The ‘blue sky thinker’ who brought a shift in the retail lending sector
Blending their visionary capabilities with the present need, transformational business leaders unlock the personal potential of people around them and further develop them into futuristic leaders.
In a nutshell, business leaders are growth stimulators. And we recently had an opportunity to interact with a leader who is known for his result-focused approach, speckling the right business opportunity and invoking the motivation and innovation of his people. Over the years, this business leader has built his territory with precise attention to every detail. He is none other than Munish Jain, CFO – Capital Small Finance Bank (previously, Capital Local Area Bank) – India’s first small finance bank.
Bringing more than 2 decades of expertise across the Banking & Financial Services sector, Munish Jain has amplified his mastery over wide-ranging functional areas like Strategic formation, Strategic Execution, Differentiated Banking, Capital Raising, Treasury Operation and Fund Management, Budgeting & Business Plan Formulation, System Designing, Accounting Norms & Procedures, Audit & Statutory Requirements Adherence aiding to Organizational Decision-Making & Planning.
Adding more, Munish is most proud of the work culture at Capital Small Finance Bank under his leadership, where prevails high levels of employee engagement and focused attention on employees’ health, well-being and safety.
BENCHMARKS CREATED BY MUNISH JAIN
- Administered the Project of Conversion of Local Area Bank (LAB) to Small Finance Bank (SFB).
- Instrumental in starting as First SFB of the Country post principal approval.
- Handled the project of Capital Infusion both equity (rights issues and private equity infusions) and Tier II capital raises on end to end basis.
- Applauded for contributions for putting in place the robust and scalable organizational structure, strategies for business acquisition, product designing and product innovations.
- Applauded for Setting up robust Retail Distribution Franchisee (Liabilities and Assets) and spotting a niche Market with scalable, stable and high-quality banking book.
- Heading the HR function as COO, and instrumental in making the organization awarded as the Best Banking Company to work for from ‘Great Place to Work and Economic Time’ for Five consecutive years, 2015-2018.
- Credited and appreciated for Establishment of Robust Integrated Treasury Division.
- Initiated Procedures for Enhancement of Income through Fee-based Services like Money Transfer, Foreign Exchange and Cross-Selling of Life & General Insurance.
- As Executive Vice President responsible for Balance Sheet finalization, acknowledged by ICAI for Efficient Preparation & Presentation of Financial Statements for two years.
Intrigued by the transformational business leader’s journey, we interacted with Munish Jain, where he discusses his role and responsibility and how he is driving Capital Small Finance Bank to newer heights.
Hi Munish, could you please give us a brief overview of your journey?
I, am Munish Jain, Chief Financial Officer of the Bank and a qualified Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and Company Secretary from the Institute of Companies Secretaries of India. I joined the Bank in 2000 and got escalated to the rank of Chief Operating Officer in the year 2014. Capital Small Finance Bank – is India’s first small finance bank, started its operations on April 24, 2016. Formerly it was the No.01 Local Area Bank of the nation and was known as Capital Local Area Bank with its headquarters at Jalandhar (Punjab). Capital Local Area Bank along with nine other entities was granted in-principle approval by the Reserve Bank of India to set up ‘Small Finance Bank’ on September 16, 2015. With 16 rewarding years of delivering the finest banking services at the doorsteps of Rural Punjab, the organization takes immense pride in its expansion to PAN India.
As Chief operating officer and Chief financial officer of the bank, I am spearheading the strategic, financial and business function, and over the years have handled a lot of critical projects.
“Tough times bring everything into sharp focus –strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.”
CSFB COO and CFO, Munish Jain, summarizes his experience of dealing with a difficult year.
What were the key factors that enabled to not only manage the pandemic exigencies, but also put up a stellar performance?
Tough times like these bring everything into sharp focus –strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. We are often tested not to reveal our weaknesses, but to discover our inherent strengths, FY21 put us through such a test. We have always focused on growing the healthy way to build a resilient institution that can withstand the test of times. Our strong retail franchisee model, customer-centric approach, adequacy and full range of products, strong credit underwriting and the enduring trust of our customers helped us to demonstrate strong asset quality.
Security, liquidity and optimizing risk adjusted returns have been the hallmark of our investment portfolio. These attributes have helped us maintain healthy liquidity all through and further reducing cost of funds has added to bottom line growth.
We leveraged our expertise in technology to increase digital payments and interface with customers to sustain and increase share of customer transactions.
We also strategized to improve our operating efficiency to reduce costs while sweating out our existing infrastructure. We introduced several measures to increase revenue from our existing businesses, optimizing business mix to improve risk-adjusted returns.
How do you drive strategic business changes?
There are three crucial factors in executing strategic changes:
1. Define the plan
Make it clear about how the strategy is important, then delegate project tasks and decisions to individuals. Keeping the plan transparent helps keep my team focused on the strategic goals.
2. Keep everyone informed
This is obvious but often misunderstood. Keep in mind that organizational complexity and the use of team silos can cause companies to fall short when it comes to information sharing. Timely information helps everyone get their work done.
3. Measure and manage results
Strategy acceleration projects should be consistently measured and evaluated so that teams can refine processes and actions. This is often effectively implemented at the training and learning reinforcement and assessment stage. This creates amazingly clear insights into what’s “sticking” and what’s not.
Accelerating corporate strategy has become an important aspect of implementing successful strategies. Utilizing the simple tips above can go a long way. Just creating the strategy is often not enough. Great thought and efforts need to be put into how the strategy is accelerated into real actions and results.
What vision do you have for your staff?
It is our constant endeavor to ensure that the team lives by and for the motto and tagline “Trust and Performance” and “Vishwas se Vikas Tak”. The values, culture and vision which flow down the bottom line instill a spirit of passion and pride in every teammate. It’s a culture where on one hand we make constant efforts to measure talent & ability and, on the other hand, we make sure that we do not overlook the important role of inspiration. It’s the inspiration that awakens the employees to new possibilities by allowing them to transcend ordinary experiences and limitations.
What’s the greatest risk you’ve undertaken?
My decision to enter into the business side from the compliance and finance planning.
Finally, can you please share some advice or your favorite quote?
I have emerged stronger out of every adversity on the strength of my character that I have built over the years, driven by the three guiding principles:
- Honesty (imaandaari) – commitment to go out of the call of duty to keep the trust of our stakeholders
- Prudence (samajhdaari), commitment to building an inclusive and sustainable institution
- Sensibility (zimmedari), accountability at all levels and being available in thick and thin time to all our stakeholders.
