Internship Report on “General Banking Activities of Sonali Bank Limited” Submitted To: Mr. Shahran Abu Sayeed Lecturer Department of Accounting & Finance North South University Submitted By: Jahangir Md Anan ID: 1511640030 Section: 47 Date of Submission: 30% April, 2020Letter of Transmittal 30th Apnil, 2020 Mr. Shahran Abu Sayeed Lecturer Department of Accounting & Finance North South University Subject: Submission of Internship report on “General Banking activities" of Sonali Bank Limited. Dear Sir, ‘As per the requirements of submitting an intemship report for completion of the B.B.A program, I would like to present my internship report on “General Banking activities" of Sonali Bank Limited. I have done my internship report on the basis of an intern on Sonali Bank Limited in Bangladesh. I hope that this report wall meet your expectations Sincerely, Jehangir Md Anan Id: 151 1640 030 Department of Accounting & Finance North South University 2[PaAcknowledgement ‘At the beginning in preparation of this report, I would like to convey gratitude to the Almighty Allah for his blessing in completing this report. This internship report is an accrual of many people’s effort. For this, | am obliged to a number of people who helped me to organize this report and for their kind opinion, suggestions, support and appropriate guidelines for this. I have received endless support and guidance in preparation of this report from numerous sources. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them all. Firstly, I would like to thank my Internship Supervisor, Mr. Shahran Abu Sayeed, Lecturer, Department of Accounting & Finance, North South University for his continuous guidance and assistance in preparation of this report, His invaluable advice has helped me a lot in writing this report. I am immensely thankful to him for the support he has provided during my Internship period. Next, I would like to express earnest gratitude to my organizational supervisor at Sonali Bank: Limited, N.C.T.B branch, Mr. Golam Mohiuddin, Manager and Assistant general manager. I would also express earnest gratitude to Mr. Azam, Principal Officer, who always supported me in all difficulties throughout the internship period. Their valuable contribution has facilitated the successful completion of this report to a great extent. He directed me towards the right information and regularly reviewed my progress in preparation of this report. [PaTable of Contents Serial No Contents Page No. 1 Letter of Transmittal 02 2 Acknowledgement 03 3 Executive Summary 05 4 Introduction 06 5 Sonali Bank Limited, N.C.T.B Branch, Motijheel, Dhaka 7 6 Internship Assignment & Contribution to the Bank 08 7 Major areas of my assignment and contribution to the bank 09 8 Lessons Learnt from Intemship Experience 10 9 Dealing with Difficulties 1 10 Expectations and Reality 12 uN If had to redo this internship, what I would do differently 13 12 Findings and Recommendations 14 13 Conclusion 15 14 References 16 15 Appendix 17-22 4|PageExecutive Summary This report has attempted to highlight on the experience gathered during the period of internship at Sonali Bank Limited (SBL), N.C-T B branch. Sonali Bank Limited is oneof the leading financial institutions in the country. As an intern, I got the opportunity to work with this organization and try to put my effort to make an in-depth study. The beginning part of the report discuss the organizational overview, which included the brief overview ofthe institution. Ihave given my best effort to include all the necessary points in order to give a clear understanding about Sonali Bank Limited, This section is very informational for any interne because itis essential to recognize the organization before being a part of it. In the report, I also included all my experience during the internship resembling my jobs and responsibilities, learning ffom the intemship. Here I have emphasized mostly about my daily responsibilities and how much I was able to contribute to the organization. Afterwards I have provided a short description about the difficulties that [have faced throughout the intemship journey and my methods of overcoming them. The last part was very significant because here I got the opportunity to share my feelings from the intemship. I had a lot of expectation fom where some were achieved and some were not. It is undoubtedly true thet this internship has influenced a great influence in my career plan, It got me engaged in alot of thought regarding where I had the scope to go ahead and thus this part deals with thet. Later on, I have drawn attention towards the findings and recommendations by stating what my corrections could have been if I could get an opportunity to redo the internship program. [PaIntroduction Background of the Report Internship is a major part in BBA graduation. In the intemship a student can apply his/her theoretical knowledge into practical work. As a BBA student I always wanted to start my career in banking sector. As a developing nation like Bangladesh banking sector plays a big role in the economy of Bangladesh, Because of largely practiced of Banking activities and for being acknowledged about such vast growing sector was one of my desires. Following such desire, I conducted my internship under Sonali Bank Limited (SBL), N.C.T.B Branch, Motijheel, Dhaka From the internship I have experienced lots of skills like, communication skills, technical Skills, organizational