The Custodian of Trust: A Banker's Memoir

by Rajnish Kumar

He was silently managing the crisis in India's banking sector then.Now he shares these stories in his memoir.It began from a modest house in one of the narrowest lanes of the old city of Meerut. From being a probationary officer in the State Bank of India (SBI) in 1980 to its Chairman in 2017, Rajnish Kumar had an amazingly interesting journey in which he saw the many changes in India's banking sector that greatly impacted the country and its economy. As the Chairman of SBI, Kumar recounts, his term was rather momentous as the period-from 2017 to 2020-during which he shouldered this responsibility was rather unique under any circumstances. The Indian banking sector was going through one of its most tumultuous phases. The problem of non-performing loans (NPLs) had severely impacted the balance sheet and profitability of banks, especially those in the public sector. In the aftermath of demonetization, the YES Bank fiasco, the crisis in Jet Airways and NPLs, among others, The Custodian of Trust is a candid memoir by the former Chairman of India's largest commercial bank. Anecdotal, engaging and evocative, this book is an unputdownable memoir of a former banker.

298 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 18, 2021

Reviews

[Vijay Netke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author Shri. Rajnish Kumar recently retired as Chairman of State Bank of India(SBI). The business of banking is trust based. Hence, Rajnish Kumar has aptly titled his memoir as 'The Custodian of Trust'.


In this book one gets to know internal working of bank like SBI. Author has given insights into Yes Bank fiasco and how SBI emerged as saviour of Yes Bank. The bankruptcy of Jet Airways is also discussed in detail. Further, the problem of Non Performing assets (NPAs) of banks and its reasons are articulated in details. Here, author suggests that NPA in banks shoot up because of systemic problems and bankers should not be vilified for it entirely. Author argues in certain sectors like Steel, Power, Telecom, Road and infrastructure etc there are structural problems and policy flip-flops leading to huge NPAs. Therefore, author suggests the blame of NPAs is shared by everyone including banks, promoters, govt authorities, legal system and regulators etc.


Shri. Rajnish Kumar became the chairman of SBI in challenging times when bank NPAs were at their historic high, RBI was doing asset quality review of banks and there was lot of divergence in figures of banks and RBI. Then there was demonetization, GST implementation, merger of six banks in SBI and last but not the least COVID-19 pandemic. Due these events and other structural issues there was overall trouble in the corridors of money. These problems are seen in failures of Yes Bank , DHFL, IL&FS, PMC Bank etc. In these tough times autjot was to lead the banking behemoth. Author discusses his various initiatives in SBI including launch of YONO app and HR policies.


In the last chapter author has dwelled upon his life journey from narrow lanes of Meerut to SBI headquarters. The book is interesting read for understanding the banking sector in particular but also serves as the chronicle of contemporary economic history.

[Ankur Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent read, chapters on Yes bank, Jet airways fiasco and Yono app are particularly interesting and insightful. Otherwise, its predictable as what you would expect from a senior banker summarizing his life's work.

[Abhishek Kumar · Rating 1 out of 5]

Waste of time. Book looks like a self blowing of trumpet. No special insight on the working of the bank. Throughout the book, It’s like I did this, I did that. Which is not at all interesting or even useful.

Did not talk about the low pay scale in PSU banks but mentioned HR training modules, as an achievement.

Avoid at all cost type of book.

[Francy M C · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has 3 parts.

Part 1. NPA issues in Banks - Jet Airways, Yes Bank etc.
Part 2. His Show off
Part 3. His personal journey from an ordinary middle class UP wala to PO to Chairman.

Here part 1 is extended version of books 'Pandemonium written by Tamal Bandyopadhyay + Bad Money written by Vivek Kaul. My Rating is 3 star

Part 2 - a complete ostentatious of the writer. My rating is 0. If u can, pls avoid this section.

Part 3 - this is touching. My rating is 5 star.

[Rajaneesh Chalamalasetti · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's insightful. It's soothing for the new generation indian bankers to hear from the chairman of SBI directly.

It's a must read for every banker and every enthusiast.

I am at 25% of the book and will post update once completed.