Page 172 - A Banker Down the Rabbit Hole

up with borrowers so that people around me do not consider me too
close to the borrowers to invite undue attention of worker unions and
charges of corruption.

When I joined an Exceptionally Large branch in India after completing my
3 year tenure at Hong Kong, at the behest of our top boss, I also went to
meet CEOs and CFOs of our big corporate customers and even large
reputed borrowers to present them the Diwali Gifts.

Being Head of Credit Department there, the corporate senior staff would
visit us in the office and also at residence to present Diwali gifts. Majority
of them would come to residence about two to three days before Diwali.
But still, I did not want to accept gifts to avoid any prejudices. I would
take the family for outing and dinner outside for these two days after 6
pm around which time they used to visit us. They used to return seeing
our flat locked.

During one Diwali season, one day, when I returned home at around 10
pm, my neighbor called me to collect the gifts left by some of our
customers with him. They told him that they had come twice or thrice
but the flat was locked so they requested him to co-operate and keep
the gifts with him to pass on to us when we return. I had to accept them
as this was not his fault and I could not afford to annoy my neighbor by
questioning him why he accepted without my consent.

I collected the gifts and told my kids to remove the name cards stapled
with the packets and throw them before they could open the packets. I
did not want to know who those customers were sending me gifts. I
actually did not feel like having such gifts as I considered myself very
fortunate to have been posted at Hong Kong and having brought all kinds
of consumer durables and most modern gadgets from there.

This reminds me of one of my bosses who would never accept any gift.
I saw him declining the Diwali gifts requesting the customers with folded

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