IBFEATURES

It was an official visit to Mumbai in the third week of March. Covid-19 cases were rising and the city was beginning to struggle to contain the spread of the virus. But CVR Rajendran, the managing director and chief executive officer of Kerala-based CSB Bank, couldn't defer the trip as growth plans for the next financial year were to be discussed at a time when the banking sector was facing low credit demand from corporates and the economy was slowing.

Looking out of the window from his five-star hotel overlooking the Arabian sea, Rajendran wasn't worried about the coronavirus pandemic or the growth prospects of his bank. He was beginning to enjoy the beauty of the sea and the sound of the waves. He would in any case be busy over the next two days.

On a sunny morning, he set out to meet his staff. On reaching office, he promptly called for a meeting which went on for hours. Visibly tired by late evening, he returned to the hotel, his head full of thoughts on the next day's meeting and how he would grow his business from the bank's 65 metropolitan branches. Suddenly a hotel staffer came up to him and said politely, "We are closing the hotel before the virus hits us."

Rajendran knew the coronavirus had flown into India from overseas with the first recorded case in Kerala, but he did not realise that it would come knocking at his door when he would be on an official tour.

"I had no choice but to check out. But work had to go on, so I landed in Chennai. We have a guest house so I was certain that I will not be asked to pack up. In three days the nationwide lockdown was announced for 21 days. Meanwhile, we also had a corona case in the building so I had to be quarantined for a fortnight in the guest house," he says, recalling those days.

A bond market veteran, he decided to take a bet during the quarantine. The bank invested more than Rs 850 crore in the targeted long-term repo operation (TLTRO) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). "We were one of the smaller banks which participated in a big way. The Franklin Templeton meltdown was happening and we were the major investor," says Rajendran.

With yields high the bank could make a good investment. "This may be sustained for the next six to seven quarters, depending on maturities," he adds.

After this he took special permission from the governments of Tamil Nadu and Kerala to travel to the bank's home state, "the safest place to be then". Here again he had to quarantine himself for another 14 days.

From April to mid-May the bank gave its employees a daily allowance of Rs 1,000 to reach office. "Public transport was not available but our operations had to run. We realised the pandemic is set to continue and we had to discontinue the allowance," he states.

The staff were told to either come to office or go on leave. But some employees went to court, saying special leave should be given for Covid-19. Though the case went right to the Supreme Court, the apex court has denied any such special privileges so far.

The coronavirus is bringing in its wake a lot of inconveniences. "On any given day about seven to eight branches out of 425 remain closed. Then we have to move the staff to neighbouring branches. In Mumbai the treasury operations had to be moved to Vashi in Navi Mumbai after the government restricted movement of people. Many of the treasury people were living in Navi Mumbai," he explains. Now the bank has allocated a car to the treasury staff to travel to work.

Life has certainly changed for Rajendran. Now there is absolutely no travel for employees. These days it is a world of WebEx or Zoom meetings. All meetings, including board meetings and client meetings, are virtually tackled while he waits for the virus to wear itself out.

"I used to make it a point to sit with other employees in the canteen. After the pandemic, I am bringing my tiffin to office," he says.

For Onam, the biggest festival in Kerala, the bank gave away money to the various relief funds. "Our staff came forward, saying they will forgo festivities," he adds.