Skills, and analytical Skills. Beside these have come to know about the organizational culture, I also know how to work under pressure and control the mental state Brief Organizational Overview of Sonali Bank Limited Sonali Bank Limited, the largest & leading commercial bank of the country, started their journey in 1972 immediate after the independence of Bangladesh. A fully state-owned enterprise, the bank has been discharging its nation-building responsibilities by undertaking government entrusted different socio-economic schemes as well as money market activities ofits own volition, covering all spheres of the economy. Shonali bank has 1212 branches, covering all the urban and remote rural areas of Bangladesh. It is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of 11 (Eleven) members. The Bank is headed by the Managing Director & CEO, who is a well-known Banker and a reputed professional, The corporate head quarter of the bank is located at Motijheel, Dhaka, Bangladesh - the main commercial center of the capital. [PaThe core businesses of SBL can be listed as follows: Corporate Banking, Project Finance, SME Finance, Consumer Credit, International Trade, Trade Finance, Loan Syndication, Foreign Exchange, Dealing, Rural and Micro credit, NGO-Linkage on, Money Market Operation, Capital Market Loan, Investment, Government Treasury Fut Operation, Remittance The General Banking of SBL can be listed as follows: Current Account, Savings Account, Fixed Deposit Receipts (FDR) Sonali Bank Limited, N.C.T.B Branch, Motijheel, Dhaka Overview Thave done my internship at Sonali Bank Limited, N.C.T.B Branch, Motijheel, Dhaka under the supervision of Manager Golam Mohiuddin. It is a small branch situated at N.C.TB building Motijheel Dhaka This branch was established to provide banking services primarily to the employee of N.C.T B and other people. This branch has total 14 employees. Departments NCTB Branch has mainly two departments. They are general banking department and Government department General Banking Department: Every bank has some common tasks to do in the day-to-day banking activities. Different banks might have different methods of doing these works, but these all fall under the general banking department. General banking is the heart of banking because under this service regarding account opening, money collection, cheque encashment, issuing cheque books, money transfer, credit card, payment order, account transfer and account closing are provided. 7[PaLending Department: This department of the bank mainly deals with services like treasury service In addition, it prepares forwarding for loan approval. It gives advice to the customers for disbursing loan amount, after getting head office’s approval In the General Banking Department, services are offered to the individual consumers. It has different sections such as cash, operational, clearing, account opening, cheque book issuing, money transfer, payment order, ATM ete. Cash section r eives cash of Current and Savings and FDR accounts, and payments either are made in cash or transfer to the respective account. In all types of vouchers, signatures of a cashier and an officer are required. Operational section monitors the overall performance of the bank for daily and regular basis and makes important decisions This section is consisting of high-level officers. Clearing section is a complex section of bank. A crossed cheque of the same branch needs intemal checking. If the cheque has been issued by another branch of Sonali Bank Limited, its image (scan copy) is sent to the branch for clearance If the cheque has been issued by other banks, its image is sent to Clearing House of Bangladesh Bank for clearance. All the banks’ delegators are present in the clearing house of Bangladesh Bank The cheques of a particular bank are presented to the respective delegator. Each delegator verifies his/her bank’s cheques for settlement. Ifall are correct, then the amount is debited from the account and the cheque is cleared. Clearance is given within 24 hours Internship Assignment & Contribution to the Bank Activities learned and performed in General Banking Areas Over these months of my intemship in Sonali bank limited, Mirpur Shilpa Elaka Branch, I have learned and performed various types of activities as listed below + The process of account opening (savings, current and FDR) + Giving customer information about different types of accounts + Receiving request for cheque books + Issuing cheque books + The process of cash deposit + The process of cash delivery B[Page+ The process of cashing FDR + The process of money transfer and payment order + The process of transfer an account + The process of closing an account + Assisting the customers in filing different types of forms + Receiving request for payment or stop payment of cheque + Collecting necessary papers ftom customers such as photocopy of National ID card, Passport, TIN certificate etc. Major areas of my assignment and contribution to the bank ‘The major areas of my assignment and contribution to the bank were as follows: Service: In my intemship period, I served directly and indirectly around 800 customers in these one and a half months in different units of the branch. I helped customer to fill up the account cked opening forms, money transfer form, pay order form, and credit card form. In addition, I ch whether those forms were filled up properly and necessary documents