Banking: A Seductive, Cruel and Transactional Relationship


Being a banker is not as easy and glamorous as the suits make it look. It is actually a seductive, cruel and transactional relationship. There is nothing personal about banking. You are only as good as your next target. And the only thing you are sure of is your last pay cheque. It is in banking that you get to truly appreciate the saying that “the reward for hard work is more work”. Because the motive of banking is to make profit, there is huge room for corruption and high handedness. Targets are sometimes set without objective rationale. How to meet the target is nobody’s business, just go out there and meet the numbers. It is usually a brutish affair once it comes to meeting targets.

Now, for the seductive part of banking… The portrayal of a flashy and trendy lifestyle, one where bankers drive nice, brand new cars, go for holidays overseas, spend without checking price tags, wear really nice suits, make big tips and the wave of that Debit/credit card… It all sounds so appealing. Everyone practically believes these bankers are rich. Now the banker also gets sucked into all the pizazz, why? Because they just keep waiting on that next pay cheque to keep up the ‘good life’. It’s a cycle and it’s pretty seductive.

Is Banking cruel? If you live in a city like Lagos… well you may say, it sure is. A banker pays for this real nice apartment in town…But, let’s not talk about house rents. They only get to actually “live” in that nice apartment at the weekend. On Monday morning, bankers drive out as early as 5.00am, get to the office and continue sleeping in their cars in the car park, before they resume for work. Talk about the late working hours, some bankers work till 9:00pm or 10:00pm, talk about the weekend tasks... sometimes they have long meetings which eat into the entire weekend, traffic time on the road per day, is over whelming but when you see the number of cars rushing across third mainland bridge to the Island, you realize the hustle is real. All these mean nothing to the bank owner. When they want to sack they do it in the cruelest manner... The sack list is swiftly rolled out like a football squad… They take away your logon detail without prior notice…All you know is that you can’t login anymore…You’re simply fired.

The employment terms start off with a deal…if you meet your KPIs you get promoted…very transactional. They tell you upfront that there is no real relationship here – If you do this, then you get that. It is like saying to your kid …If you listen, then I will buy you candy. The child grows up expecting rewards for every behaviour. This kind of relationship permeates the fabrics of the entire bank. Members of staff internalize this form of social relation and enact same. That is the only way of moving through life and getting what they want. The transactional banking environment corrupt the minds of the employees…Very often you hear people say to one another: why should I when you never this or that…What is in it for me? Banking makes wonderful people: self-focused, judgmental, Quid Pro Quo, full of blame and unreasonable.

It is Seductive…It is Cruel…It is Transactional…It is a cold world, so please pack your heat!!

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