THE SOCIOLOGIST AS A BANKER IN THE 21st CENTURY - PROSPECTS &

CHALLENGES

PIUS ADESAKIN February 20, 2015

DEFINITIONS OF RELATED DISCIPLINES

• Sociology – a social science or field of study with societies, human relationships or people’s patterns of behavior in groups as its main focus

• Sociologist – one/Social Scientist who studies societies, human relationships or people’s patterns of behavior in groups

• Anthropology – Scientific study of people, their culture(s) & societies, usually simple or lower societies

• Anthropologist – one who studies people of simple/lower societies & their culture(s)

DEFINITIONS OF RELATED DISCIPLINES cont’d• Ethnology – Scientific study and

comparison of different races of people• Banking – Financial intermediation

between surplus and deficit areas of the economy

DEFINITIONS OF RELATED DISCIPLINES cont’d

• Banker – a person who studied banking or is trained to anchor any or all of the arms of financial intermediation namely: deposit taking, loan creation, operation, treasury dealing & management, cashiering/tellering, financial control, audit, reconciliation etc

FRAMEWORK

WHY STUDY SOCIOLOGY?(1)KNOWLEDGE & CARREER PATHING(2) AS FOUNDATION/GOOD BACKGROUND FOR

OTHER PROFESSIONS OWING TO ITS MAIN THRUSTS AS (a) A STUDY OF SOCIETY, ITS PEOPLE & SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS and,or (b) THE DEVELOPMENT OF A BODY OF KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS ON HUMAN ACTIVITIES & SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS THAT CONNECT INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS & INSTITUTIONS

PROFESSIONS OPEN TO SOCIOLOGISTS

Professions open to Sociologists include, but are not limited to the followings:

• POLICE & THE MILITARY• SOCIAL WORK• MASS COMMUNICATION/JOURNALISM [Print &

Electronic Media, Advertising, Public Relations]• MARKETING• INDUSTRIAL & LABOUR RELATIONS• BANKING• POPULATION & DEMOGRAPHIC INSTITUTIONS

PRE-LIBERALISATION ERA/LIBERALISATION [OF STAFFING] ERA OF BANKS

HISTORY GRADUATES – ENGAGED AS ADMIN. MANAGERS OWING TO THEIR

KNOWLEDGE OF THE KINGDOMS & LEADERSHIP STYLES OF MANSA MUSA, UTHMAN DAN FODIO, SHAKA DE ZULU etc

LATE 1980s to date – (1) O. Olagundoye – Elect. Engr. – MD of Chartered Bank & National Bank (2) Chika Mbonu – Chem. Engr- MD of Citizens

Bank & Nigeria-Arab Bank (3) Emeka Onwuka – Political Scientist – MD of Diamond Bank & Chairman of Enterprise Bank (4) Segun Oloketuyi – Biochemist – MD of Wema Bank

PROSPECTS OF SOCIOLOGISTS IN BANKING

The reliance of other fields, particularly banking, on the knowledge of Sociology is what can be called Applied Sociology.

Even though banks welcome applications from Graduates of other disciplines for several reasons, goodimpact can be drawn from such fresh Graduates after in-house and sometimes, external training & re-training.

PROSPECTS OF SOCIOLOGISTS IN BANKING cont’d

The immediate attractive fields of study are Banking,Economics, Business Administration, Accounting/Accountancy, Sociology, Mathematics and Statistics.