were attached. I helped the customer in collecting necessary documents, reviewing and correcting there documents, I helped the customers in requisition for cheque books and delivery of prepared cheque books Clearing and Remittance: In clearance, department works were a bit of complicated in nature ‘There I had to receive all incoming check form the customer, give entry to the spreadsheet, and ck by a machine to the head office send photos of the c CIB (Credit Information Bureau) Form: For giving loan, a CIB form was very important I had to sometime fill up the all the information field of the customer and send it to Bangladesh bank for the in-query ofthe customer to make sure he was not aloan defaulter in any bank of the country. Maintaining Communication with customers: I had to call the customer on phone and ensured that the pending documents came at our end in time. I had to make follow up calls and emails to ensure the punctuality of their service 9|PageLessons Learnt from Internship Experience All the officers of the branch were very helpful and always tried to teach me how a bank works in real world. With my initiative and help ffom the staff, I learned the following lessons Practical knowledge Before this internship, I knew about banking activity theoretically. When my friends studied, commercial bank management course under they told me that faculty taught them the use of different types of account, banking rules, revenue-generating activities ofbank like money lending, bank charges for different services and other things. In the last three months, I dealt with these matters, I was able to enrich my practical knowledge through this intemship ssfully dealt with people fom various backgrounds and classes Sometime literally, Ihad to talk with more than 40-50 people in a single day. [had to communicate not just with the customer but also with my coworkers. They all were supportive and flexible with my work. My communication skill enhanced greatly. Attention to details Banking is all about proper documentation and handling agreement papers, which I understood at the very first stage. A single mistake can result in a serious crime. In case of cash deposit and cash delivery, the amount in figure and word must be same and the transaction must be correct with proper entry in transaction profile and the register book. If any mistake is committed, it must be reported to the branch manager. Every detail must be looked seriously. This internship improved my skill to work with concentration for long hour of time, as agreement papers are legel papers needed to be completed flawlessly. Following rules and regulations Sonali Bank Limited is a strict follower of Bangladesh bank rules and regulations. Thus, before conducting any task I also needed to be sure that I am following Bangladesh bank’s rules and regulations. When I was working in the account opening section, I had to read all the rules of tol PaBangladesh bank and had to make sure that the account opening form was filled up according to those rules. In cheque clearing section, different cheques were dealt differently and needed to record separately. I had to follow the rules all the time Ability to work under pressure Sometime in bank, I had to perform multiple tasks under pressure. I was working in online money transfer section and cheque clearing section simultaneously. In addition, I had to check vouchers. Thad to finish tall the works in due time. Professionalism [learnt office etiquette, punctuality what not to speak in front of people, how to deal with angry customer, office culture and got chance to improve my common sense. I also learned the importance of dress code in a bank. These are related not only with bank activities but it will also help me in my future career. As an intem, I had to maintain an office working hours (10 AM - 4PM). If] had to leave the bank earlier for urgent personal work, I had to take permission fom my supervisor, Dealing with Difficulties From my internship experience, I have realized that there is no place without difficulties. I faced some problems during the internship program. Eventually, I had leamed about the methods that was helpfil for me to deal with the difficult situations. The first problem that | faced during my internship was to gaining technical skills. I was unable to give the customer services quickly. For this reason, the customers became annoyed several times. My supervisor advised me to try for providing quick services. From this scenario, I realized that I have to gain certain skills to make myself more efficient while providing the customer services, Another problem was recognizing that there were some customers who were never satisfied with the customer services. They gave negative feedbacks to the employees after getting the services. It was difficult for me to deal with ed very politely and tried to pacify the this kind of customers. I observed that my supervisor ac problematic customers arguing that giving fast services in a busy working hour is really difficult uPafor the employees. From this scenario, [ learned that I have to keep patience with the customers under any circumstances Expectations and Reality My internship experience is far better than my expectation. [ heard from one of the students of our university about his intemship experience, which was horrible He served tea and done photocopies. I was scared of facing something like that. However, my