Interview with Raveena Desraj Shrestha, ADCEO Mega Bank

Q.No.1 We have found that you were interested to pursue your career in development sector but you got into banking. What made you continue banking as a part of your main profession?

Answer: The reason I continued is because, since I started working, I realized that no matter what profession you take up, it's all about service. The bank and the kind of teammates that I was working with and whatever it entailed, it sparked my interest from the inside. And, as I have said in my other interviews as well, I don't believe in coincidences, it was meant to happen. Bankers are known to be very boring and cold and heartless, and you’re meant to be that way. In a developing country like Nepal, if you have a banker, who also has a humanitarian streak, who also knows the tricks of the trade and banking to make money, I think there is no better combination. That's why it was meant to happen. I liked it, and I liked the team I was working with, and I continued in banking.

Q.No.2 You chose banking as your career which was and is still believed to be a male dominated sector. What hardships did you face in the beginning of your career as a woman?

Answer: If you are born as a woman, you come with lots of perks but there are also downsides to it. When I first started, I loved to take care of myself and groom myself, and I used to be better looking. The first challenge I needed to overcome was to prove that I have a brain. I’m not here just to look good or attract people because I look good. I’m not here just to have fun either, or just to take salary home. I am here because I am serious. For a woman, if you’re there with your hair done and your make up done and a skirt, they’ll say, “let’s see what you have to say”, and they would question that first before they even listen to the content of what you have to say. That was the challenge that I needed to face. I joined banking because I love it. I loved what I did, I worked really hard and put in a lot of work to enhance my knowledge on banking, and that was that. But later on, I faced a lot of incidents where because of my sex, because of my gender, I had to face challenges. For women, it is more difficult as they have to juggle many things at the same time. I wouldn’t mind going out for a dinner with a client and sitting till 10 o' clock until I crack the deal. Because I’m a single, I can manage that. Not all married women can get that kind of support where she needs to sit with the client till 10 o' clock until she cracks the deal, and her character is not questioned and her husband is comfortable with it at home saying, “she is at job". It’s gotten easier for me because I have been single for the last 8 years. I don't need to handle all of that. But, there are literate women from very educated families, who, before they come to work, cook and get the household chores done because they are daughters-in-law. I, personally, didn’t have to face much of that. But when I was married, when I was in the family, I used to cook. I used to get lunch made in the house, look after kids, and then come in to work. It wasn’t easy. But it’s gotten easier now. Because that was the choice I made. Life is all about choices you make.

Q.No.3 In the context of Nepal, how friendly are the government policies towards the banking sector? What type of policies, according to you, government must work on to help banking sector flourish?

Answer: I cannot say it isn't. I would like to think that all the policies that are introduced in Nepal are conducive to the banking sector as for the banking sector to progress more than it already has, and where it is right now. Any policies that are coming are not a hindrance to the progression of the banking industry because the banking industry is the heart of the economy, we move money around, and we give financial service to people. 60% of Nepal is still unbanked. We’ve got a lot to do. I would like to think all the policies that are introduced in Nepal are conducive to the banking sector, to the banking industry because we not only follow government policies but we also follow the central bank's policies, and are guided by them. Till now, I would like to think that it is progressive, and it is conducive for the betterment of the banking sector.

Q.NO.4 In this digital-age, we still see that a lot of Nepalese people living in the rural areas are even deprived of the manual banking services. Is it because they do not feel the need of such services? Or are there any other reasons? How can we bring them into the banking sphere?

Answer: First of all, it's a huge challenge for us to go to the rural areas. There are several factors. First off, there are hardly any people in rural areas of Nepal anymore because most of them have left, and the people who are there include women, children and elders. So, for us to go there, first, we need to break the paradigm, which is the mindset that they have, i.e. "these people are not just here to take my money, they are here to serve me". So, first of all, we need to build their trust. But, the challenge today for a banking sector or any other sector, especially for a public limited company is that stakeholders have expectations from you. They want quicker returns. So, what happens to an enterprise like us is, we have to make quick earnings, and give it back to them. That is the reason why the banks haven't gone beyond the urban or the semi-urban area where the money can be made quickly. So, this is a movement. There has to be a financial shift in everybody's mind if we as a citizen of Nepal want to make any sort of development for our brothers and sisters who have left the country and gone out because they didn’t find it economical to stay here. Now, the things are changing, and now, things are progressive for the banking industry. That 60% is an opportunity for banking. But firstly, we need to build an environment where the infrastructure is built so that banks can go to rural places easily, get internet access, and not have to pay more to set up an office over there because it is too much of a hassle for the construction company to take the products there so as to build a branch over there. So, infrastructure, electricity, internet material transportation cost - all of those play a role in penetrating that 60% because we can’t say we don’t care if we don’t make money; we’re doing this for the sake of service. People will protest if we’re not able to reach the profit target or give back dividend to the shareholders. So, it is not only related to the banking sector, but even government, private sector and everybody including the locals need to get involved.

