It is not enough that a banker sits coolly in his office and waits for a customer to walk in with a proposal seeking funds from the bank. A real development banker will have to go and search for a prospective borrower. The Branch Agent will have to assume dynamic role in rural areas, as people in these areas have built-in inhibitions in approaching banks, because for a long time they were denied any access to banks. He has to be a friend, philosopher and financier to the local community within his reach. Let me tell you that in such a rural setting, the Branch Agent will be able to score more significant achievements only if he makes a determined effort to make the local society accept him as one among them who by virtue of his position and authority, his knowledge and profession, is to be listened to with respect and followed. This implicit faith in his leadership will not be there if he maintains the distance which exists between rural and urban people.
Every day I get a sizeable mail from persons from all walks of life. In many letters adverse comments are made about the operation of banks. Even conceding that some of these letters emanate from aggreived parties and lack objectivity, the fact remains that one cannot ignore them altogether. The most usual complaint is in respect of the unhelpful attitude of the man behind the counter. I can well imagine the frustration and awkwardness a prospective borrower from the rural area must be suffering when the man behind the counter exhibits lukewarm attitude. There may or may not be substance in these complaints, but what is important is to ensure that the operational man has got our message correctly so that there is no obstruction in the implementation of the policies that we frame. Nothing can be so damaging as a hiatus between policies and implementation.