supervisor and coworkers allowed me work with them closely so that I could lear about the procedures of works, which was the main purpose of the intemship program. However, I could not work directly using the CBS software and sometimes I passed idle time due to heavy work load on the officers. Influence on Career Plan Bank employees’ secured job, good working environment, financial benefits and opportunity for contribution to the development of home country are the main reasons to be excited about considering bank’s job as a career. This job is becoming comfortable, as the physical environment is pleasing and computerization has taken the load off tedious jobs. So, banking job is more appealing than thet of other industries. Here I try to explain some ofthe reasons why this internship program has influenced me to build my career in a government bank, particularly Sonali Bank Limited. I could take a tea break while there was less working pressure. The organization culture was relaxed and there was a family like environment. If anyone did any mistalce, the seniors did their best to rectify the mistake, They never were rude nor did they use any harsh language to anyone If any section had too much work pressure, employees from other sections helped to shear the burden. Everyone used to go for lunch together. It really had an amazing organization culture, which encouraged me more to pursue a career in a government bank. 12|PageAlthough the chain of command was very strictly maintained, it never felt suffocating. Everyone ‘was help ful and jolly. Inever felt the misuse of power by the authority. The power difference was also very high though the juniors were very much encouraged to give their opinions ‘Another thing that I loved was maintaining time schedule. Everyone had to be on time while reporting. Employees could not be late but if anybody faced a personal problem, he could leave the office with permission of manager. One can only have to work extra hours on special 0 sion. Otherwise, employees could leave within 6 pm. I experienced very high level of professionalism there. Some officers were so professional about their works that I was amazed On the other hand, before joining Sonali Bank Limited, I was planning to do MBA after graduation. However, after doing my internship at Sonali Bank Ltd., I am wondering that frst of all, I should gather some practical experience and then do MBA. 1 am currently hoping thet, if get a job in a bank, then I will continue to work there for at least three years and then I will go for higher education However, if do not get a job in a bank, then I shall apply for jobs of different corporations and industries preferring multinational companies. I heard that the working environment, exposure, salary, other benefits are much better in multinational companies compared to national companies Anyway, I want to use my knowledge and energy for nation building as soon as possible and not to sit idle. In the worst-case scenario, I shall be got myself admitted in MBA program after my graduation. I have different choices in that case. I can go to abroad for higher education or start my post-graduation in Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, I would prefer NSU, DU MBA or IBA MBA and Sonali Bank Ltd. has a major influence in this particular preference, In SBL, I found that many employees serving as the chief of department or section did their MBA from NSU or DU. IfL had to redo this internship, what I would do differently First of all, ifI get the opportunity to redo this internship 1 will be more polite and more patient while doing my tasks. I will try to be in the office on time. I will engage myself with other departments where I didn’t work this time 13|PaFindings and Recommendations Findings ‘The major findings of my internship program at Sonali Bank Limited, Mirpur Shilpa Elaka Branch are given below: © As a commercial bank, Sonali Bank Ltd. follows modem banking services. General banking department is the main department of the branch ‘© Itprovides allowances to different types of allowance receiver ‘© Most of the employees are hardworking, efficient and have pleasant personality ‘© Sometimes inefficient allocations of resources have created some of bad debts. Lack of adequate, updated, and accurate information from the management information system There is lack of modem technological advances to provide better service to respective customers © There is a limitation of highly skilled personnel Recommendations ‘© SBL should provide more computers for Mirpur Shilpa Elaka Branch ‘© SBL also take proper step to improve their online banking services and provide best services to customer. ‘© The lengthy procedure of sanctioning of loans should be replaced by an effective and efficient time bound procedure. ‘© SBL Should use Data Base Networking in Information Technology (IT) Department. © Only SWOT analysis cannot be a help ful technique for evaluating credit proposal. SBL should aware of performance, financial stability, Competitive advantage etc. of applicant borrower. ‘© Foreign exchange department and LIC department should be opened at Mirpur Shilpa Elaka Branch which will enhance its income wa[PaConclusion ‘The intemship program gives us the opportunity to attain practical experience in various activities. Itis more useful for the students from the business background because in our profession, we need practical exposures to