Deep-dive into banking
After I had graduated, I began my full-time career as a management trainee with the bank. There, I was exposed to how a retail branch actually functioned – from ensuring treasury management to providing customer support. It got me thinking why so little technology had actually seeped into traditional banking systems. Within a few months, I had transitioned into my designated role of handling legal matters for the corporate banking teams. In this role, I was reviewing contracts with large corporates & SMEs and had also started handling recovery/litigation in such cases. This stint exposed me to the entire lifecycle of a banking transaction – from when a loan was disbursed to an event of default, where the loan had to be recovered using legal recourse. What piqued my curiosity was – ‘Who was financing the Average Joe’s businesses – like the local textile shop owner, kirana-store owner, or a freelancer? Were they benefitting in any way from the formal banking system? If not, what are the options that they banked on for financial support? ‘Developing a passion for technology
After completing a stint of more than 5 years with the bank I made a career-shift into a prestigious law firm that had a thriving practice in banking & finance. During this stint, I was favoured to receive diverse exposure to banks, investment firms & start-ups, of which, I eventually grew particularly fond of working on Fintech matters. While advising Fintechs on investments, I grew interested in their offerings & the manner in which they were capable of democratizing & distributing financial services for the benefit of entrepreneurs & small-scale businesses using technology.Banks & NBFCs face challenges in lending to SMEs due to the lack of financial information & historical cash-flows. Since SMEs are unable to avail credit from formal sources, they turn to money lenders who lend at inflated interest rates & unreasonable repayment terms. And then, there are Fintechs, which reach out to under-banked segments of the population – a segment that traditional banks don’t cater to.