''Can''I bank on you?. Review on Canara Bank

I'm quite new to the banking scene. I decided to open my first SB account at Canara Bank only because it's near the place I live. I cannot critically analyze the bank but let me just give a a brief account of my experience with the bank and its officials.

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Let me first give you a brief introduction. I'm from Jamshedpur and I've recently shifted to Calcutta for academic reasons. I desperately needed an SB account as it would facilitate in handling my financial matters. It so happened that both Canara Bank and Corporation Bank, Jadavpur branch are quite close to my residence. I chose Canara Bank because of two reasons:

1. It had an ATM attached to it.

   
   




2. My parents have an account in Canara Bank, Jamshedpur. So I won't need to search for an introducer.

   
   

So, one fine morning I headed for Canara Bank.

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As I reached the branch it looked as unwelcoming( in spite of the welcome sign board) as any other public sector bank. But, I entered the bank because firstly, I was always taught that beauty is not always skin deep. Secondly, I won't get to open an account for Rs. 1000/- in a pvt. sector bank.

I straight headed for the counter having the signboard ''Savings Bank'' and asked for an account opening for. No answer. I asked again. The gentleman looked at me blankly and pointed to the counter where the signboard said ''Debit and ATM card''. There the gentleman pointed me to another counter, ''Officer''.

He gave me the form promptly and also told me what I had to bring along to open the account. Though he sounded a little impatient I didn't mind.

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My driving license had my Jamshedpur address. That started to create a problem. I could provide no proof of address except for my college application and fees material. As I was new to college my identity card had not been issued till then. I thought that I should go and asked the concerned officer what to do.

So the next day I went to the bank and put down the problem in front of him. He did not look up at me even once. Just said ''hobe na.''( It can't be done). Imagine a bank having customer satisfaction as a prime target giving such answers.

I came back home and had a discussion with some of my elders. They said that if a person having residence in Kolkata opens a joint account with me, my problem would be solved. My father has immovable property in Kol. so he decided to help me out. My father and I went to the bank and asked the officer if we can open a joint account. the answer was ''hobe na'' again. I got disgusted and walked out of the bank.

My father then suggested that we should talk to the Branch manager. So, we went back and spoke to the branch manager. All our problems were solved. In fact, opening the account with the above mentioned criteria was allowed.

We again had to go to that officer as he was incharge of opening the account. Now he started creating another problem. He said that my father had account in Jamshedpur branch so he cannot introduce someone in Jadavpur branch. That my father is a customer of the bank and the bank knows him made no difference to the officer. The manager had to intervene again. We came to know that such introduction was allowed.

My question is if this was allowed why did we have to go through all these? This amount to nothing but poor service.

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My account is finally open and I'm quite satisfied with the way the bank works with regard to day to day transactions. There are no long queues for deposit and withdrawal and there are sufficient number of counters.

I had applied for ATM in November 2004. I'm yet to receive it after 2 months. But, I don't really want the ATM card. Actually whenever I go to the bank there are several people complaining that the ATM isn't working. In fact I've rarely seen people at that ATM.

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Canara Bank is no doubt a good bank to bank upon. Actually the things I've mentioned above are faults of all public sector banks. Their customer satisfaction quotient is zero.

Comparing with other public sector banks, Canara Bank is a major player. It has a great credibility attached to its name.

Canara Bank really needs to develop in one sphere ie. IT. Information Technology as we call it, is absent. Though the branches are computerised, computers are rarely used as a compulsory tool. The branches still maintain old ledger books. In fact when I asked if my ATM card had arrived, the debit card officer brought out a fat ledger and started checking.

The Atms need to be upgraded and maintained properly. Half the time the ATMs are out of order. Also the number of ATMs should be increased. There is an ATM attached to branches but nothing more than that. You won't find Canara Bank ATM in a movie hall or roadside. SBI, in spite of being in public sector, offers such services.

In the modern day competition, Canara Bank has been left behind in spite of being one of the oldest. But, the bank has a huge potential to grow both in terms of assets and customers.