modes and operation of different organizations. As an intem in Sonali Bank Limited, Mirpur Shilpa Elaka Branch, it was a great opportunity to get a closer look to the activities and performance of some selective division of General Banking Department of Sonali Bank Limited to fulfill the requirement of the internship Sonali Bank Limited is the largest bank as well as the largest employer in both the public and private sectors in Bangladesh. The bank is playing an important role in the socio-econon development through the development of industrial sectors by providing all the conventional banking services as well as some specialized finai g activities to the economy. It has also some drawbacks, The management should try to implement the recommendations given in this report to make the bank as the most demanding financial institution of the country. [PaReferences Primary Sources: Khaled Jahangir, Manager and Senior Principal Officer, Sonali Bank Limited, Mirpur Shilpa Elaka branch Alter Bhanu, Officer, Sonali Bank Limited, Mirpur Shilpa Elaka Branch Secondary Sources: Annual Report of Sonali Bank Ltd, (2017): Retrieved from http:// www-sonalibank com bd accessed on 17.05.2017 Organizational Overview of Sonali Bank Limited, retrieved from http:// wwrw sonalibank com bd accessed on 17.05.2017 16 | PaAppendix Journal Week: 1 Work In my rst week I have worked on general banking department as I mentioned before I am interested to do my internship on general banking. I knew about various kinds of accounts, dealing with pay order slip, various kinds of deposits Learning and achievements Iinew about demand deposit. It is mainly consisting of finds held in an account which can be withdrawn at any time from a depositor account. Everyday multiple funds has been withdrawn but ifthe find amount is Slacks then there are certain procedure which bank have to follow before give the withdrawal permission, Amount is more than 5 lacks taka then Bangladesh bank sends the documents in an encoded particular form to the branch. Then they provide the branch a test key. After that the branch officer analysis decoded the documents, The demand deposits have a unique number, that mean which branch is used for withdrawing, amount, date, month. that have been withdraw. Every branch has secreted number. The bank maintains files for recording those code numbers, The officers cheek the number of amount, date, and signature. If everything matches then the officers approve the deposit text Observations observed that Shonali Bank has different type of customers in my first week. Most of them are actually aged people and related to government service. Many people come for collecting money, some people come to know their current deposit status and some people come to know the benefits of demand deposits Notable incidents In my first work week I didn’t face any notable incidents. a|PaJournal ‘Week: 2 Work In my second week in Shoneli Bank, NCTB branch, I came to know about 2 types of account form. One is for individual person and another one is for company, business enterprise ets. These forms are used for collecting all types of information about individual person and business enterprise. These forms also include different types saving account option, Like current account, FDR etc. Whole week, Ihave helped my supervisor to fill up the forms Learning and achievements Thave learned one new thing this week which is how to fill up the saving account forms. I have learned that to open up a bank account you must have certain things, there are passport size photos, utility bills receipt, national Id card etc. I have also learned that to open up a bank account you must select your nominee. Nominee means account owner selected person, who can deposit money and withdraw money from account owner account Observations Thave observed one thing this week, which is people working at bank must have common sense and problem-solving ability. Everyone knows all banks follow very strict bureaucratic structure But sometimes for customers sake bank people go beyond the rule, Sometimes for customer satisfaction bank people slightly change the rule. Sometimes customers don’t fill up all the sections in forms, In that case, bank people use their common sense to fll up the blank sections in forms Notable incidents In the bank the one of the riskiest job is the cashier job. The bank rule is if any employee fail to count cash properly or misplace any amount, they will be penalized. In this week one of our employees in cashier desk fails to count cash properly and for that reason he has to pay money from his own. ag | PaJournal Week: 3 Work In this week learn about KYC form means know you customer form which belongs to the Bangladesh Bank and our bank has to send these forms to the Bangladesh Bank annually, in this ction client can get to know about their account condition, transactions, collect bank statements and other functions that is performed by him. I was given some files with clients’ account forms inside and assigned to complete the KYC form, attached with every account form. In this form every necessary detail must be filled in which account holder’s name, account number, account type, source of income etc. must be clearly mentioned and verified, I was instructed to write just the occupation (other things were filled up before) of the clients in the form by checking the ;pation box from the accounts form. Ifthere is any