But it should not surprise anyone to find Engineers, Architects, Surveyors, Chemists and Physicists working as Bankers because it is generally assumed that such people Have been trained to have analytical minds needed in the Field of banking

PROSPECTS OF SOCIOLOGISTS IN BANKING cont’d

Sociologists are engaged in banking because of(a)the need to properly manage customers affairs and their perceived background in andknowledge of human society and socialrelationships (b) the would-be employer’sexpectation that the knowledge in(a) will bebrought to bear on the job

RECRUITMENT REQUIREMENTS AND LIKELY AREAS OF DEPLOYMENT

Requirements:• Minimum of 2 Class Lower?• ACIB, ICAN, MBA will give competitive edge• Computer Literacy & Analytical mind

Likely Areas of Deployment – Human Resources, Marketing,Operation, Relationship Management and ProductDevelopment. However, Corporate training, self-development/application can make a Sociologist veer intoother areas like Market Research/Strategy, Treasury Dealing &Management, Credit Analysis, Financial Control, Audit

KEY SUCCESS FACTORS

• Computer Literacy – to determine the outcome of a banking deal or prepare reports

• Self-development & application• Developed body of facts/knowledge through

training e.g. as an HR person, you do not engage closely related individuals (couples, father/mother and children, siblings etc) in a bank because of possibility of connivance or disciplinary requirements

KEY SUCCESS FACTORS cont’d

• Intuition – ability or feeling to understand certain situations without being told or any concrete proof e.g. staff who have the tendency to live above their means are likely to commit fraud and should not be further tempted by exposure to cash, through posting

• Concepts of ‘Internal & External Customers’ – Colleagues are Internal Customers & there is the need to forge good relationships with them to succeed in serving the bank’s External Customers

LIKELY AREAS OF DEPLOYMENT emphasised

• CASHIERING/TELLERING – Needed:IntegrityBeing @ home with figures/calculationsGood appearance/presentationCommunication skills. HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT –Needed:Organisational ability for interviews & trainingsSkills for Investigation with regards to fraudsSkills for computation of salaries, wages & benefits

LIKELY AREAS OF DEPLOYMENT emphasised

• GENERAL SERVICES –Needed:IntegrityNegotiation Skills for procurements, servicing &

maintenance of assetsAscertaining departmental requirement of assetsDeployment of a certain category of staff e.g

service staff

LIKELY AREAS OF DEPLOYMENT emphasised

• MARKETING – Needed –IntegrityCommunication SkillsAbility to determine the cost of maintemance &

profitability of accounts [transfer pricing]Ability to scan business environment and create risk

assetsAbility to analyse related industries and identify

inherent risks & mitigants

LIKELY AREAS OF DEPLOYMENT emphasised

• RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT –NeededGood communication skillsAbility to determine/identify customer needs,

complaints & proffer solutionsAttendance @ social eventsCommunication of latest developments to

customers (ATM charges, BVN)

LIKELY AREAS OF DEPLOYMENT emphasised

• PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT –Needed:Ability to read and interprete financial newsDetermination of customer needsOfferings of competition – like products &

pricingFeatures & Benefits

LIKELY AREAS OF DEPLOYMENT emphasised

• MARKET RESEARCH/STRATEGY –Needed:Ability to garner and distill financial news (even though Economists are engaged for this, Sociologists in banking need to develop this skill to stand alone as Managers, Marketers and, or Analysts – e.g. Federal Government Budget, drop in oil price to $50/barrel and the implications

CHALLENGES

• Likely computerisation of staff functions & the implication for disengagement of staff by banks – Self-development in more areas

• Some Sociologists dread figures, thereby limiting the no of departments open to them. (a)School curriculum should include Social Statistics & Social Research (b) Further personal development – MBA, ACIB, ICAN, NIM etc

CHALLENGES cont’d

• Wrong Values – People see working in banks as only synonymous with high renumeration (mostly true) but too much emphasis on this is the root of many frauds. Emphasis should be on making a good career of the profession. Monetary reward should be secondary

*FOR ME – empowerment to meet customer’s needs and get his/her satisfaction is more rewarding

PERSONAL EXPERIENCES

MILESTONESNovember 1993 – Joined Chartered Bank as Assistant

Supervisor/Teller/Marketer/ Credit Officer1996/1997 – 2000 – Treasury Dealer/Officer2001-2004 – ALCO Secretary/Clearing Manager2005-2011 – Branch Manager2012-2014 –Branch Manager/Ag. Regional Head

THANK YOU