Q.NO.5 What is your opinion regarding the merger of banks in Nepal? Have the synergies been productive so far?

Answer: I would like to think so because, in the economy of Nepal's size, the number of banks that existed was way too many anyway. So, the mergers that have happened will have a positive impact now that there is political stability in Nepal, and it will be better. As soon as the capital is raised, and the banks become of a larger size, we need to go out and service that capital as well. That eight billion capital will need to be serviced which means we have to go and do business. And, to be able to go and do business, besides the forces of nature, everything else needs to be conducive. We cannot control the forces of nature. So, we need to be very careful to keep everything else conducive to banks giving that service.

Q.No.6 You are also the vice chairman of the Woman Entrepreneurs Committee under the central office of FNCCI. How has your role been as a vice-chairman in empowering women entrepreneurs in Nepal through this committee?

Answer: Well, whether I meet a lady who is trying to set up a salon or someone who is trying to start a hand carry business, even irrespective of that post, I would like to think that I have been able to help all of them. I have advised them to go and sell their products in a certain way. I myself have promoted their business convincing other people to buy their products. Even as a banker, if I see women with that passion, with the entrepreneurial streak, I encourage them, and say, "I am here for you; we are here for you". I talk to them, share what I know, try to encourage them, boost them, provide them with banking knowledge, and provide funds where required. That’s what my role has been so far.

Q.NO.7 What are your expectations from the recently held elections? How favorably can it affect the banking industry?

Answer: It offers lots of opportunities. There will be chief ministers; there will be provinces. Once the chief minister is selected, there will be staff that will require logistic support, vehicles to move around, open bank account, and so on. As a banker, I see that as an opportunity. It is an opportunity to go and finance cars for them, and mobilize money from center to provinces. It is an opportunity to come to contact with more Nepalese, and to outstretch our services to these people. It has brought lots of Nepalese into the banking bracket. So, the opportunities are endless.

Q.NO.8 You are a successful banker, healer, motivational speaker, mother and manager of two successful actors in Nepal. How do you juggle up with all these roles and still manage to excel at everything you do?

Answer: I was very curious as a child. I got lots and lots of encouragement from my parents. They never told me that I have to be a doctor or an engineer. I was a free soul. The well-being of person and for that person to flower is more important. All these things have made me who I am today. I am a very curious person and childish as well. Sometimes my children ask me to keep calm because I am more childish than them. But I think curiosity alone is not sufficient. The simple mantra is to bring your mind, your spirit and your body together. This will definitely lead you to success.

Q.No.9 You are the recipient of four international awards and we are very proud of it. Does that sometimes make you re-imagine or rethink your role not only as a Nepali citizen but a global citizen now?

Answer: I am somebody who believes that all these borders that we have created are bogus. For me, I believe, I should be able to go to Ecuador without a visa because this planet is mine. I don’t know what kind of structure developed over the years that we need a visa to go and visit my planet. If I have the resources to visit, wherever I want to go, I should be able to go and visit the place without a visa. My brain is already that of a global citizen.

Q.No.10 What is your success mantra? What keeps you moving?

Answer: My mantra is the fact that my heart is beating. I am here as Raveena and in this body as a human being. I am a human being. That is my path. I have not been born here to give up the luxuries of life. I chose to come here as a human being. I came for this human experience, and I am enjoying everything that the humans have created.

Q.No.11 What according to you is the major problem of today’s Youth? Is it impatience or brain drain? What advice would you like to give them to overcome it? 

Answer: What defines success for you does not have to be success for me.  And, that is what people have not understood. You don’t have to go in a swanky car, or be traveling, or posting, or have N number of followers to be successful. I think what the youth don’t have right is the fact that they keep associating themselves to other people. You need to be okay in you, as you, and go forward as you. I think that is missing, and the reason that is missing is because you all don’t have that spiritual touch, i.e. what binds you to the fact that you are complete in yourself. I’m not saying to go and recite mantras. There are different ways of doing it. It is about bringing mind, body and spirit together. Why I am totally sold to yoga and yoga makes sense to me is because that’s when you forget who you are in this body, and then you come together as whoever it is inside you. And, I think that trick is missing in people. They don’t know themselves. That’s why they get pulled here, they get pulled there, influenced here and there, and eventually become sad and do all kind of crazy things. You need to understand that you are OK the way you are, what you are, who you are, as "you". You don’t have to be like anybody else.

Interviewers: Pravash Rai, Rebika Bhandari, Saurav Raj Manandhar and Pratibha Rimal.

Writers: Trisha Dali, Femona Shrestha, Kajal Jha, Prasansha Bariya and Manju Bajracharya

Editor: Pratibha Rimal

Editor-in-Chief: Edna Shrestha

Note: This interview originally appeared in the print magazine, Management Vision-an opinion based magazine of business and entrepreneurship prepared by the BBA students of People’s Campus.