discrepancy appears, I was instructed to show it to my superior. Beside this I was instructed to check if the photocopy of national ID was attached in the forms. Ifnot, then they told me to write down the account numbers. Some forms needed special attention so they were given to the authorized people to check oce Learning and achievements Thave learned how fill up and check this KYC form. his KYC form is very significant for a legal account, All documents are sent to Bangladesh Bank. If Bangladesh Bank doesn’t get sufficient documents for customers, then the Bangladesh Bank sends notice within six months to cancel that account Observations In the bank no matter how angry or sad a person is or how much stressed helshe is, that person still have to maintain a peaceful mindset Notable incidents In my working time one customer came to me for transaction problem. Transaction problem caused because of lacking information during account opening, Then I ask my superior and he solve the problem on behalf of me a9 [PaJournal ‘Week: 4 Work Transaction Profile: It’s a profile of an account holder which has all the information regarding his/her transaction, how many and how much transactions can be made in a month, and how much transaction can be made in a single deposition and withdrawal. Maintaining this profile ‘was not mandatory in Bangladesh before. It has been introduced few years back but was not strictly maintained if there was any transaction made by an account holder. Bangladesh Bank has made it mandatory to execute and follow the transaction profile while an account holder makes a transaction of any sort. Learning Many customers have faced difficulties while making any transaction. To handle these customers, I was brought back to the accounts department from the Card Division to help out and assist the Executive Officers. a) Transaction Profile has two parts: Withdraw and Deposit. Each of these two has four other sections: Cash Transaction, Cheque Transaction, Online Transaction, and Balance Transfer from account to another b) My job was to help the customers fill up their forms regarding the transaction profile. take their preferences to fill the form up according to the type of profile they want Observations a) This implementation of the transaction profile has created a great difficulty for lots of bank account holders b) They are being explained by us about this system c) _ Ittakes alot of time to make each customer understand what this Transaction Profile is actually. d) The account holder must go to the branch where helshe opened the account to male the profile w|PaJournal Week: 5 Work Done I was brought to the General Banking again and was assigned in the Voucher Department where all the register books are kept. These books contain: a) Employee attendances b) _List of the expenses made by the bank of every week ©) Ian employee needs to take a vacation, he/she must apply in this voucher section. a) Any sort of papers (certificates, money receipts, etc.) is processed in this section. Learning and Achievements ‘While working in this department, I have learned that a) All the employees must come in at 09.00am into the bank. After that, they must signature in the attendance log book. Failing to do so, the employee will be marked as a Late Comer. Three Late marks shall make the employee absent. At the end of the day, the attendance list sends to the manager of the branch. Then he checks who was coming late for several days b) record of the weekly purchase is noted, The products bought are kept in the store room ‘Whoever needs and takes out anything from there, must sign with his/her name before getting that out Except for any sudden situation, like accidents, or sickness, all the other vacation applications must be made within One week before the desired date. apaJournal Week: 6 Work Done: In this week, I was given the task to provide branch seal, account no. seal and allowance holder’s name on the allowance holders’ new cheque books. Then, I had to make a record of the cheque books’ serial numbers My second task was to check the serial number and the cheque with a requisition slip after arrival of anew cheque book In addition, I check the serial number and name of the cheque book with the orders requested from the bank and the arrival date are inputted in the software First checkbook is only given to the alc holder. When he receives the book, he has to sign the first alike the alc holding sign. An authorized person has to sign next. If some other person wants to take the cheque, he needs to bring the authority to collect cheque book signed by the alc holder. Learning: In this week, I leaned about both the cash deposit receipt and cheque leafis provided fom the bank. These are two types of cheque, One is open cheque, which anyone can present at the counter, and teller is bound to make the payment. Besides that, there is another cheque named cross cheque where transaction is done through account, A cheque is called special cross cheque if t mentions the name of the bank in which it must be drawn. Besides, I have learned how to handle the customers in effective and efficient way. Observation / Reflection: For a whole week, my observation is that the person who is assigned to do the Cheque Book Handover and Cheque Serial Posting has to be very careful. The name, account number and the serial sumbers should be written correctly. No mistake should occur in any circumstances R\Pa