Page 16 - Seniorstoday Sep 2024 Issue
P. 16
emphatically. Growth in any professional requesting for FDS to be placed. She can
firm is linked to the revenues that you are view the bank balances of any customer and
capable of generating for the firm. Those must have seen the floats available in my
who can handle the immense stress manage account. September being a quarter end, the
to stay on, those who cannot either burn out bank needs to shore ups its CASA and FDs
or exit. Shape up or ship out, if one were to and the RM was under immense pressure
jargonise. A counselling session with his to deliver. In spite of all the logic against
father, himself an ex-big 4 partner, and the parking funds in FDs, I relented in a spirit
writer, with more than adequate experience of helping out a stressed RM.
in the consultancy and corporate worlds, A week ago, I was approached by a so-
and practical tips to handle such situations called ‘global’ organisation, professing
assuaged Vijay somewhat, but hardly can to give a low down on laws governing
provide a lasting succour. No law firm or companies and directors, to register for a
consultancy or any other entity or company digital conference free of any charges. Little
is free from this monetisation malady. wonder it piqued me enough to register,
Your friendly bank relationship manager only to be dismayed at the introduction
is no different. You are as important to stage itself that it is all a PR and self-
her or him depending on the balances in promotion exercise to advocate and lure
your bank account and the fixed deposits people into paying for expensive courses
(possibly the lowest interest yielding and pie-in-the-sky kind of opportunities.
financial instrument) you place with the Since then, I have been spammed with
bank. Banks are merely traders in your repeated messages enticing me to sign up
money and without your money they for their course. Eventually, I had to block it
cannot exist or earn any spreads in their to get a reprieve.
lending or other banking activities. This is Many of us would have seen too-good-to-
the reason that every bank works towards be-true flagrant posts on FB or WhatsApp,
shoring up its balance sheet by increasing dishing out tips on multi-bagger shares
CASA amounts (current accounts and or investment advisory, promising you
saving accounts) and fixed deposits. One stratospheric returns. These are all posted
of the key result areas of a bank’s RM is by dubious entities and persons. Just
to shore up these and their incentives imagine lakhs of people falling for it and
are linked to that. I recently got a fervent paying up subscription fees in the greed
call from my RM, a newly assigned one, to earn high returns. They will simply
disappear after they have lured you into
paying up thousands of rupees. Just
imagine the multiplier effect on these cons’
coffers.
Many would have similarly seen
thousands of posts on social media offering
some exciting product or the other. The
canny would know that any of these posters
(or imposters, if one may) who does not
offer ‘Cash on Delivery’ system of payment
16