Goals/Objectives of Internship Experience

The management internship program will help me relate to my academic knowledge to the real working environment. It will provide me with understanding about how to use this knowledge in my professional career.

Personally, I feel that this internship will develop professionalism and

commitment within me. Professionalism in terms of how to work in the office and commitment in terms of giving the best I can towards work. This will also increase skills such as communication, teamwork, interpersonal along with motivation, honesty and a strong work ethics. This internship will help me understand the working environment in banks where I intend to permanently be in the future. An internship experience will allow me to develop proficiency in these areas, as well as content skills including administrative, analytical, coaching, management and research.

Academically this internship will help me use knowledge I have learned in subjects such as marketing research, finance and use practical knowledge in Commercial banking. This program will also help me gain knowledge about corporate marketing. It will help me further in my MBA.

During the internship program I will learn what it's really like to work in the financial services industry; gaining a unique insight and understanding that could not be achieved by research alone. I will learn how companies are positioned in the industry, who the big players are, as well as the latest trends or industry forecasts; knowledge which will be essential in demonstrating my commitment to a career in banking when I graduate. In Today’s competitive marketplace, recruiters look not just for academic prowess, but also for hands-on, relevant experience. As an intern I will have the opportunity to acquire the skills I will need to get a head start on my particular field of career. It will help me build a good rapport with the bank and help me later when I come back after my MBA. This is also a good chance to prove myself worthy of a good position and later consider me when the bank is making placements.

Part 2: Self-Reflection Essay

This is a time where I need to make the most important decisions in life starting from education to career. I need to decide if I am going to study further or get into work. I need to decide, if I am going to study here in Kathmandu or go out. All these decisions are going to affect my whole life and I won’t be able to change it once I have decided. Most of my time goes in thinking about my life.

Looking at the past, I have made decisions which I am proud of. The first decision that I am proud of is taking commerce as my background. The

studying in KCM was the next best thing I did. Also organizing the “Daihatsu City Chase for Peace” was one of the good things I did. And finally, joining Himalayan Bank Limited for my internship is worth the pain.

KCM has not been a college where I gained academic knowledge in certain fields but in all fields of nature including psychology and human behaviour.

Beyond this, it has given me opportunity to grow and gain practical knowledge. With projects and other events organized within and outside college, I gained a sense of confidence and motivation to work. The few years that I have spent in this college will be remembered all my life.

Currently the most exciting thing in my life is the internship program that I have joined. I meet new people and the work there is exciting where I get to learn a lot and show my talent. The most important thing in my life at the moment is the decision I need to make in the next few months. I need to decide where I want to be next.

The most important thing that I want to do before I die is to prove myself useful to the society and my family more importantly. I want to be into such a career in the banking sector that pays me well firstly, and then it should also be satisfying and exciting. The organization that i get into should motivate new ideas, are open to changes, and has a contemporary working environment.

Appendix 17: Assignment 2

Assignment 2:

Interview of supervisor at workplace

Interview done by: Nikhil Agrawal

Name of the interviewee (Supervisor): Mr. Abhaya Bahadur Shah

Position: Relationship Manager

Department: Credit Department

Organization: Himalayan Bank Limited

Internship in Himalayan Bank Limited has not been confined to just doing what the course work requires Interns to do but it has been an experience where I have expanded my horizon of knowledge and also increased my networking with many elites of the banking industry and of the corporate world. HBL not only provides the interns with maximum exposure to the banking sector but also provides us a platform to set our careers of interest by letting us carry out the daily operations of the banking industry with full faith and confidence. The supervisors are not only excellent in their related fields but also are very good teachers by sharing all their knowledge with the interns and also correcting them of their mistakes so that they learn to the optimum.

During the course of internship, I interacted with Mr. Abhaya Bahadur Shah, one of the senior RMs of the customer care department of the credit department division. An MBA degree holder in finance from Delhi University, Mr. Shah is an enthusiastic and dedicated banker for whom banking is not only a profession but a hobby. Mr. Shah does every task assigned with full dedication but at the same time does not forget to have fun which enables the whole department to be proactive and fun with the work they carry. He has received various trainings in banking and finance from his current bank and the previous bank he worked in i.e. Nepal Investment Bank Limited. The trainings include Advanced Credit Analysis, Project Financing, Risk Assessment of SBE financing, etc. Trainings and degrees are just part of a banker’s job as with the volatile and constantly changing environment, such trainings and degrees also become

a necessity to get acquainted with the environment so as be competent with the challenges that is faced by a banker.

