My journey began in 1962, a landmark year for the Indian Overseas Bank; the bank celebrated its Silver Jubilee. For the first time, the bank recruited a batch of twelve Probationary Officers. I was fortunate to be among those first twelve, entering the field armed with a Bachelor of Commerce and a Law degree—a dual foundation that would serve as my compass for the next thirty-eight years.
The Formative Years: 1962–1968
My professional path was set early on at the Head Office Training College under the Principal, Sri Vedamuthu. He was a man of great foresight; though I was not yet technically eligible, he permitted me to sit for the CAIIB exam—a gesture of trust that set my career in motion.
From the quiet halls of the college, I was thrust into the "real world" of banking:
Madurai: The temple town taught me the basics of domestic banking. It remains a cherished memory, partly for the endearing and then-embarrassing moment when my father insisted on accompanying me to the Manager’s cabin and asked him to "take care" of his son.
Mangalore (Bunder): Here, I cut my teeth on the complexities of foreign exchange and the cashew trade. It was a rigorous period where clearing my CAIIB finals required persistence in the face of a challenging environment.
Bombay (Mandvi): In 1963, I moved to the heart of commerce. It was a privilege to be part of the branch that handled the very first account for Mr. Dhirubhai Ambani’s M/s Reliance Commercial Corporation.
Mahim: The Grounding of a Career
My final probationary stint was at the Mahim branch in Bombay. If any place truly grounded my career, it was this. Under the mentorship of Mr. Amarnath and H.S. Srinivas, I was introduced to personality development and the "Management by Heart" philosophy. The branch offered a vibrant learning ground, managing high-stakes foreign exchange and a star-studded clientele including Mala Sinha, Asha Parekh, Prem Chopra, Leela Chitnis, Rajendra Kumar, Dev Anand, Dara Singh, Balraj Sahni, and Manna Dey. As the fastest-growing branch in the country at the time, it demanded a steep learning curve. I stayed for five formative years, eventually receiving my officer confirmation there.
Expanding Responsibilities
My path then took me through a series of postings that tested my versatility and adaptability:
Poona & Bandra: At Bandra, we were entrusted with the accounts of industry legends like Amitabh Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha, Jaya Bhaduri, and Hema Malini, though the period was also marked by the sobering loss of my colleague, Vittal Bhat.
MLI and Cathedral Branch (Chennai): After a stint in the MLI Credit department, I was sent to the Cathedral branch by the CMD with the specific task of "putting the house in order." Managing 120 staff members and the city’s massive currency chest was a significant trial in institutional responsibility.
Regional Manager (Karnataka): In 1983, I moved to Bangalore, overseeing a region vital to the agricultural sector—tobacco, coffee, and tea estates. It was my first deep exposure to the vast landscape of rural and administrative banking.
Board Level Assignments:
Incidentally, I held the following board level assignments on behalf of IOB and Vijaya Bank:
- Nominee Director, Bharat Overseas Bank
- Nominee Director, Pioneer Overseas Finance Company (Standard Fireworks Group)
- Nominee Director, V Bank Housing Company
The Blooming and the Fruit
Returning to the Head Office in Chennai, I was put in charge of the entire Credit Department, Legal Cell, and Infrastructure. This was my most intellectually fertile period. As I often say: I was sprouted, groomed, bloomed, and fructified. During these years, I realized that a banker’s knowledge is best used when shared. I focused on distilling my experiences into manuals—Back to Basics, Consortium Finance, and Working Capital Assessment—to help younger officers navigate the "Science of Credit." I was fortunate to lead a dedicated team of Chartered Accountants and technical officers whose support allowed us to fulfill these mandates.
The Final Frontier: Vijaya Bank and the Millennium
After serving as Zonal Manager in Bombay and then as General Manager in Chennai, my journey took me to Vijaya Bank as Executive Director in 1997.
Working under Chairman Sri Leeladhar—a model of honesty and humility—we faced the task of reversing the bank's loss-making trend. Through collective discipline and strategic integrity, we saw the bank return to profitability, eventually leading to a successful public issue that was well-received by the market.
My career walked into the new millennium in the year 2000, retiring in April of that year. I look back at those thirty-eight years not just as a series of jobs, but as a long, rich education in human nature, professional duty, and the enduring power of the heart in a world of numbers.