I pursued Chartered Accountancy for my higher education. My article-ship was completed in Mumbai, India. Throughout my studies, I also engaged in part-time training. However, my first official employment began at Rastriya Banijya Bank (RBB) in 2006, starting at level 9. At that time, RBB had brought in foreign management to improve the state-owned banks, which were on the brink of failure due to a significant amount of non-performing loans (NPLs).
The government had decided to recapitalise these banks under the Financial Sector Reform Programme to prevent their collapse. As the foreign management’s term was nearing its end, the search for capable leadership to strengthen these banks was underway. A succession plan was implemented, and job openings were announced to attract talent. I was hired as a joint account officer at that time, the second-highest position within the department.
My career path has been quite unique. I retired from RBB after just sixteen-and-a-half years, at the age of 46. During my time there, I received three promotions, reaching level 12 and the position of Deputy Chief Executive Officer. According to the regulations, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer is required to retire after completing a four-year term. Typically, in Nepal, retirement from government service occurs after 30 years of service or upon reaching the age of 58. People are often surprised when I mention that I retired from a government job (specifically, a government-owned bank).
After starting my job at RBB at level 9, I realised something important. While my academic degree had equipped me with technical skills, the practical world of work showed me that managerial and communication abilities were absolutely essential. Managing teams and engaging with stakeholders turned out to be intricate, highlighting the equal importance of developing strong interpersonal skills. Furthermore, learning to navigate various situations with maturity became another critical skill I honed while serving in leadership roles.
I was involved in the efforts to reshape RBB, moving it towards sound operational practices from a critical state where non-performing loans were at a staggering 60% or even higher. The foreign management had concentrated on essential reforms, which didn’t include expanding services. Lending was restricted, and the focus was on downsizing and restructuring. Once the foreign management’s term ended, Krishna Prasad Sharma took over as CEO of RBB. It was then that we shifted our focus back to expanding services. Kiran Kumar Shrestha later succeeded Sharma, bringing in more talent and accelerating project lending and branch expansion.
During my time there, RBB made considerable progress. I feel fortunate that I didn’t experience any downturn in the bank’s activities. This state-owned bank underwent a complete transformation and became a strong competitor with private banks in offering modern banking services, consistently maintaining a leading position. When I first joined RBB, there was significant overstaffing and the bank had initiated Voluntary Retirement Schemes (VRS) to reduce the workforce, implementing the VRS programme six times. Within a year of joining RBB, I was promoted to Department Chief.
RBB had a rule of a 30-year service period and we went through a real human resource crunch as a lot of employees decided to retire. I was actually part of the employee recruitment committee and we hired many people during that time. I was involved in recruiting over 700 employees in that period.
After getting my Chartered Accountancy qualification, I wasn’t really drawn to practicing, so I started looking for a job right after finishing. As a qualified Chartered Accountant, I was naturally suited for accounting and auditing. But when I joined RBB, I was suddenly exposed to areas like financing, procurement and human resource management, among other things. I didn’t just stick to technical tasks; I really developed my managerial and leadership skills.
We often made decisions that weren’t exactly standard practice to help RBB become a strong, modern banking service provider. For instance, we ventured into project financing, which was a bit out of the ordinary. We financed quite a few hydropower and other production-based projects. We also completely automated our services by installing a new IT system. RBB owned a lot of properties and we decided to develop buildings and make good use of those lands and properties.
A really important achievement was reaching the required capital adequacy ratio set by the regulators. Previously, because of a negative net worth, Nepal Rastra Bank had instructed us to limit lending to Rs. 600 million (300 million funded and an equal amount non-funded). Later on, we managed to meet all the regulatory requirements. RBB is a clear example of how a company can transform itself from a terrible situation of negative net worth to a point where it can give dividends to its shareholders, which in our case, was the government.
Later on, there was a discussion about whether to issue an initial public offering (IPO) to the public, as required by the Bank and Financial Institutions Act (BAFIA). We went through all the necessary preparations but there was some debate about whether a fully state-owned bank should offer shares to the public. Eventually, BAFIA 2017 removed the mandatory requirement for a public issue.
About a year after retiring from RBB, I joined the Social Security Fund (SSF) as an Executive Director. The SSF is focused on the important work of providing social security to all citizens. Following the promulgation of the Constitution in 2015, the SSF was established to implement Article (34) of the Constitution, which guarantees every worker the right to social security.
This is a wide-ranging idea that aims to ensure income stability for all workers, covering both the formal and informal sectors, including those employed abroad and the self-employed. It’s designed to offer a comprehensive package to contributors.
Civil servants and members of the security forces contribute to the Employees Provident Fund. However, private sector organisations that follow the Labour Act will contribute to the SSF. Additionally, contributions to the Citizen Investment Trust are voluntary and primarily for tax benefits, with a focus on developing the capital market. So, you can see that SSF, EPF and CIT have distinct functions. Although the EPF has been introducing various social security schemes for its contributors, who are mainly government employees.
There’s been some confusion about what these different organisations actually do, and people often talk about overlapping functions, which isn’t really the case. They all operate within their own specific areas.
The contributions to SSF and the other funds I mentioned are growing every year. Since the SSF was established, we’ve been collecting contributions and providing benefits to those who contribute. The benefits offered by SSF include medical coverage, old-age pensions, lifelong pensions for dependents (if a contributor passes away), support for children’s education, maternity benefits, and other forms of assistance.
SSF has already provided almost Rs. 13 billion in benefits to contributors. On top of that, we’re actively looking for investment opportunities to grow the funds so we can provide returns to our contributors. SSF also offers special borrowing options to its contributors, like housing loans and education loans. Our main priority is to invest these funds safely in productive sectors. Besides fixed deposit schemes, we’ve been spreading our investments across mutual funds, debentures and government securities. We’re also exploring opportunities in portfolio investment and project financing, and we’ve been laying the groundwork to investigate different investment schemes. So far, our main focus hasn’t been heavily on investment. However, as our funds grow, we’re increasingly focused on using the money collected by SSF for the country’s development.
SSF has now extended its reach to five provinces, and we’re planning to establish provincial offices in Karnali and Sudurpashchim Provinces.
Basically, the idea behind SSF is that people contribute when they’re earning and then they can access benefits when they’re unable to work due to various reasons, including support for their families. Although, we do have options for contributors to withdraw a portion of their contributions if they need to.
Social security is really about people signing up (contributing) and then receiving benefits. Anyone who contributes to social security has the trust and belief that their retirement is secure and their family will be taken care of. The SSF isn’t about making a profit; it’s about maximising social well-being. Everyone with an income is eligible to contribute. It was established through an agreement between trade unions, employers and the government. Employers contribute 20%, employees contribute 11%, and a 1% social security tax is waived for employees contributing here. There aren’t any extra contribution requirements beyond the minimum that employers need to pay.
Employers are actually in a safer position if they contribute to the SSF. If they don’t, they’re legally responsible for providing social security (lifelong pensions) to their employees and their dependents, and they can’t avoid that responsibility. That’s why those who aren’t contributing to SSF are taking a risk. The SSF has the legal authority to enforce this on employers who aren’t yet participating. Employers who do contribute to SSF are essentially transferring that risk at the minimum contribution rate set by the Labour Law.
Finally, I’d like to share some advice with recent graduates who are starting their careers. You can learn from my experiences that doing your work with integrity is key. Having integrity and staying focused on your work are the most crucial things for career growth and job satisfaction.
