Five years ago, I was working as a branch manager in a medium-sized bank. As usual, we went to a 5-star hotel in Antalya together with many bankers. Having made the opening speech of the meeting, the CEO said that he had made the opening speech in these meetings for five years and he had to repeat the same sentence every year although he very much wanted to change it. The unchanged sentence was: next year, it will be much more difficult than this year.
Looking back, banks were very happy. No sector is carried out in non-profits; investors from abroad are paying very high amounts of money to be able to have a share of this lucrative sector in Turkey and were doing everything to become bank owners. Bank owners were reluctant to sell and wanted very high prices. Most of the time, they were getting the money they wanted.
While I was working as a branch manager during this very high-profit period, when I talked to my young banker friends, I was telling them that “it would not take too long and they would not feed these profits to banks. Each year 75-80 new branches were opened, I knew it was a very pleasant day for them, but it would not take too long, and when the jobs were reversed, they would close at the same speed.
For example; I made a simple calculation when I was the Branch Manager of Bankalar Caddesi. With the profit margins at that time, I obtained a profit of TL 17 million from a loan of TL 1 million, and I was able to obtain a TL 1 million plus money loan. I gathered the team and told them: I have only one wish for profitability; You have to increase our KMH risk which is 350.000 TL to 1.350.000 TL at the end of the year. Afterwards, I did not approve any credit offer in which there were no PFM and a Corporate Credit Card limit.
Our team believes this, 8 years in the profitability of our branch has experienced a great problem with additional work 100% of the target every year together with profit and we have spent very successful 2.5 years together. After leaving the bank, our team is broken, new arrivals have been very unsuccessful because it is a very risky market. The branch has been constantly harmed. However, conditions constantly change and it is necessary to take rational measures against changing conditions.
Everything started at 5% -6% monthly with the limitation of credit card lags and CBM interest rates of around 2% per month. The banks ahead were very happy. They were earning the most money from their customers who entered the delay and used KMH. Annual interest rate was 60%. Even in the loan shark, no such high interest was applied.
In fact, some banks had lowered their customer score points, giving credit cards and individual loans. The logic was: I get 5 to 6% monthly ex-interest interest from the customers who are in delay at the 4% level of the loan. In any case, I will profit from this. This logic has worked very well for a long time, and some banks have achieved very high profits without crediting properly, without risk assessment, and lending to the front.
That wasn't real banking. The cost of the wrongs would be paid out one day. That's what happened. When the monthly credit card interest rate and PFM interest rates were limited by about 2% by the regulatory bodies, the thought systematics of these banks were no longer functional when the delay interest rates were lowered. The sea was over and the morale of top executives was zero.It is an important sector in terms of public duty and a country due to its banking feature. For this reason, banks have to make banking in accordance with ethical rules and banking practices. When we started banking, we were taught to act as a “prudent merchant Bank. This is also the law of banks.
The best example of this is Hakan Ateş, founding general manager of Denizbank, where I worked as Bankalar Caddesi Branch Manager for 2.5 years. Hakan Bey wrote a letter to Zorlu in his handwriting while the bank was in the process of being established. In this letter, the basic principles of the establishment and operation of the bank are written. One of the most important items is that ac The Bank will never hold more than 20% of its assets and treasury bills and government bonds. This fundamental principle is the principle that protects Denizbank from damage in the 2001 crisis and enables the crisis to enter a liquid form and use the crisis as an opportunity for growth.
The best branches of the banks in the busiest centers of the city, due to the crisis and mismanagement, joined Denizbank together with their personnel. Denizbank carried out the first breakthrough of its organic growth in the 2001 crisis, when all the major banks were fighting for life in order not to sink.
Senior executives, young bankers, branch employees working at the Bank's General Directorates are experiencing a troubled period, which is getting harder every day. The shareholders naturally want to make a profit for the money they invest. There is no chance for the manager to stay in place. Stress is too big.
Nevertheless; we have to stand firm, not to throw the other colleagues in the fire to save ourselves and need a solid character. The man prefers easy to live, hard to live.
Innovation and creativity are very necessary and important for success. On the other hand, in the banking profession to escape the simplicity of the business, to behave ethically, not to be honest, maybe it seems to reward those who act in the short term, but in the long term, the banks that allow it have come to the big problems and will come in the future.
Last word: Personality is not important for meaningful life, not wealth and fame.
I wish all bankers the full days of success gained by giving importance to ethical values, rewarding innovation and creativity without going to the ease of work.
Bülent İlkehan
www.argusdanismanlik.com