The major divisions in a bank are the operations department and the lending department. Though every work is challenging, credit department is the most challenging as the employee not only is responsible for carrying out the tasks to generate income but also puts the wealth of stakeholder’s of the bank doing the same.

So the employees of the credit department need to very good in their analytical skills, academic knowledge, proper understanding of the project being financed and proper credit appraisal skills with a motive not to fulfill the targets given but for the betterment of the bank and its stakeholders. The employee not only needs to be knowledgeable but intelligent as well because situations of using personal cognitive skills becomes very necessary during the credit appraisal of a client as Nepal lacks proper credit ratings of people or corporate entities. Though there are organizations like Credit Information Bureau to provide credit information of the proposed clients but it has not been able to provide ample information about clients and their present credit ratings in the industry. There are other professional institutions and organizations working as well for the betterment and regularization of the banking industry like Nepal Rastra Bank, Nepal’s Bankers Association, and Management Association of Nepal.

Banking industry has become one of the most competitive industries of Nepal as in a small market like ours; multiple numbers of financial institutions has entered into our country. This has not only posed a threat to established banks like Himalayan Bank but also poses a competitive environment for financial institutions to excel in their field. For such analysis there are organizations like Banker of the Year for their proper ratings. This challenge is one of the most fascinating reasons for bankers to enter into this profession. Besides this, the most rewarding thing in this profession is the respect the person gains in becoming a banker as the image of professionalism and learnedness combines which gives the person a nice status in the society and the meetings with other people. This advantage covers up the small disadvantages that are associated with such jobs that is the small growing opportunities of employees as there increments are confined in a certain pattern whereas setting up own business seems to be more profitable and growing.

Attaining a manager’s level position for Mr. Shah was not an easy task as it required him years of dedication towards the work to gain confidence among seniors so as to prove one capable of attaining promotions. Besides this, good interpersonal skills and cognitive intelligence is also a necessity to excel in the career as it is easily noticed and appreciated. Another recent trend of promotion in job shift; a careful and strategic

move towards job shifting can enable a person to excel in his or her career which has been triggered by the current boom in the number of financial institutions.

For a banker in the credit department, the major portion of the working hours is spent in meetings, credit approval and site visits. Most of the time, the employees have to work over time for which a passion for the work is important to maintain motivation in their work. Also a proper working environment is necessary for the same. This is one of the most differentiating factors of the bank in front of their competitors. The working environment in HBL is considered to be the best among the financial institutions with friendly environment and no dominance of higher posts upon the lower posts as all employees are considered to be equal. This friendly and professional working environment motivates the employees to dedicate themselves to their work better.

I learnt many insights about the banking industry from Mr. Shah and got some useful recommendations and tips for my career as well. According to him, to excel in any business maintaining a network of every class and every field of people is a must because it indirectly comes useful in various stages of your working life. Besides this, to enter into the banking industry a MBA degree or masters in the interested field, masters in finance is a necessity to enter into a credit department. Besides these, proper acquaintances to subjects such as Strategic Management, Economics, and Financial Management are necessary with personal strengths like good interpersonal communication skills and good analytical skills. He further suggested maintaining professionalism in any field I pursue because that differentiates an excellent employee with a good performer.

Interview done by: Rishabh Tibrewala Name of the supervisor: Mr. Pawan Agrawal

Position: Credit Analyst

Department: Risk Management Division Organization: Himalayan Bank Ltd.

Internship at Himalayan Bank Ltd. has been quite an experience till now. We have been interacting with people from the banking field as well as people from other field of work. We have been going on site visits where we get to interact with business people associated with both small and large enterprises. This has been possible only because Himalayan Bank Ltd has an open culture where an intern also gets to show his talents. The managers at the bank are willing to teach the interns even when it takes up their time and talents are appreciated.

