The ins and outs of banking, simplified

A Fintech enthusiast and columnist, Md Abdul Kader has been working in the banking sector for 18 years. His book, Banking of Tomorrow (Puthiniloy, 2023) discusses the ins and outs of the industry, zeroing in on the writer's experience working in this area.

The book sheds light on "the art and science of risk management", as well as digital banking, retail, and CMSME (Cottage, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise) in a wide scope; the topics are curated and discussed in sections throughout the book for readers' understanding.

There are other topics of discussion including security and documentation, trade finance, agent banking, and so forth, aimed at giving readers an in depth insight into the industry.

"In the last 18 years, I have had the opportunity to work in all the major areas of banking. I have felt the necessity of a book that would cover all boughs of banking", the author writes in the book's prologue. He was formerly a student at the Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management. 

The manuscript covers 10 major topics in the context of the Bank and FI [financial institutions], covering lending on risk management of CMSME, retail, and digital banking, financing small and medium sector enterprises, working capital finance, ICRRS, and factoring; the basic concept of trade finance is also included in a simplified way.

Md Abdul Kader highlights a point of concern prevalent in this area in his book, offering that, "The major retail banking products are creating confusion in the customer's mind, as a lot of inequality prevails where rules and regulations of banks in comparison with those of FI are concerned." Kader's aim was to produce a well rounded solution to such matters with a focus on digitalisation, something that is immersive in all aspects of our work and the society at large.

"I got the courage to start writing and felt that, if the market practices and regulations of a particular issue are in one place it may help the bankers, customers as well as students", he writes. 

In one of the two forewords to the text, Dr. Riad Shams, Assistant Professor of Newcastle Business School, UK, writes, "I know the author of this book for more than 20 years as a learner, practitioner, and pathfinder in the financial sector, and his knack and passion to explore and explain critical issues in a simplistic manner."

To add to this, Dr Abu Alam of the University of Gloucestershire, UK, states in his foreword: "The essential skills of risk detection in CMSME and retail, as well as the relevance of digital integration in lending, are the key focuses of this book", and of what new the writer brings to the world of banking, he explains, "The main beauty of this book is that it not only gives theoretical examples but it has so many practical examples from the implementation experience and criticism."

Released in February of this year, Banking of Tomorrow is currently the third book on Rokomari's Boi Mela Bestseller Award list—which is announced annually throughout the months of February and March—in the nonfiction category.