to the present central bank leadership. Second, even if they knew some, they continuously profess that all former Rastra Bank officials including the governor were unprofessional, unqualified and dirty people; and responsible for present mess in the financial system. Also remember to communicate your allegiance to the party that made history by launching the Jhapa andolan. And, don’t commit foolish mistake of visiting new bungalow of the governor worth crores as that may prove something else to his principled credentials as a true proletariat. These tips will surely help you if not your institution.