I have been lucky to get a chance to work in such a work place. I was even lucky as I got to interview one of the Credit Analyst of the bank. Mr. Pawan Agrawal, Credit Analyst, Risk Management Division, was really kind to give some of his valuable time for this assignment. He was really helpful and was genuinely interested to answer all my questions with positive attitude. The main points of the interview have been highlighted in the essay below.

Himalayan Bank established in 1993 was one of the first private commercial bank. It has established a name for itself in the market and has been a market leader ever since. It has an established brand name which is a strong point for it. This brand image has helped the bank develop a good customer base. The USP of the bank has been its brand image which has been gained with long presence in the market. Being in this competitive sector, where the market is really small and new players have come with very aggressive marketing, the bank cannot develop a unique product but because of the good financial position and cheaper cost of funds, Himalayan bank has been a leader in its market.

The most important profile that a person should have to get into the bank is a master lever degree. It is preferred to have an MBA in Finance as this lays foundation towards better understanding in the financial sector of the economy. For a job title of an Analyst good financial analytical skill, Credit Appraisal Techniques and an understanding of the Project Financing is a must.

Further, to be able to go up high in the hierarchy, one should have good communication and presentation skills which is needed while dealing with the clients, excellent negotiation skills so that a better Credit Approval Package can be designed to satisfy both the customer and the bank’s interest and analytical skills to be able to see the capabilities of the client in terms of industry, security, financials, management and technical aspects.

At this bank, every individual gets to develop these skills as the environment is supportive. One gets to try new stuff and learn by doing. This way every person working at the bank enjoys freedom to use his intelligence and give something to the bank in return. The required skills are learnt through experience and training. The bank provides training with regards to Project Financing, Advanced Credit Analysis and Infrastructure Financing for the job of an analyst.

People often get impressed with the overall personality of a banker. A banker is perceived as a person with professionalism in what they do. This inspires a lot of people to come into banking sector. Also, credit is very attractive because one needs to meet a lot of people and interaction is always fun. It is a much glamorized sector of the economy but it is not always true. Getting into this sector limits your growth possibility. One cannot earn in this sector as much as he can in business. Hence if a person wants to grow, business is a better option.

If a person wants to get into the banking sector, he needs to be good in finance and should have analytical and communication skills. If he is good in it, then one can easily decide on the sector of banking. There are basically two sectors, one is the lending or the credit and the second is the operations which includes everything else such as deposits, trade, treasury etc.

There are only a few professional organizations that administer the banking sector in Nepal which are the Nepal Rastra Bank (the Central Bank of Nepal), the NBA or Nepal Bankers’ Association and the CIB or the Credit Information Bureau. These help the banks in proper operations and administration but in Nepal, this sector has not been able to develop itself properly. The level of professionalism that banks should have is not seen in any of the banks and there has been almost no progress. Any person can find this when he visits any of the banks in Nepal. The managers don’t run of deadlines and no work is actually done the way it should be done.

Along with the level of professionalism, bankers also face one more problem. There is not proper database available for them to rely on. Credit needs to be given solely on the basis of common sense and personal judgment as statistics aren’t available. This leads to wrong decisions and often it is seen that credit is provided to people who have been declared bankrupt.

The most rewarding aspect of working in a bank is that people give respect to you.

Once you are in a bank, people recognize you as a capable person. Internally, being in a bank is very satisfactory as it is the most professional organization and highest paying sector of the economy.

Interview with Mr. Pawan helped me understand where I stand and how good my chances are if I want to get into this field. I bachelors degree holder does not have a good chance to grow as he will be given a job of a teller or alike and it will take long for him to get to an assistant or a manager level. Any person who needs to get into this field should at least have a MBA in finance which will help him to get a head start and will take him up much faster.

Often people make job changes in search of better lifestyles. Some get good opportunity in terms of the pay whereas some get a better organization to work in.

This job shift helps one improve his living standard but needs to be strategically planned or else can lead to failure. For a person with MBA level degree, the other best alternative is to start up with own business. Business is always beneficial but there are certain cons of it. One does not always have the required startup capital which often acts as a limitation. Further, one needs to have that leadership quality or else he risks of losing his money.

This interview has been really advantageous as it gave me an insight of the banking career. It helped me understand what a banker really feels and what the best thing to do in life is. I came to know the pros and cons of working at a bank. This interview will surely be useful while deciding upon my career in the future.